He drew her into his arms. “Good. That means you’re not too tired to kiss me again.”

  “Haven’t we done enough of that already?”

  The warmth of his gaze surrounded her. Holly got lost in those goldish-brown depths. One of his hands moved to her cheek, caressing it tenderly. “You tell me,” he said, skimming his lips across her cheek to nibble on her ear.

  Holly didn’t have to tell him anything. She was fairly certain he knew exactly how much she liked his kisses.

  * * * * *

  Used to early hours, Devon woke well before sunrise the next morning. Knowing it was pointless to try to go back to sleep, he got up, made the bed, and strolled into the bathroom. Evidence of Holly’s presence was everywhere, from the swimming suit hanging next to his on the towel rack to the bottles of scented body wash and shampoo clearly visible through the glass doors of the shower. All of these things combined to create an atmosphere of intimacy he wished was real.

  He was trying to figure out how to operate Eric and Julie’s ultra-modern coffee maker when he heard a step behind him. He turned to see who it was, and his heart turned over. Holly’s face was pink from sleep and her thin robe did little to hide the signs of her advancing pregnancy, but in Devon’s eyes, she’d never looked more beautiful.

  “You’re up early,” he managed to say in spite of the lump forming in his throat.

  “You, too,” she said, walking over and slipping her arm around his waist.

  Her gesture warmed him as much as her touch. “Did you sleep okay?”

  “You know how it is when you’re in a strange place. You never really fall into a deep sleep.”

  That hadn’t been Devon’s problem. It was hearing her sing in the shower and finding the smiley face she left for him in the condensation on the mirror. “Yes, I do. I think I saw orange juice in the fridge. Would you like some?”

  “Yes, and some toast if it’s not too much trouble.” She walked over to look out the window. “I wake up starved in the mornings. It’s weird. I was never like this before.”

  Devon resisted the temptation to follow her. Kissing her breathless would have to wait. “I’m always like that.” After pouring her a glass of juice, he located the toaster and the bread.

  “I hope Julie won’t mind us taking over her kitchen.”

  “She’d be insulted if we didn’t make ourselves at home. There’s peach preserves and blackberry jelly. It’s seedless, too, which is nice. There’s nothing worse than getting blackberry seeds stuck in your teeth.”

  “I’ll take the blackberry jelly.” She joined him at the oversized island that served as both a breakfast bar and a cooking area. “One of the few memories I have of Monticello, besides the weekly yard sales, was going with my mother to pick blackberries. She would use them to make cobbler which she sold to one of the local restaurants. Mom was always doing things like that to make extra money.”

  “You certainly inherited her work ethic.”

  “Summer says it wears her out just watching me.”

  Devon plucked the toast from the toaster and put it on a plate. “Here you go.”

  “Thank you. What are you going to eat?”

  “I’m in the mood for fried eggs and ham.”

  “Don’t you mean green eggs and ham?”

  He laughed as he cracked eggs on the edge of a bowl. “I loved that book. I made my mother read it to me over and over.”

  “Devon, come here.”

  The semi-urgency in her voice had him dropping the egg, shell and all, into the bowl and running over to where she sat. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  She smiled shakily. “The baby is moving.” Taking his hand, she placed it on her belly.

  At first he couldn’t feel anything except the silkiness of her robe underneath his skin. Then it happened, there was a flutter of movement against his fingers. After a few seconds, he felt it again. “The orange juice must have got her going.”

  “Got her going? Are you buying into Summer’s theory?”

  Devon smiled as he removed his hand. “I’m not sure, but I can’t help thinking how great it would be to have another Holly.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “You say the sweetest things. I’m so lucky to have someone like you in my life.”

  He laughed softly as he brushed away her tears. Then he ran his finger along the line of her nose and the curve of her cheek. “Luck had nothing to do with it. The reason I’m in your life is because of you.”

  It was probably a good thing Julie strolled into the kitchen. Devon had been on the verge of saying things Holly probably wasn’t ready to hear. That didn’t mean he was disappointed with how things were progressing. He wouldn’t soon forget sharing such a powerful moment with her. He loved the baby’s mother; it was only natural that he would love the baby, too. It was something he didn’t even question.

  * * * * *

  Holly listened as Devon described a trip he took to Canada with his father. The actual details of the types of equipment to use when ice fishing went over her head, but it didn’t matter. She was just happy to be with him. For the past hour, her attention had been concentrated on three locations: his handsome profile, the back and forth motion of the windshield wipers, and the fingers lightly caressing her arm.

  She’d been so wrong about everything. She thought she knew what love was, and she thought she was in love with Scott. Neither of those things was true. If not for the man beside her, she might have been satisfied with the fantasy she created in her mind. But not now. His kindness and understanding had opened her eyes to what love could be and begun to heal the heart she’d thought damaged beyond repair.

