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 thoughtit 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.”
“Didyouthink 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—howunimportant 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.
