One Woman's Heart (Finding Love Book 7), page 4
“It goes along with what we were talking about earlier: trash and treasure. Everyone is different. The best way to find out what someone likes is to listen to them. It takes more time, but that investment in another person pays off in the long run.”
“The problem is most people think they can listen while they’re doing something else.”
“I work with people who think that way, but listening is more than just hearing the words. It’s interpreting those words for inference and meaning.”
“As well as dealing with a situation where you don’t hear what you want to hear.”
Devon laughed. “That’s another subject entirely.”
Holly put her cup on the counter. “It’s also my cue to leave so you can enjoy the rest of your evening. From what I’ve seen, you don’t get much time to yourself.”
“Want some cookies for the road?”
“I really shouldn’t.”
He waved the container of cookies under her nose. “Are you sure? It would be a shame if we had to throw them out. They’re all natural and whole grain. No preservatives or GMO ingredients.”
“You’re not helping the situation.”
“Sorry. I won’t say anything else. I’ll just put them on the counter and step away slowly.”
Holly sighed as she reached into the container and took two cookies. “Happy, now?”
“I was happy before, and nothing has happened to change that.”
“That’s good. I can leave with a clear conscience. Thanks for taking care of the bat.”
As she walked back home, the sense of peace she’d felt while she was with Devon quickly evaporated. All she could think about were the angry words she and Scott exchanged earlier. He’d taken an innocent comment and turned it into something ugly. The argument that ensued escalated to the point where she asked him to leave.
She understood that his job with the Drug Enforcement Agency wasn’t easy. He worked long hours and dealt with a side of life she knew nothing about. His undercover assignments carried the risk of injury, exposure or worse. Holly gladly made allowances for his moodiness and the occasional need to vent. She wanted to be the person he could turn to for encouragement and support, but she wasn’t going to be the target for his frustration or the recipient of unfounded accusations. Love and respect went hand in hand; one couldn’t exist without the other.
The next morning found her pushing scrambled eggs around on her plate. Holly didn’t like discord; still less did she like being at odds with the man she loved. She wasn’t a peace-at-any-price type person, but she did tend to go the extra mile to avoid conflict. It wasn’t her nature to demand more from someone than she was willing to give herself. Being a latch-key kid had forced her to be self-reliant, but there was still a part of her that craved acceptance.
As she was clearing away her uneaten food, she heard the muffled sound of her phone. Her heart started to pound. It had to be Scott. No one else would call this early. Drying her hands, she raced down the hall to the bedroom. Relief swept over her when she saw his name on the screen. Where Summer might have been inclined to ignore the call, Holly didn’t think twice about answering it. In her mind, the sooner they resolved things the better.
“Hello, Scott.”
“I was afraid you might be giving me the silent treatment.”
“I don’t do things like that. I was in the kitchen, and my phone was in the bedroom.”
“I’m sorry about last night. I acted like a jerk. I know this doesn’t excuse my behavior, but I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”
She sank down on the bed. “It’s okay. We both said things we shouldn’t have.”
“I have to finish some paperwork today, but I want to see you. Can we go out for dinner tonight?”
“Of course. What time?”
“I’ll pick you up at six.”
“I’ll be ready.”
His relieved laughter filled her ear. “Is it any wonder I love you? You’re too good to be true.”
It wasn’t until she was back in the kitchen fixing a piece of toast that she remembered his last comment. What did he mean that she was too good to be true? Because she was willing to forgive him? Wasn’t that what people in love were supposed to do?
A few hours later she was watching Devon remove the leaves and other debris that had collected in the gutter running across the front of her house. In his army coat, hat and gloves, he looked enormous and very capable of handling jobs much more demanding than this one. In many ways, he reminded her of a rock: steady, dependable, unwavering. He projected a confidence that was reassuring rather than arrogant and an ease of manner that made her feel comfortable going to him for anything.
Remembering what passed between them earlier brought a smile to her lips. Along with those other qualities, he was also very talented at getting his own way.
“I’d feel a lot better if we switched places,” he said just seconds before his hands encircled her waist, and he plucked her off the ladder as if she weighed no more than a child.
“Do you always do things without asking permission?” she asked him, not because she really wanted to know the answer, but because it gave her time to catch her breath and recover from the giddy sensation she experienced while she was in his arms.
“Always covers a lot of ground. I only do it sometimes, and this is a special situation. You shouldn’t be on that thing without someone holding it. I could see it swaying.”
He was right, so she didn’t bother to argue.
“I just realized we’re missing someone. Is Jordan coming over?”
* * * * *
Devon’s eyes traveled over the white knitted cap on Holly’s head down to the enticing dimple in her chin. To be smiled at like this, he would have cleaned cement out of her gutters every day for a year.
“He wanted to, but he ate too much pizza last night and followed that up with a plate of tacos at lunch today. Needless to say, he’s not feeling very well.”
“Why didn’t you say something? This job doesn’t have to be done now.”