  Devon had made the last few months some of the happiest of her life. She’d accepted his friendship with no expectations of where it might lead. When their relationship turned romantic, she’d been surprised and pleased, but she hadn’t been looking to fall in love. Not with a baby coming and the whole motherhood thing looming in the near future. She’d mistaken believed that you can’t find what you’re not looking for. Clearly, that theory possessed a fatal flaw.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Devon arrived at Matheny’s a little ahead of the prearranged meeting time with Megan. He was glad of the few weeks interval between her first phone call and today. In that time, he’d made progress in coming to terms with his second marriage. He knew that getting close to Holly had a lot to do with that; she’d helped him understand that just because he felt responsible for what happened didn’t mean he was to blame.

  Because he wanted no secrets between them, Devon told her who he was having breakfast with. She’d taken it much better than his mother, who informed him in her usual outspoken way that he was making a huge mistake. Let sleeping dogs lie, Devon. Since she didn’t know the real reason his marriage to Megan failed, it was logical that she wouldn’t understand why he couldn’t refuse to see Megan now. Devon hadn’t told anyone else and that included Jordan. He wasn’t going to drag his son into this mess again.

  When he walked through the door of the restaurant, the first person he saw was Megan. She was seated a few tables from the entrance, pouring a packet of sugar in her coffee. He should have known he wouldn’t beat her here. She was one of those people who were the first to leave and the last to go.

  The long hair he remembered her brushing every night hung over her shoulders and down her back. Would her dark eyes still be filled with pain? The muscles in his neck and shoulders started to tighten as he got closer to the table. As if she sensed his presence, she looked up suddenly and their eyes met.

  “Hey, Megan,” he said, forcing a smile to his stiff lips. “How are you?”

  She returned his smile with a nervous one of her own. “I’m doing well, Devon. Thanks for coming.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said as he pulled out the chair opposite and sat down.

  She handed him a menu. “I’m hoping the buckwheat pancakes and sausage are as good as I remember.”

  “I hope so, too. I haven’t been here in years.”

  “In view of how we parted, you’re probably wondering why I asked to see you.”

  “You could say that, yes.”

  “It wasn’t my idea. Jeff’s been after me for over a year to do this, but I kept finding reasons to put it off. That was impossible to do once he found out we’d be coming to Columbus for Alice’s wedding.” She glanced down at the table. “I was hoping you’d refuse, but deep down I knew you wouldn’t. It’s not your way to avoid something just because you don’t want to do it.”

  Devon smiled faintly. “Who’s Jeff?”

  A soft glow entered her eyes. “He’s my husband.”

  The waitress arrived with coffee for Devon and to take their order. The interruption gave him a few seconds to digest the fact that Megan had remarried.

  “Congratulations,” he said when they were alone again.

  “Thank you. We’ve been married almost six months. Jeff knows all about you, me and Beth. He’s the one who forced me to explore the motivation behind my actions. When I did, I realized that you didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, you went beyond what most men would have done to save a marriage that was doomed from the beginning.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I know now that you didn’t intentionally hurt me. I brought all of that on myself. That’s what happens when you set unrealistic expectations and don’t accept reality. Now that I have, I feel like a new person, but to be completely free of this burden I’ve carried around all these years, I had to tie up one loose end. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry I hurt you and Jordan, and I hope you can forgive me.”

  Devon sat as if turned to stone, unable to believe what was happening. In the last few minutes, he’d gone from doubt to amazement to relief. “Of course I forgive you, Megan, but forgiveness goes both ways. As someone recently said to me, it’s hardly ever just one person’s fault when a marriage fails. Can you forgive me, too? I made more than my share of mistakes in how I handled things between us.”

  “You weren’t the one who destroyed a decade-long friendship.”

  “You didn’t destroy it. I’ll always think of you as a friend.”

  “You can say that to me after what I put you through?”

  “I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I couldn’t.”

  She dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. “I guess Jordan hates me, and I don’t blame him.”

  “He doesn’t hate you. I won’t lie and say that your leaving didn’t affect him, but he dealt with it as many other kids have to. Sometimes I think children accept things more easily than adults. They don’t waste time dwelling on the past.”

  “Jeff says that sometimes it’s convenient to have a short memory.”

  “He’s right.”

  The waitress arrived with their food. After refreshing their coffee and pointing out the different kinds of syrup, the young woman departed once more. Devon passed the blueberry syrup to Megan.

  “You remembered,” she said, taking it from him.

  “I don’t know anyone else who uses blueberry syrup.”

  “Remember when we stayed at that hotel in Virginia? They had one of those Belgian waffle makers. You and Jordan must have made ten of them.”

  Devon laughed as he spread butter on his stack of pancakes. “The hotel staff got a little upset with us.”

  “A little upset? They asked us to leave.”

  “Which was unreasonable. I offered to pay for the waffles.”

  “Are you still in the army?”

  He nodded. “Going on sixteen years now.”

  “I went back to selling Mary Kay.”

  “Do you have the pink car yet?

  “Not yet. Maybe next year.”

  She opened another packet of sugar and dumped it in her coffee. “I’ve been dreading this day for so long.”

  “Thanks a lot,” he interjected.

  “Not because of you. I’m ashamed at how I treated you. I didn’t want to face you again.”

