Page 57 of The Art Of Starting Over

Hayden reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I suspect the video dies down eventually?”

Devorah shrugged. “Once it’s on the internet, it’s there for life. I tell Maren this all the time. It’s such a scary place. Everyone is always going to remember the video of the mistress coming clean, but no one is going to care about the damage it’s done to me and my daughter.”

“Conor and I will just have to work harder to help you and Maren overcome it all.”

Devorah smiled. “Maren really likes Conor. He’s a great kid.”

“Thanks. I wish I could take all the credit, but I can’t. Sofia was a great mom.”

“I’m really sorry you lost her.”

He was as well.

But then he wouldn’t be sitting next to Dev.

His heart was torn.

The movie screen changed from advertisements to previews for upcoming flicks. Hayden moved closer to Devorah and spread the blanket he’d brought across their laps. She also inched closer to where their shoulders touched.

At some point during the movie, she reached for his hand. Hayden tried not to smile, but he couldn’t hold back. Halfway through, he put his arm around her shoulder, and she snuggled into his chest.

During the second movie, he found himself watching her more than what was playing on the screen. Each time she laughed, his heart soared. The sound was like music to his ears. He thought back to the day he’d given her a ride in the rain. She was a shell of herself. In the days they’d spent together since, she had blossomed, and the girl he remembered had begun to return. Devorah was beautiful. Now and then.

She looked at him. The wide grin she had stayed. Hayden trailed his finger along her cheek, and then he tilted her chin up, angling herlips to meet his. It may have taken a handful of years, but he was kissing Devorah Crowley again, and this time he wasn’t going to let her go.

For the first time since Sofia passed, Hayden felt hope. He hadn’t set out to find someone, but fate had a funny way of showing him what had been in front of his face for most of his life.

He deepened the kiss but kept his hands to himself. This was enough ... for now. They both needed to move slow because it wasn’t just them anymore. They had children to think about. To put first. And Devorah needed to heal. Thankfully, Hayden had the cure. He’d show her that she and Maren needed to stay in Oyster Bay, and what he and Dev could’ve been had he admitted his feelings years ago.

When they broke apart, they both sighed. He wanted to go right back in for more, to pull her down and under the blankets like the horny teen he had once been.

“That wasn’t awkward at all,” she told him.

“It wasn’t our first kiss.”

“In public it was.”

Ouch, that stung and was well deserved. Hayden ducked his head and sighed. “I’ve grown up a lot since then. Believe me, I wish I had done things differently.”

“Same,” she said.

Hayden leaned in and kissed her again. Old habits were hard to break.

When they parted, Devy sighed. “You know, we pretty much perfected the art of making out back then.”

“Let me know when you’re ready to write the sequel.”

Devorah smiled. “When I’m ready to trust again, you’ll be the first to know.”

He sighed, kissed her forehead, and then put his arm around her. She snuggled into his side and rested her hand on his abdomen.

Returning to Oyster Bay had scared him. He’d worried he wasn’t making the right decisions for Conor and himself. Sitting there in the back of his truck, with a woman he used to be in love with, was now proving he had.

On Monday morning, Hayden felt nothing but relief when he saw the bucket loader and a rather large pile of dirt on his property. They’d finally broken ground on his and Conor’s new house. He got out of his truck and walked to where Link Blackburn stood with a clipboard. They shook hands and patted each other on their backs.

“It’s good to see you, Hayden.”

“You too, Link. How’s it looking?”

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