Page 68 of Sea Glass and Second Chances (Carolina Cove 3)

ChapterTwelve

They didn’t go to dinner.

After Oz’s comment, Devon decided she was too tired to eat and insisted on walking home—alone.

Now Oz sat at the bar inside of Eddie’s, the plate in front of him mostly untouched.

“Tell me it’s not happening again,” Michael said from behind before clamping a hand down on Oz’s shoulder. “You look like you’d crawl into that drink if you could.”

Oz huffed and twisted his head to see Michael taking the stool beside him. Eddie’s was a small mom-and-pop restaurant with the best Italian food for miles. The key word, however, was small, and the noise level of the many families squeezed into booths and around tables was giving Oz a headache. Or maybe it was the fact he’d never stopped loving a woman he apparently couldn’t have. “I’m fine.”

“Keep repeating it and maybe it’ll be true,” his buddy said. “So rumor has it you left this evening with a certain gorgeous woman but then she was seen returning home alone soon after. Did you have a fight?”

Sometimes living in a fishbowl sucked. This was one of those times. “Dara lectured Dev and warned her off of hurting me again.”

“And you told her it was impossible because you never actually got over her in the first place?”

“Is there a reason you’re spoiling my dinner?” Oz asked.

The bartender stopped by and asked if she could get Michael anything, and he placed an order for a drink.

“So you’re staying,” Oz mused, thinking he ought to ask for a box and take his food to go.

“Can’t leave my best friend sitting alone looking like his dog died. So what’d Dev say when you talked to her?”

“You really want to sit here and gossip like teenage girls?” Oz asked.

“You got anything better to do?”

He should be writing. Researching. Cleaning, for that matter, since his house had started taking on what he called a “deadline” look. He kept meaning to hire someone to come in once a month at least, but he hadn’t gotten around to it. “Devon says nothing’s changed. She’s looking for a new job—and involved with Ted. Practically married.”

“That still gives you some time to woo her.”

Oz drew back and shot his friend an amused glance. “Woo? Do you know what that means?”

“Here you go,” the bartender said, bringing Michael his drink.

Michael thanked her, and the moment she walked away, he glared at Oz.

“Yeah, I know what it means. Look, you’re getting a second chance here.”

“She’s engaged. She might not have the ring on at the moment but she’ll wear it once she’s back in New York. You know it’s true.”

“He’s the wrong guy. Maybe she thinks nothing’s changed, but is that really true? We see the path in front of her even if she’s blind to it.”

“You’re sounding surprisingly philosophical.”

“Then be grateful I’m sharing my wisdom with you.”

“You’re insane.”

“Okay, fine. But the ladies at my work are good examples. Most all of them were single up until they approached thirty, and then they started dropping like flies. Dev is thirty-five, and you can’t tell me she isn’t thinking time is running out for her. Maybe that’s why she’s holding on to this guy so tight, even though he’s wrong for her.”

“I have no control over her walking down the aisle to another man.”

“You have more than you think,” Michael countered. “Look, you can’t tell me that in all the years of living in that house, Devon didn’t hear things. See things. What if, subconsciously anyway, she saw the way Richard treated her mom. What if she thinks that’s normal?”

“That’s a lot of what-ifs,” Oz said, pondering his friend’s words. Could it be true? “And I have a book due that I need to work on. I should get home.”

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