Chapter 28
Oh. My. Word.
What had she just done?
Cheeks flaming, heart hammering, Devyn locked Lauren’s front door and leaned back against it.
After their frank discussion about the attraction between them and their agreement to keep tonight’s date light and casual, how could she have kissed Aaron?
Not a simple, fleeting brush of the lips, either. Oh no. She’d gone full tilt.
And so had Aaron, once he’d gotten over his initial shock.
Nevertheless, her impetuous move had been a huge faux pas—even if she’d enjoyed every single second of it.
She waved a hand in front of her face.
Wow, could that man kiss.
Thankfully she’d come to her senses and backed off—but scampering into the house like a scared rabbit hadn’t been her finest moment.
The heat on her cheeks intensified.
How on earth was she supposed to—
“Devyn? Is that you?” Lauren wandered in from the hall in her sleepshirt, yawning. “I was hoping you’d get back before I fell asleep so I could hear how it—” She came to an abrupt halt, eyes widening, all traces of drowsiness vanishing. “He kissed you, didn’t he?”
Her sister’s intuitive powers were almost scary.
“Not quite.”
Lauren’s brow scrunched. “He tried to kiss you and you told him to back off?”
“No. It’s worse than that.” She pushed off from the door. Swallowed. “I kissed him.”
Her sister’s jaw dropped. Snapped closed. “What happened to your agreement to stay hands-off?”
“I guess I got a little carried away.”
Lauren snorted. “I guess you did. Did he kiss you back?”
Oh yeah.
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s an incomplete answer.” Lauren folded her arms and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “Dish, girl.”
Devyn tightened her grip on her clutch purse. “Let’s just say I don’t think he minded that I broke our rule about no contact. At least not in the moment. I’m not sure how he’ll feel about it later.”
“How do you feel?”
“Embarrassed. I have no idea what I’ll say to him next time we meet.”
“You’re missing my point. Let me rephrase. How do you feel about how you feel about him?”
Devyn shifted her weight. “That’s a convoluted question.”
Her sister skewered her with a shrewd look. “And that’s a dodge. So I’ll ask a different question. What are you going to do about how you feel about him?”
“I don’t know yet—and until I do, I think the safest strategy is to avoid him.” She squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Maybe I’ll text him an apology. That would be less awkward.”
“Your avoidance tactic may not work if he shows up at rehearsals.”
Like she didn’t know that.
“He may keep his distance while he regroups too. He’s no more interested in getting involved than I am. He probably regrets kissing me back.”
“Do you regret the kiss?”
It was hard to feel sorry about a world-class kiss that would linger in her memory long after she returned to her life in New York.
“I regret the complications and awkwardness it will create.”
“Another dodge—which is telling.”
Devyn mashed her lips together.
She was done talking.
Apparently Lauren got that message, because she straightened up from the wall.
“You may be worrying for nothing. It’s possible Aaron will write it off as an aberration induced by all the romantic vibes at the wedding.
But I’ll tell you this. If the look on your face when I walked in is any indication, you’re on the verge of falling head over heels.
And I’ll tell you something else. You could do worse than Aaron.
He’s the real deal. Sleep well.” With that, she turned around and retraced her steps down the hall.
Devyn remained where she was as quiet descended in the house, if not in her heart.
But while her brain was muddled, she did know one thing.
Until she figured out what to do about the handsome lumberman father who exuded integrity and kissed like a leading man, she would not be sleeping well.
Martin was calling.
As her husband’s name flashed on the screen, Diane stared at her phone. Set it on the table beside her at Frank’s pizza place. Let the call roll.
Maybe he was ready to tell her about the changes he’d been making in his life since he’d visited her three weeks ago, but this wasn’t the time for that conversation. Not in the middle of a dinner date with Lauren.
A voicemail alert popped up on her screen.
He’d left her a message.
Should she play it back now or wait until—
“Sorry.” Lauren slipped onto the bench across from her in the booth they were sharing. “There was a line at the ladies room. No sign of our pizza yet?”
“No.”
“It’s crowded here for a Monday night.” She glanced around the packed eatery. “People must be getting an early start on their Fourth of July celebrations for tomorrow.”
“Could be.”