“No time like the present. Besides, it won’t take long.” With some reluctance, he returned his attention to the task at hand. “I see that Jordan’s been hitting wiffle balls in the front yard again. This is the second one I’ve found.”
“That was me. I asked him to throw me a few pitches the other day. I wanted to see if I was still any good. I played softball when I was in high school.”
“Really? What position did you play?”
“Left field.”
“Did you gun out a lot of people at home plate?”
“A fair amount.”
“What about homeruns? Did you hit any?”
“A few, but my real talent was bunting for a hit.”
He smiled as he glanced her way again. “You have to be quick to bunt for a hit. I would never have guessed you were one of those fast girls. It just goes to show had wrong first impressions can be.”
She pointed her finger at him. “You’re just begging to have a soggy pinecone thrown at you.”
“I didn’t think sweet girls from Georgia did things like that.”
“Only when we’re provoked. Do you and Jordan have big plans for Super Bowl weekend?”
“Not really. Neither of us follows pro football, but we’ll probably turn on the game and watch for a while. It’s an excuse to eat a bunch of junk food.”
“Scott and I have been invited to his boss’s house. It’s on the bluffs overlooking the Chattahoochee River.”
Devon didn’t want to be reminded about Scott. For the last half hour, he’d managed to forget about Holly’s boyfriend. “There are some really nice places along the river,” he said as he climbed down from the ladder. “We’re all done. You won’t need to clean the gutters again until next fall.”
She glanced at the two filled garbage bags on the ground. “I didn’t realize there was so much stuff up there.”
Devon let down the extension of the ladder. “I’ll put this in the garage for you.” When he returned, he saw her trying to drag one of the bags across the lawn. “Let me get those, Holly.”
“I have no choice but to let you. I can’t budge them. We’ve settled the question about which one of us is in better shape.”
“Well, I hope so. I’ve worked so hard at it.”
“I know. I’ve heard the clanking of the weights in your garage.”
“I usually work out after Jordan goes to bed. I hope I haven’t kept you awake.”
“You haven’t. I read before I go to sleep. By the time I’m finished, you usually are, too.”
“So I’m the last thing you hear before you fall asleep?”
“I guess you are.”
“A man can’t ask for more than that,” he said as he grabbed the bags of leaves. “I’ll take these to my house. On Tuesday, I’ll put them out by the road.”
Holly removed the work gloves from her hands. “I really appreciate you helping me today.”
“No problem. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
“You, too. I hope Jordan feels better.”
“He will, and more importantly, he won’t make the same mistake again.”
Unlike his father who persisted in being attracted to a woman he couldn’t pursue. Being friends with Holly was the best he could hope for. He was a realist; he should be able to recognize a lost cause when he saw it.
Chapter Five
After the last customer left the shop, Summer turned the sign on the door and let out a dramatic sigh. “Alone at last!”
Holly emerged from underneath one of the display tables and dusted off the knees of her pants. “That’s not usually the scenario business owners are looking for.”
“I only wanted it to be the way it normally is on Wednesday so we can leave early. You’ve got a date with your sweetie, and I’ve got a few errands to run before I meet Garrett at the RiverCenter.”
“Is this another jazz concert?”
Summer nodded. “We made a deal. I’ll endure the jazz if he takes me to Atlanta this summer to see Sage.”
“I’d take that deal any day. Have you heard her new album? Every song is so beautiful and romantic.”
“I know. I played them over and over during dinner last night.”
Holly reached into the storage closet for the cordless vacuum. “I need to clean up the children’s area. Someone spilled what looks like an entire box of Cheerios on the carpet.”
“While you’re doing that, I’ll do the bank deposit.”
After Holly finished vacuuming, she moved over to the shoe rack. After all this time, she still couldn’t understand why it was so hard for customers to put back the shoes after they finished trying them on.
“That can wait until tomorrow,” Summer said, coming out of their small office, coat on and both her and Holly’s purses over her arm. “You need to go home and take a long, hot bath, douse yourself in the expensive perfume my mother gave you for Christmas and dig that blue dress out of the back of your closet. You know, the one that clings in all the right places. That’ll put a smile on Scott’s face.”
Holly laughed as she positioned the last shoe into place. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“No, but it never hurts to be prepared. It’s Valentine’s Day. There’s no more perfect or romantic day on the calendar to propose.” Her eyes ran over Holly’s casual attire. “You don’t want to be wearing those old things on the night you might be asked the most important question of your life.”
“You’ve got engagements and weddings on the brain.”
“What else can you expect from a newlywed?”
“Nothing, I guess. You can’t help yourself.”
“You’re right. I want to see you as happy as I am.”
Holly thought about that conversation several hours later as she listened to Scott give his order to the waiter. The blue dress and White Diamonds perfume hadn’t done much to make him smile. If it wasn’t so pathetic, she might have found it funny that her boyfriend of nearly four months didn’t know today was February 14th. His face had turned every shade of red when the hostess handed Holly a long-stemmed pink rose before showing them to a table.
