Chapter 27
Three minutes later, when Devyn joined him at the exit, he had his emotions in hand.
He hoped.
After pushing the door open, Aaron waited until she walked through, then followed close behind.
“Much better.” She lifted her face to the sky. Inhaled. “It was getting stuffy in there.”
“The air—and the people.”
Her mouth quirked. “Your words, not mine. But I concur.”
“Shall we claim that bench?” He pointed to one about halfway between the banquet center and the lighthouse that would offer a panoramic vista of the sea.
“Works for me.”
She started down the gravel path, giving the deserted headland a sweep as he fell in beside her. “I’m surprised no one else had this idea.”
“No complaints from me. This kind of beauty is best enjoyed in solitude, or with someone who’s simpatico.” Too personal, Steele. Be careful. “Or someone who enjoys nature.”
“I qualify on that score. I remember coming up here as a child with my dad and Lauren. It felt like being on the top of the world. On a sunny day, the sea sparkled as if it had been strewn with diamonds, and the sapphire sky was dotted with cotton ball clouds. It was always—” She slowed as two seagulls swooped in and landed in front of the bench they’d targeted.
“It appears we aren’t the only ones after that spot. ”
“They may have gotten there first, but we’re bigger.” He continued forward. “Besides, they’ll probably fly off as we get closer.”
They didn’t.
Instead, they waddled several feet away, hunkered down close together, and watched them approach with unblinking eyes.
After skirting around the duo, Devyn lowered herself to the bench, keeping tabs on the pair. “I can’t believe they didn’t take off.”
“They may be used to people if they hang around up here.” He joined her on the bench, maintaining a discreet distance. “They could be hoping for a handout.”
“If that’s the case, they’re out of luck.”
One of gulls cackled and nudged his companion.
“At least they seem to have a sense of humor.” Aaron rested his arm along the back of the bench, his fingers a whisper away from her shoulder. From temptation.
She scanned the view again. “Dad always told us you could see to forever from up here.” There was a wistful note in her inflection.
“It feels like that on a clear day.” He crossed an ankle over his knee.
Since she’d brought up her family, maybe this could be an opportunity to satisfy his curiosity about her enigmatic expression the day she’d treated him and Isabel to breakfast, when she’d told him her mother lived in Paris.
An expression that had suggested there was something missing in their relationship.
Keeping his tone conversational, he took a step onto what could be shaky ground. “Did your mom join you?”
“No. She wasn’t a nature lover.” No hesitation in Devyn’s matter-of-fact response. “She preferred indoor pursuits like art and music and theater. She was also into hair and fashion and makeup.”
“My memory of her is vague, but I do recall she always had an aura of glamour.”
Devyn’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “She’d be happy to hear her efforts to cultivate a polished image worked.”
Which begged another question. One requiring careful setup.
“From what I knew of your dad, he was a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy without an ounce of pretense. He drove a truck his whole life, right?”
“Yes.”
As he paused to frame the question forming in his mind, Devyn saved him the trouble. “You’re wondering how they ended up together.”
“It does seem like a curious pairing.”
“It was. My sister thinks Mom viewed Dad as a ticket out of a bad family situation. I assume Dad was dazzled by her style and charm and the sophistication she worked hard to hone. I expect his image of her may have tarnished through the years, but Lauren says he never stopped loving her.”
“I imagine it would be hard to sustain a marriage long distance. Your mom went with you to San Francisco and New York, didn’t she?”
“Yes. It was supposed to be a six-year deal. The agreement was that she’d return home when I turned eighteen.
But while she was working as a concierge in New York, she met one of the regular hotel guests from France—who happened to be an executive with a global luxury goods company.
Instead of coming back to Hope Harbor when my eighteenth birthday rolled around, she filed for divorce. A year later, she married Philippe.”
Paris address explained.
“That had to be hard on your dad.”
“I’m sure it was. And it wasn’t a bed of roses for Lauren all those years, either.
Not only did she have an absentee mother, but Dad worked weekend delivery jobs to help pay my ballet-related bills.
My career took a toll on both of them. Mom walking out was the final blow.
” She sighed. “During this visit, Lauren’s shared quite a few details about their life here.
Grateful as I am for my success, I’m beginning to wonder if it was worth the price they paid. ”
Aaron’s throat tightened.
Guilt was a burden that could weigh you down, and hers was undeserved.
“You aren’t responsible for the choices your mother made, nor for the choices made on your behalf as a child. And guilt can be a curse.”
She studied him. “Based on that comment, I’m guessing you struggle with guilt too.”
It was a comment, not a question. One he could brush off if he chose.
But she’d been upfront with him. It seemed fair to reciprocate.
“Most of my guilt is related to Isabel.” He clenched his fist in his lap.
“My wife and I were committed to honoring our vows, but I worry that Isabel may have picked up on the tension between us, despite our efforts to hide it in her presence. Gramp certainly did, though I didn’t find that out until after the fact. ”
“Children do seem to be far more adept at tuning in to nuances than we sometimes give them credit for, but no one could fault you for trying to protect your daughter. That’s admirable.
And I suspect you paid a price for doing that.
Living in a strained relationship day after day would take a toll.
” She wrapped her arms around herself as the breeze picked up and the temperature began its evening dip.
She was getting chilly.
But he wasn’t yet ready for this interlude to end.
