"You're smitten."
Don snorted as he joined them. "Smitten, Lyd?"
"Well, he is," Lydia said defensively.
"You've made the boy blush."
"As is my right."
"Enough, both of you." Devon scrubbed his hands over his face. "I can't describe the feelings I have for her. I know I want to be with her—as in, physically in the same room—and I know I feel as if everything clicks when we're together. I like her, care for her . . ."
"You're afraid to admit you love her," Lydia stated.
"I don't know."
"Is it hard because it feels like a betrayal?"
He sighed. "No, Dad. I can see how there's room for me to love what I had with Kathy and still have those same types of feelings for Chloe."
"Is it too soon?"
Devon groaned. "I can't pinpoint it."
"Time," Lydia announced as Hailey pranced into the room.Wasn't that what he'd been trying to tell them?
"Daddy, I'm ready to go!"
"Say goodbye, then," he said, eager to escape the house.
"Bye, Grandma!" Hailey gave Lydia a hug and kiss. "Bye, Grandpa!" Don received the same treatment before Hailey bounded out the door. Devon followed, picking up his keys and wallet on the way.
Hailey chatted as he drove her to the bus stop. They talked about her day at school as they waited for the bus, and he walked her across the street when it arrived. He was happy to head to the shop, to put in a full day's work because they had orders coming in again. He was content with his life, yet it felt awkward for a reason he couldn't name. Something itchy between his shoulder blades that begged the question; should he be happy so soon?
He remembered his therapist's advice to evaluate his feelings and accept them for what they were. If he was content, he shouldn't second guess the reason for it or the validity of it.
Happier, he pulled into the lot and unlocked the door. He flipped on the lights as he walked through his domain and stood behind the counter, looking out the wide windows at the trees blowing in the late winter wind. Caleb would be there soon, as well as Olivia. Lori would be back in a few days and things would change again, but he was looking forward to it. Olivia would stay on to help Lori, something Devon hadn't thought would be possible just a month ago. But with profits rising, he could pay her to stay, and he no longer had to worry about Vince’s salary. Instead of hiring another person for deliveries, he and Caleb had agreed to split them up.
He threw himself into his work. After several hours, he and Caleb were sweating enough to have pulled off their shirts. They worked together to etch a design into a wine cabinet; intricate, delicate work that made Devon's hands cramp. When he stepped away to study his work and wipe his brow with a towel, he spotted Chloe in the doorway between the shop in the back and the reception area up front.
The late afternoon sun streaming in through the front windows framed her perfectly. She’d tucked her body into a red sweater and khaki pants, her hair lit with the sunlight and her eyes locked on his.
Jolted, he came to a stunning realization. This was how it all fit together. Their pieces, all the dynamic parts. They fit so well because he was in love with her. It would have been nice to get a heads up from somewhere, but maybe something had been trying to tell him all along and he'd been blind to it.
He crossed the room and yanked her into his arms, pulling her onto her toes, and covered her mouth with his.
That storm of feeling blew through him, taking his breath. He wondered how people were expected to live with all this emotion filling them up. His life would never be the same as what it was, as what it had been, and that was all because of her. Because they loved each other.
He pulled away to rest his forehead against hers.
"Um, good afternoon." She flexed the fingers gripping his bare shoulders.
"I love you, Chloe. I don't know what I was waiting for, but it's right there."
She laughed. "You know how to set a romantic mood, Devon."
"Sorry." He kissed her to prove he wasn't sorry at all.
"I love you, too, Devon. I have for a very long time, and I'm so happy you caught up to me."