  “It wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “No, but then again, you never were one to hold a grudge.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, the issue is closed.”

  Megan’s phone beeped. She glanced at the screen and smiled. “Jeff wants to know how things are going.”

  Devon laughed as he reached for the bill. “Is he waiting nearby ready to step in if necessary?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Because that’s what I’d be doing.”

  Megan pushed back from the table. “Thanks again for meeting me.”

  “It was a good thing for both of us.”

  As he made his way back to his truck, Devon felt as if he’d tied up his own loose end. Megan wasn’t the only one who’d been carrying around a burden for the last few years.

  * * * * *

  Holly stared at the columns of numbers, willing the figures to magically add up. She’d been working on the monthly sales report for nearly an hour, a task that normally took less than twenty minutes. The reason for her difficulty wasn’t a mystery. Holly knew why she couldn’t concentrate and why her stomach was tied in knots.

  Her eyes slid from the spreadsheet to the right hand corner of the computer screen where the time was displayed. Nine-fifteen. Devon’s meeting with Megan was at eight. What was taking so long? And why would Megan want to see him anyway? The only reason that made any sense was the one Holly had tried so hard not to think about.

  Devon had referred to Megan as his biggest regret. What would he do if he was offered a chance to right what he considered to be a wrong?

  “A penny for them,” a deep voice said quietly from across the room.

  Her head jerked up. “You’re here,” she said unnecessarily.

  He smiled faintly. “Yes, I am. Can I come in?”

  Holly scrambled to her feet as fast as her pregnant body would allow. “Yes! Of course.” She waved a hand. “Have a seat. I didn’t expect to see you until later.”

  Devon didn’t sit down. He came around the desk and pulled her into his arms. One hand settled at her waist; the other reached up to stroke her hair. “I couldn’t wait ‘til later.” Then his head bent toward her. The touch of his mouth on hers was such sweet relief after the turmoil of the past twenty-four hours. She let her hands caress the breadth of his shoulders before moving to the nape of his neck. He murmured something against her mouth and then slowly drew back. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  “Not at all.” She smoothed down the collar of his shirt. “How was it?”

  “Amazing. As always.”

  Meeting Megan was amazing? Had she heard that right? “What?”

  “Kissing you.” He caught her fingers and brought them to his lips. “It was amazing.”

  “Yes, it was, but I was actually referring to your breakfast meeting.”

  “Oh! Well, I guess the best word for that would be validating.”

  “That’s an interesting way of describing it.”

  “Do you have a few minutes? I’ll tell you about it.”

  At this particular moment, there was nothing she wanted to know more. “I have time. Do you want to sit down?”

  He sent her a wide-toothed grin. “Sure.” Devon deftly switched their positions, sat down in her chair and pulled her on his lap. “Isn’t this better than me sitting over there?”

  “Much better.”

  “The short version of the story is this. Megan is married. She wanted to see me in order to apologize. We made our peace and went our separate ways.”

  “I can’t believe it.”

  “I couldn’t, either. I had gone through what I thought were all the possible scenarios, but I never thought of that one.”

  “Why was it validating?”

  “It told me that I had already begun to forgive myself before she admitted her part in the ending of our marriage. And you, Holly Berry, are the one who got that process started. Talking to someone who could look at the situation from the outside made a big difference.”

  “I’m glad I could help. I know how it feels to be alone in a difficult situation. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

  “You don’t have to feel alone anymore. You have me now.”

  His words brought tears to her eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him softly. “You’re the one who’s too good to be true.”

  Violet stepped through the door and came to an abrupt halt, her pale cheeks flooding with color. “I didn’t realize you were…busy. I can come back later.”

  As much as she hated the interruption, Holly couldn’t help feeling sorry for Violet. The poor girl looked as if she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. “It’s okay. What’s up?”

  Still looking uncomfortable, Violet said, “There’s a lady out here asking for you. She talked to you yesterday about some wooden chairs.”

  “Tell her I’ll be right there.”

  With a quick nod, Violet made her escape.

  Holly looked at Devon and sighed. “Duty calls.”

  He lifted her off his lap. “Sad, but true. Someone told me your birthday is coming up. How come I’m just hearing about that?”

  “I’ve had other things on my mind. Did Summer text you?”

  “I never divulge my sources.”

  Holly laughed as she walked around the desk. “We’ll see about that.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he said, following her. “Come over when you get off work. We’ve got some birthday plans to make.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Devon was prepping the chicken for its trip to the grill when his mother walked in. “Hey, Mom. How was your book club meeting this afternoon?”

  “Very interesting. The discussions are always more lively when we’re reading Daniel Silva.”

  “Which tells me nothing at all.”

  “Here’s a name you’ll recognize,” she said, putting her purse and a gift bag on the counter. “Jordan called me yesterday. It sounds like he’s having a great time with Eric and Julie.”

  “We definitely miss him more than he misses us.”

  “What are you serving with that chicken?”

  “Mashed potato casserole, coleslaw and peanut butter pie.”

 

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