Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Lunch ran long–much longer than Devin had expected–and then MacKenzie came back to the shop and announced she was going out for a girls’ night.
Apparently Ashlynn and Avery had called a bunch of their friends and they were all getting together at someone’s house and having a variety of charcuterie boards and wine.
What the hell was a variety of charcuterie boards?
He knew this was a good thing and exactly what he was trying to talk himself into arranging last night, but now that it was happening, it felt weird.
And what was worse, she asked if he minded.
As in asking his permission.
What was he supposed to say? Part of him actually did mind–he looked forward to their dinners together and just having some quiet time back at his house.
He genuinely enjoyed hearing her talk about everyone she met and her thoughts on their personalities or whatever quirks she’d noticed.
It was kind of cool getting her point of view of the people he’d known his entire life.
Most of the time she was spot-on and he found that mildly fascinating.
Who was he kidding? He felt that way about pretty much everything about her. But he had to say their after-work conversations were his favorite part of the day. And even though he tended to head to his room early, it wasn’t because he actually wanted to. It was self-preservation.
And after last night’s kiss, he would need to keep on doing it.
Dammit.
If she stayed with him for much longer, Devin was going to have to just start skipping dinner altogether or eating in his room.
The shop was closed and everything was quiet. Ashlynn had stopped by and picked up MacKenzie about thirty minutes ago and claimed they were going to go to the grocery store and grab stuff for their…charcuterie.
Just thinking about it made him roll his eyes.
Still…the garage was closed, the guys had all gone home, and…he didn’t know what to do with himself. It was ridiculous considering that up until a week ago, he went home after work every night without a problem, and now suddenly it seemed out of the ordinary.
“Okay, enough,” he chided himself as he grabbed his keys.
“It’s time to go home and that’s all there is to it.
Now I can sit and eat dinner in front of the TV and enjoy some peace and quiet.
I don’t have to excuse myself and go to my room because I’m a grown man and there’s no one there to make me leave. ”
Yeah, that sounded completely lame, but at least he was finally walking out the door and locking up the shop for the night.
The plan was to make some sort of chicken dish for dinner–something MacKenzie was going to make–so now Devin figured he was going to have to stop at the grocery store and get something for himself.
“Nope,” he stated firmly as he climbed into his truck. “I’m not cooking. I’m getting a pizza and possibly eating it all myself.” Feeling good about that decision, he immediately called in his order and slowly made his way across town to pick it up.
All eyes immediately turned to him as soon as he stepped inside the pizzeria.
“Um…”
“Hey, Devin!” Tommy Mina, the owner, called out. “Didn’t expect to see you here tonight!”
Cautiously, he stepped closer to the counter. “How come?”
“Figured you’d be home with MacKenzie,” he replied with a grin. “Word around town is the two of you are living together.” Then he winked. “Or are you just bringing home dinner for the two of you?”
“Uh…we’re not living together,” he said with a hint of defensiveness. “We’re just…”
“Tommy! Knock it off!” This came from Nancy–Tommy’s wife.
“Devin’s on his own tonight. I heard there’s a big girls’ night thing going on over at Billie Donovans.
She was in here a little while ago picking up a couple of pies.
” She gave Devin a sympathetic smile. “So you’re on your own tonight, huh? ”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a long breath before smiling politely. “I am. I was in the mood for some pizza and I’m going to go home and binge something and just relax.” He glanced around. “Is my order ready?”
Nancy gave him a knowing grin. “Sure. Hang on a sec and I’ll ring you up.”
Five minutes later, he was back in his truck and swore that it didn’t matter if he wanted or needed anything else, he was going straight home.
Which he did.
At home, he was torn between taking his shower before or after he ate, and ultimately opted to do it first. He’d have to reheat his pizza, but it would be worth it.
Which it was.
By the time he was sitting on his couch with his piping hot dinner in front of him, he felt completely relaxed.
Yeah. This was exactly the kind of night he loved.
Flipping on the TV, he pulled up one of his favorite true crime docuseries and made himself comfortable.
And for an hour, it was total bliss. And just when he tossed the crust back into the box from his fifth slice, his phone rang.
Smiling, he reached for it. “Hey, Mom! This is a surprise! Isn’t it like…three in the morning where you are?”
Diane Maxwell gave a soft laugh. “It is, but I couldn’t sleep and I thought I’d check in on you.”