He shrugged out of his tux jacket. Draped it over her shoulders. “Better?”
“Much.” She snuggled into the folds. “But won’t you be cold?”
While sitting next to a beautiful woman who kicked his pulse into high gear?
Was she kidding?
“No.” Best to leave it at that.
Yet she’d given him an opening to talk about his relationship struggles, and maybe he should take it. Because despite their recent acquaintance, his gut said he could trust this woman with his secrets.
He watched a pelican sail past overhead, its oversize orange beak vibrant against the fading, end-of-day blue sky, and made his decision.
“Following up on your last comment, yeah, there were some tough years. To be honest, with the twenty/twenty vision of hindsight, I see now the marriage was a mistake from day one.”
“Did you know each other long before you got serious?”
“Long enough. She was an Oregon native too, from Bend. We met in college in Eugene and married the summer after graduation.”
“And moved here?”
“No. To Coos Bay, where we had both gotten jobs. She came from a blue-collar family like I did, and she had her sights set on a corporate career. I did too, in those days. Dad worked in the mill all his life, and I knew he wanted more for me than that.”
She scrutinized. “Did you want more?”
No surprise that his sharp, discerning date had drilled straight to the heart of the matter.
“I thought I did, but looking back, I think I went to college more to please Dad than because I had any great ambition to join the world of movers and shakers. I didn’t want to disappoint him, so I stuck with the corporate gig even though I quickly discovered an office job wasn’t a good fit.
Olivia, on the other hand, thrived in the corporate setting.
And she had ambition enough for both of us. ”
Devyn snuggled deeper into his jacket. “What made you decide to shake things up by going back to the mill?”
“Isabel. After she came along, I convinced Olivia to move back here, even though it was a much longer commute to work. I thought it would be helpful to have family close by, but I still hated how little time or energy either of us had for her. Accommodating as Dad and Gramp were, I felt guilty for passing so many duties on to them. After a couple of years, I took the supervisor position at the mill. I wanted one of us to have a less demanding job that didn’t require travel.
But Olivia thought the job was beneath me. ”
“Did you think that?”
“No. I love mill work, but it became a huge point of contention in our marriage. I guess I’d never fully understood how important the trappings of success were to her, or—in all honesty—how unimportant they were to me.
It was a bad situation all around. We both ended up having different priorities and wanting different things.
If it hadn’t been for Isabel, I doubt we’d have stayed together. ”
Devyn’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry you had such a rough go of it, Aaron.” Empathy emanated from her, taking the slight chill out of the air around him.
“Me too. But everything ended well on the job front, at least. In fact, I had an interesting offer this week.”
As the words spilled out of his mouth, he frowned. No one except Gramp knew about Martin’s proposal. Why had he told Devyn?
It took him only a millisecond to nail the answer.
Much as he loved his work and was content with his career path, others might not be as impressed. And he wanted Devyn to be impressed. To understand that a mill job didn’t necessarily involve grunt work, as his wife had called it, and sawdust.
“Now I’m intrigued.” She angled toward him, looking adorable in the oversize jacket that emphasized her petite frame.
Focus, Steele.
“This, uh, isn’t public knowledge, so please keep it to yourself.”
“Of course.”
She listened as he told her about Martin’s offer and what it would entail.
“That sounds like a fabulous opportunity.” Her face lit up. “Are you going to take it?”
“I’m leaning that direction. I plan to give Martin my answer on Monday.”
All at once, the two seagulls stood. Looked at each other. Then, in a flutter of wings, they took off and soared toward the sea.
Aaron exhaled.
They should probably leave too.
In another time and place, he’d suggest a stroll farther out on the headland, past the lighthouse, where the view of the setting sun would be even more spectacular. He’d take Devyn’s hand, steal a kiss, and dream about tomorrow.
But there was no tomorrow for them, and starting something they couldn’t finish would be a mistake.
He curbed his disappointment and pasted on a smile. “Shall we call it an evening? Unless you want to go back inside and resume the conversation with your tablemate.”
She wrinkled her nose. “No, thanks.”
They stood, and he fell in beside her as they strolled to his car.
The drive to her house was short, the conversation confined to chitchat, and once there, he parked, circled the car, and opened her door.
She slid out and stood. “Thanks for a lovely evening.”
“I wish we’d had more of a chance to talk during dinner.”
“We made up for it afterward.” As their gazes connected . . . locked . . . his pulse stumbled.
Man, she was beautiful—in face and heart.
And he wanted to kiss her so bad he could almost taste it.
Especially after her eyes filled with yearning and softened in invitation.
After she swayed toward him.
After she moistened her lips and swallowed.
He gritted his teeth.
No.
He would honor the ground rules they’d set and—
All at once, she rose on tiptoe, slipped her arms around his neck, and gave a gentle tug.
Shock rippled through him.
She wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her.
A red alert began to beep in his mind. Loud. Louder.
Muting it, he succumbed to temptation and leaned down until their lips met. Melded.
Sweetness engulfed him, shutting out everything except the woman in his arms who kissed with a passion that could turn a guy’s brain to mush—and steal his heart.
The full-out, all-in lip-lock went on and on.
Finally, with a gasp, she broke contact and backed off, her chest heaving.
Then she spun around, fled to the house, and disappeared inside.
Leaving him groping for the support of the car, breathing hard, wanting more—and wondering where they were supposed to go from here.