With the departure of the waiter, an uncomfortable silence fell between them. Scott’s eyes kept returning to the flower beside her plate as if he found its innocent presence offensive. Should she move it to her lap so he didn’t have to look at it?
The sound of childish laughter brought a half smile to her face. Maybe she should move to that table. They were clearly having a better time, and she doubted Scott would notice her absence.
“I’m going back to Little Rock on Friday.”
Holly looked up from squeezing lemon juice into her tea. “Is anything wrong? You were just there a few weeks ago.”
A tiny frown formed on his brow. “This is a permanent move, Holly. I’m going back to my wife. We decided to give our marriage another try.”
Holly didn’t hear anything after the words ‘my wife’. Her thought processes more or less ground to a halt. In a voice that shook slightly, she said, “Your wife? You told me you were divorced.”
His hand sliced through the air in a dismissing gesture. “Divorced or separated. What difference does it make?”
Shock radiated through her even as her cheeks took fire, flaming painfully in humiliation and anger. How could he ask such a question? This wasn’t the weather or his favorite food they were discussing. It was his marital status. Her glance moved restlessly around the restaurant as if to reassure herself that this was actually happening. That this wasn’t some awful dream from which she would soon awake. Something sharp pricked her finger. She looked down at her hand and saw a small droplet of blood where a thorn from the rose had pierced her skin.
This wasn’t a dream.
A strangled sob slipped from her lips as the enormity of the situation worked its way through her addled brain.
She’d been dating a married man.
Worse than that, she’d fallen in love with a married man. A man she’d thought was free to marry her. That’s the only reason she…
A fresh wave of shame sent more color to her face. How could she, of all people, have been such a fool? Her fingers latched onto the napkin in her lap with the desperation of a sinking swimmer grabbing a floatation device.
Taking a deep breath, she struggled for control. “It makes a difference to me.”
“I don’t see why it should. I haven’t lived with Amy for nine months. You’re a little out of touch with reality. People do this all the time.”
Did the bond of marriage mean so little to him? Or did it mean more to her because her parents hadn’t been married?
With a calm that was assumed, she folded the napkin and placed it on the table. “I may be out of touch, but I don’t think people do this all the time. At least not the people I know.” Pushing back her chair, she reached blindly for her purse. “I’m glad you’re leaving town because I never want to see you again.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine, but are you planning to walk home?”
The careless gesture was the final straw. Scott had never cared about her. She was just someone he used to fill time. At that point, her anger - which wasn’t easily aroused – boiled over.
“That’s preferable to staying here with you.” Picking up her untouched glass of iced tea, she threw it in his face.
As a parting gesture made in the throes of a white-hot rage, it wasn’t particularly original, but it was intensely satisfying. It was less so a few minutes later when she stood outside the restaurant in a cold wind that cut through her thin coat. It was Valentine’s Day. Almost everyone she knew had plans. She wasn’t sure which was worse: interrupting someone’s special evening to ask for a ride or walking home in the dark in four-inch heels.
Amidst the bitterness and nausea clawing at her insides was the realization that she’d done the very thing she vowed never to do: let a man take advantage of her. Evidently she hadn’t learned anything from her mother’s experience. She’d given her heart to someone who didn’t want it, and who certainly didn’t deserve it.
* * * * *
Devon smiled as he listened to the details of his companion’s latest attempt to get the teller at the bank to go out with him. Tony’s confidence and tenacity were admirable, but he couldn’t take a hint to save his life.
“I sent her flowers, and she still said no to dinner,” he complained. “What else can I do?”
“Nothing. It’s time to move on. She isn’t interested. By the way, I need to stop at the store. Do you want me to drop you off first?”
“Nah. I’ll go with you. I could use a few things, too.”
The Publix parking lot was crowded in spite of the lateness of the hour. Devon quickly made his way through the store and headed to the check-out area. There were three registers open, each with several people waiting in line. He picked the one he thought would move the quickest, resigned to the fact that he always chose wrong. His talent for this was a running joke between him and Jordan.
Since he had time to kill, he checked his phone. There was a missed call from his sister. She probably wanted to know the plans for Jordan’s birthday. In six weeks, his son was going to be thirteen. Where had the time gone? It seemed like only yesterday he and Beth were bringing their new baby home from the hospital.
Five years was all she had with Jordan. On an early morning jog, a half hour after Devon kissed her goodbye, a teen driver ran a stop sign and hit her. She was gone before the ambulance reached the hospital.
His preoccupied glance fell to the glossy magazines on the display rack, sliding over the pictures of celebrities whose names he didn’t know and landing squarely on the one showing a grilled steak. It looked pretty good to someone who hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
Behind him, someone rammed their cart into his legs.
“Sorry, man,” Tony said in a voice that suggested he wasn’t. “How did you get all that stuff so fast?”
Devon turned his head to look at him. “Because I don’t stop to flirt with every female I run across. You’d be amazed how much that slows things down.”