Lauren squinted at her. “You have an odd expression. What’s up?”
She straightened her knife.
The two of them were new friends, but they’d connected from the get-go.
And she’d filled Lauren in on Martin’s trip to Texas and the other details she’d gleaned about his recent activities.
Lauren also had firsthand experience with a breakup.
What could it hurt to get her take on this new development?
“Martin called while you were gone.”
Lauren blinked. “Seriously? What did he say?”
“I let it roll. But he left a voicemail.”
“Did you play it back?”
“Not yet.”
“If you want to, feel free. You have to be curious.”
“Are you certain you don’t mind?”
“Have at it.” Lauren waved a hand toward the phone.
Diane reached for it. Took a fortifying breath. Tapped the screen and put the cell to her ear.
“Hi, Diane. It’s Martin. I was hoping you’d consider meeting me for lunch next week. Any day is fine. There’s a French café not far from the library, and I promise not to keep you for more than an hour. If you text me a day and time, I’ll be there. I’d really like to talk to you. Please come.”
Martin was willing to drive up to Coos Bay to have lunch with her on any workday of her choosing, despite whatever might be going on at the mill?
That was out of pattern. As far as she knew, he’d worked through lunch since he’d taken the helm at the mill. Dinner too, many days.
She set her phone down and relayed the message to Lauren.
“Are you going to go?” Her dining companion moved her water glass aside to create space for the pizza as the waiter approached.
“I don’t know.” She spread her napkin on her lap. “What do you think?”
Lauren helped herself to a piece of pizza. “From everything you’ve told me about what he’s been doing since you left, it sounds like he’s making some positive changes. You may want to listen to what he has to say.”
“Lucas told me the same thing.” She took a slice of pizza too.
“An apology plus a sincere effort to change is admirable.”
“If it lasts.”
“Do you have any reason to think it won’t? I mean, I know you two have had a rough stretch, but has he ever gone back on his word or lied to you or done anything to suggest he’s untrustworthy?”
“Not in the sense you mean. But over the years he became hard-nosed and dictatorial and impatient. He gave me plenty of material gifts, but those didn’t compensate for his dismissive behavior.
Sometimes he was actually demeaning. It’s not easy to live with a man who isn’t always civil or who relegates you to a distant second place. ”
“I assume he wasn’t like that in the beginning.”
“No. Just the opposite. He worked hard at the mill, but he made time for us. We had fun together, and he was always kind and thoughtful. He remembered our anniversaries and told me he loved me, and he showed up for Lucas’s school events. Then, almost overnight, he changed.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Whenever I tried to talk to him about it through the years, he shut down.
” Frowning, she picked up a stray mushroom and put it back on the pizza, where it belonged.
“But the day he came to see me at Anna’s a month ago, he did say he was dealing with a lot of stress when he took over the mill. That he’d inherited problems.”
“Do you think he was being truthful, or was that just an excuse? I heard a ton of those in my own marriage.” Lauren’s features hardened.
“My instincts tell me he was being honest.”
“In that case, if you want to try to save your marriage, I don’t see why you shouldn’t meet him. It’s a defined period—your lunch hour—which is helpful if it doesn’t go well. All he asked you to do was listen, so you’re not on the hook to commit to anything. What do you have to lose?”
She sighed. “The truth? My resolve. I’d like to believe we can overcome our issues, and Martin can be charming and persuasive, so I’m afraid I might weaken. But I don’t want to make a rash decision.”
“It’s not like you have to go back tomorrow, though. You can take all the time you need to be certain. But personally, I’d give a sincere guy who was trying hard to win me back a second chance. Who knows? There could be a happy ending to your story.”
Unlike the ending to her own.
Throat tightening, Diane reached across the table and touched Lauren’s hand. “I’m sorry yours didn’t have one.”
Her lips kinked. “To be honest, ours didn’t even have a happy beginning.
It took me a long time to realize that, but I finally saw the light.
And I know I’m better off without Dennis.
” Then her mouth tipped up into a genuine smile.
“However, my story with Devyn did have a happy ending, and I’d much rather have a faithful sister than a cheating husband.
Plus, I have a new friend—who may have a bit less time for me if she goes back to her husband, but who will hopefully stay in touch. ”