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Stupid, chivalrous boy. He whipped off his jacket anyway, leaving his arms bare. Really hot, sexy, muscular arms, but it still seemed unpleasant for him.
“I’m fine,” she protested again, but he was having none of it.
He draped the jacket over her shoulders. Instantly, heat blanketed her. Oh wow. His delicious scent wrapped around her even more thoroughly, making her whole body come into another, deeper level of awareness.
“Looks good on you,” he said, his voice rough. He snapped his mouth closed as if he hadn’t meant to say that, but it was out there now.
There was clearly no point arguing anymore, and anyway, now that she had his jacket, it wasn’t as if she wanted to give it up. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
They hit the end of the downtown strip and turned right together. As the businesses faded away into little houses, the quiet grew. She glanced up at him.
She met the soft blue gaze staring back down at her, and warmth fluttered inside her chest.
“Thanks,” he murmured. He pointed with his thumb in the direction of the Junebug. “For what you said back there.”
Right. Talking about his not-a-good-guy father.
She got her head out of the clouds of teenage crush land and mustered a smile. “I meant it.”
“I know.” He directed his gaze forward, ducking to avoid a couple of low-hanging branches on an old oak. “Sorry it took me by surprise. I work with too many guys. Some women, too, but they act even tougher than the men. Nobody gets touchy-feely on the job site.”
“What about friends?”
“You mean your brother?”
“Okay, yeah, never mind.”
Han was a cool guy, deep down. To hear Clay talk about it, he’d offered all kinds of great relationship advice back when he and June were getting their act together. But Han had never gotten over their father. He’d died suddenly, almost ten years ago. All Han’s plans for his life had gone up in smoke when he’d rushed home, eighteen years old and determined to take up the mantle and become the man of the house.
The loss still hurt in Zoe’s heart, too, of course. She missed her dad. Losing him had changed the entire family. It had harshened her mom and aged her brother. Fortunately, she’d had Lian and Uncle Arthur to lean on, both during that first tough year and after.
But Han hadn’t seemed interested in leaning on anyone. He was too busy taking over the business and the house. Deep down, though, she knew her brother too well. He’d been devastated.
Talking about someone else’s issues with their father? He couldn’t have handled it. He probably still couldn’t.
Devin’s gaze focused on something far off in the distance. His jaw hardened before going soft—like he was building walls around himself only to have to consciously decide to let them down.
“He was a bully,” he said quietly. “A mean old drunk who told me I’d never amount to anything in my life.”
Zoe’s heart squeezed. “Devin… That’s awful.”
“When high school graduation came around, I still half believed him.” His smile was pained. “I told myself I didn’t, but asking for people to give me money so I could go fail out of college just the way he always told me I would? Nah.”
She shook her head, but he kept talking. As they turned onto her street, his pace slowed.
“It was all stupid head games, I know. In the end, it didn’t matter. The best route to getting out of his house was getting a job.” The sharpness in his gaze finally eased. “Arthur hooked me up, actually.”
“Sounds like him.”
“Yeah, it does.” Unguarded affection colored his tone—with maybe a little hero worship mixed in there, too. “I was always handy. He got me an interview at Meyer, and the rest is history. I got a good-paying job and an apartment.” His jaw flexed. “And I never looked back.”
A different kind of darkness shadowed his eyes now. He clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides.
“Devin…”
“It’s for the best. I’m saving up for a house of my own, too. In another year, it’ll be just me and some mutt out on the edge of town, and no one will ever be able to bother me like that again.” He looked down at her and blew out a breath. “I’m glad. Honestly.”
