Page 84 of The Art Of Starting Over

“I plan on it.”

Hayden finished his beer, downed his water, and waited for Devorah to come out from the back room. When she emerged, he slid off the stool, tossed a twenty down onto the counter, and waited for her.

Outside, they fell into step as they walked toward Crow’s.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a date,” he told her. “Which means it’s a surprise.”

“What should I wear?”

“Clothes?”

Devorah rolled her eyes. “Fancy? Casual? Semicasual?”

“Oh, I see.” He looked down at the jeans he wore. “Maybe wear one of your sundresses? It’s a nice night, and we will be outside.”

“Okay,” she said as they arrived at Crow’s. “And you’re going to sit on the porch?”

He nodded and held up his hand. “Scout’s honor.”

She looked at him oddly. “Were you ever a Boy Scout?”

“Nope, but I promise to sit here until you’re ready.”

“All right, I need thirty. I’ll leave the door open if you need to use the bathroom or something.”

Thirty minutes later, she walked out of the house wearing a blue sundress and white strappy sandals, with her hair loose. Hayden groaned when a small breeze sent her perfume toward him. He had no choice but to put his hands in his pockets to keep them from picking her up and carrying her back into the house.

“We’re walking,” he told her as they took the steps down to the walkway. “It’s not far.”

“Okay. Probably best, since your truck isn’t here, unless you planned to drive my SUV.”

Hayden laughed. “I haven’t seen you drive that since you got here.”

“I do on Sundays, when I go grocery shopping, but other than that, what’s the point? Everything is within walking distance.”

“That’s the nice thing about living in a small town.”

“Oyster Bay isn’t just small, it’s like minute,” she said as they crossed the street and headed toward the docks. “I think we give new meaning to the term ‘small-town coastal living.’”

“I like it,” Hayden said. “I’m glad I came back.”

Devy paused and looked at him. “You know what, me too. On both accounts.”

He ducked his head and smiled, appreciating that she was happy he was back as well. Her return to Chicago still lingered, though. “Really? Not thinking about heading back to Chicago?”

She shook her head. “I told Theo this morning to send the papers to Chad. I’m tired of him controlling my narrative.”

“That’s my girl,” he said as he stepped toward her. Now would be the right time to kiss her and tell her how he felt, but people walking toward them had him stepping back.

They continued on toward their destination, and when the ship came into view, Devy gasped. A long vessel rested against the dock, tethered to the cleats, with white lights strung from the mast toward the land. Soft music played while people lingered on board. Some even danced.

“What is this?”

“This,” Hayden said as he held his hand out for her to take, “is a floating bar. I saw a post about it last week and how it was going to be here and made a reservation.”

“But you only asked me tonight.”

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