Page 29 of This Is Who I Am

“No. You’re not disturbing me at all.” I quickly close my notebook and send her a smile. I could do with some small talk, some light conversation to ease my nerves—because I am nervous. What if Cass changed her mind after all my confusing antics? “Join me?”

“I’d love to.” Devon sends me a sly grin. “I need to keep an eye on the women my wife is teaching how to surf, especially hot newcomers.”

A loud chuckle escapes me. “First of all, I’m not exactly new to town, and well, hot is debatable, so I’ll stay out of that.”

If anything, Devon is smoking hot, what with her sun-kissed skin and high cheekbones. I don’t care much for tattoos, but that sleeve on her arm is a true eye-catcher. No wonder Sadie Ireland married her. They’re the sort of couple that makes you believe in love again, even when you’re trying your hardest not to.

“Are you taking Sadie’s lesson later?”

“No, um, not this week.” I clear my throat. “I’ll be back next week for sure.”

“Good.” Devon nods while she pushes a ginger strand of hair away from her face. “I think every middle-aged woman should learn how to surf, not only for the physical health benefits, but even more so for the mental ones.” When she flashes me a bright wide smile, faint laughter lines are visible around the corners of her mouth. “Although my sister-in-law wholeheartedly disagrees with me on that and she calls me completely biased when it comes to all things surfing.”

“The learning curve is quite steep,” I say.

“Anything really worth learning should have a degree of difficulty. If you could just grab a board, take to the water, and glide on a wave, where would be the satisfaction in that?”

“Oh my god, that would be so fucking satisfying,” I blurt out.

“You say that now, but it’s not really true.” Devon’s very matter-of-fact about this.

A server stops by to bring us some water.

“Any particular reason you’re not surfing tonight? The weather’s great for it and the waves are perfect.”

“Um, yeah.” An inadvertent smile tugs at my lips. “I have a date. Here. Later.”

Devon grins at me. “That’s an excellent reason to skip surfing with my wife.” She flashes me a grin. “Anyone I know?”

“Cass.”

“Cass from Savor?”

I nod, butterflies doing something untoward in my stomach.

“Right.” It’s hard to read Devon’s face. “Cass, huh?” Her head seems stuck between a shake and a nod. “Okay.” She takes a sip of water. “How did that come about, if I may be so curious?”

News of our date will be all over town in no time, I imagine. Not an issue for me, but I can’t be sure how Cass feels about that, what with her actually living here.

“I, um, got a little too addicted to her food and kept showing up at Savor. We got talking and…” I open my hands as if I’ve just given Devon a precise lowdown despite leaving out about ninety percent of the details. “Here we are.”

“I know Cass well,” Devon says. “Her best friend, Suzy, isn’t just my sister-in-law, we also work together.”

“Oh, what do you do?”

“I’m a life coach. Suzy focuses more on menopause consulting now, which doesn’t make her less of a life coach. On the contrary, I would say.”

“A life coach, huh?” My life could do with some coaching right about now. “So you have all the wisdom?”

Devon shakes her head. “No, but I’ve worked on myself a lot, I’ve helped a ton of clients, and I’ve studied my ass off, so… I do know a thing or two.” She leans forward. “Mostly, it’s about listening, though. Most women just need to be heard.” She leans back in silence, as though she’s ready to hear whatever I have to say. A gull lands on the railing beside us, head cocked as if it too is waiting for what I say next.

Maybe she has a sixth sense as a life coach, maybe her experience listening to so many women has helped her recognize a woman struggling with something.

I consider Devon’s words. I don’t doubt that most women need to be heard, but talking doesn’t always come easy to me. I try regardless.

“I came back to Clearwater Bay because I burned out,” I say, sort of surprising myself. “My dad died a few months ago and I tried to go back to work afterward, but it was suddenly all too much and I couldn’t care about work as much as I did before. As when he was still alive.”

“That’s a hell of a one-two punch,” Devon says.

---