Page 67 of The Art Of Starting Over

“You’re welcome. Is Maren here?”

“She’s in the kitchen, helping Crow. Head on in.”

Conor ran down the hallway and into the kitchen. “You have a dog!”

Devorah laughed, clearly remembering what Hayden had said about Conor wanting a dog. Hayden chuckled but kept his focus on Dev.

She turned her head slowly, meeting his gaze. He swallowed hard at the sight of her with her dress showing a bit more skin than he was used to seeing from her. Tonight, she had her hair in a long braid, and her skin seemed to shimmer. He’d learned enough from Sofia over the years to know that lotions and sprays often had shimmer or glitter inthem. The shimmer, he liked. The glitter sometimes got everywhere and one time had ended up in his eyes.

Whatever Devorah had on, he was a fan of it. He had a difficult time tearing his gaze away from her. Mostly because he had to stop himself from leaning down and inhaling the scent she wore. It was vanilla, coconut, and summer, and it was perfect.

Hayden adjusted himself as discreetly as possible and cleared his throat. He leaned against the door casing, kept his other hand behind his back, and crossed his foot over his ankle. “How was your first day?” he asked as he tilted his head and smirked at her. “I meant to come in, but the guys left a bit later than I planned on.”

“Really good, actually. Laila came in. She apologized for the other night and asked me to join the festival committee.”

Hayden’s expression lit up. “Seriously? That’s fantastic. Are you going to do it?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Devy took another inhale of the flowers. “These are very pretty.”

“What can I say, my son has taste.” Hayden brought his hand up and showed her the flowers in his hand. “These are for Maren.”

“From you?” Devy asked, with a slight grin.

Hayden beamed. “Of course. I can’t have my son showing me up in the flower department. What would the Crowley women think of the McKenna men?”

Devorah threw her head back in laughter and thankfully didn’t correct Hayden on the usage of “Crowley” versus “Campbell.”

“Well, these are lovely. Conor has impeccable taste in arrangements. I’m going to go put them in water. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Shit, I forgot. I’ll be right back.”

Hayden jogged back to his truck and grabbed the six-pack for Crow and the dessert. He didn’t bother knocking when he came in and headed right to the kitchen, where he found Conor and Maren, each standing on a chair, with Crow in between them. He was teaching them how to cut a roast.

“Crow, I brought you a six-pack.” Hayden held it up and waited for Crow to acknowledge him. “I’ll put it in the refrigerator, along with this chocolate cake I brought.”

“Cake?” Maren turned so fast she almost fell off the chair.

“Did I hear cake?” Devorah said as she came into the kitchen.

“Well, now I know the way to yours and Maren’s heart.”

“Mine too,” Crow said casually.

“Right, the Crowleys love chocolate cake. The McKenna men have made a note.”

“All right, everyone,” Crow said. “Grab a seat at the table; I’ll bring everything out.”

Hayden and Conor sat across from Devorah and Maren, leaving the head of the table for Crow, who brought out roast with baby potatoes, maple-glazed carrots, and a garden-fresh salad. Everyone began dishing their plates and commenting about how good everything smelled.

All except for Devorah.

“Everything okay, Devy?” Hayden asked, midspoonful.

“Yeah, I just need a minute.” She excused herself from the table. Everyone was silent until they heard a door shut upstairs.

“Grandpa, should I go check on her?” Maren asked.

“No, you can eat. Your mom just needs a minute,” Crow said.

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