“I would think with all the roughing it you and Dad are doing in Africa that you’d sleep like a baby. Tough day?”
“Not really. We’ve got a good system here with the clinic and I think we’ll be back in the states in three months. Maybe four.”
“Wow! That’s great!” Reaching for his glass of sweet tea, he took a sip before asking. “So then, why are you up at three a.m.?”
“Because my phone has been blowing up all day with friends telling me about all the news in Sweetbriar Ridge.” She paused. “Anything you want to share with me?”
Groaning, Devin’s head lolled back against the cushions. “Um…”
“You’ve got a woman who you picked up on the side of the road staying with you?” she mildly accused. “What on earth has gotten into you?”
“I’ve got the Maxwell do-gooder gene running through me,” he countered. “I was driving home in a bad storm and MacKenzie was stuck on the side of the road in the middle of that deserted stretch of 81. There was no way I could just drive by without stopping and lending a hand.”
“And that’s very commendable of you, but you could have just had the car towed to the shop and sent her to a hotel. I get that you’ve got a good heart, but you really need to be more cautious.”
So he explained about the reunion, the festival–which she was already aware of–and the fact that all the hotels and B&Bs in the area were booked solid. “If you were me, Mom, what would you have done?”
A sigh was her first response, followed by, “I would have given her a place to stay,” she murmured. “But you have to realize you’ve set tongues wagging all over town! This is slightly out of character for you.”
“I know, but…”
“You have shown no interest in a woman in far too long, and from what I’m hearing, you’re positively smitten with this girl.”
“I wouldn’t say smitten…”
“Devin?”
“Hmm?”
“Is she a nice person?” she asked with motherly concern.
“She is. Possibly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. And…I don’t know. There’s just something about her that I’m drawn to. She’s really had a run of bad luck and I guess…I just…”
“You always did look out for anyone who was down on their luck.”
“Believe me, MacKenzie is most definitely down on her luck.”
“Where is she now? I can’t imagine you’d be speaking this freely if she were sitting right there with you.”
“Oh, um…Ashlynn Donovan and Avery Hudson sort of took her under their wings and invited her out for a girls’ night.” He shook his head. “It’s kind of nice that people are reaching out and befriending her.”
“Especially if she’s considering staying.”
Yeah, he wasn’t about to get into that right now. Instead, he changed the subject. “So tell me what’s new with the clinic!”
“So…wait…they were doing it on the dining room table?” Ashlynn asked with wide-eyed disbelief.
MacKenzie nodded. “Yup. That table used to belong to my Nana, but there was no way I was ever going to take it with me, because…” She shuddered dramatically.
“I’m not sure which part of that offends me more,” Avery pondered. “The cheating or the cheating explicitly on top of your grandmother’s table! I mean…some things you just don’t do.”
“Absolutely,” Billie Donovan agreed as she reached for her wineglass. “I hate that you had to deal with that, but I’m so glad that you knew it was time to go. Some people stay way too long and make far too many excuses for a boyfriend’s bad behavior.”
“The thing is, Kevin and I were done so long ago, but neither of us actually bothered to move out.” She shrugged. “I know that makes me sound pathetic, but…”
“Not pathetic,” Chloe Donovan–Ashlynn’s twin sister–commented. “I’m sure you had your reasons. Everything’s so expensive now, it probably just made sense to stay where you were.”
“We weren’t sleeping in the same room or anything,” she explained. “He got the couch.”
“Good for you,” Jade–who was engaged to Ashlynn’s brother Levi–said. “But I kind of feel that may be why he used the dining room table…”
MacKenzie couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe!”
There were eight of them hanging out in Billie’s living room.
There was music playing softly in the background, the wine was flowing, and the whole charcuterie thing covered most of the kitchen.
There were all kinds of Italian meats and cheeses, olives, vegetables, crackers, cheese spreads, pickles, and then desserts.
Speaking of…
MacKenzie reached for a double fudge cake pop. “Have I mentioned how much I love everything you bake?” she asked Billie with a huge grin. “Seriously, I would willingly forgo eating a balanced meal if I could just have any of the cakes you bake!”
Everyone laughed and began discussing their favorite treats from Books & Beans before the conversation turned toward other favorite foods. And the entire time, they were all refilling their plates with yummy things from the charcuterie table.