Every Glance (Every Life #3)

by Tasha Ivey

  “He’s a controlling asshole who won’t let her breathe without his permission. And, no, he doesn’t have any rights to her anymore. He divorced her months ago and is getting remarried soon. She was supposed to tell you the night you caught her here.”

  Her mouth slowly drops open. “I can’t believe she lied to me all this time!”

  I nearly choke on my own saliva. “You can’t believe she lied to you? Are you serious? You’re a real piece of work. You know that? I wish I could be there to see her reaction when she finds all of this out.”

  “She won’t.” A proud smile curls the corners of her mouth. “Like I said, she’d never believe you.”

  “Well, your time is up. But I have to tell you that you’re wrong. She doesn’t have to believe what I say because she’s going to hear it from your mouth.”

  She laughs, an almost joker-esque cackle. “Sorry, handsome, but she’s not. You have to know that I can’t do that.”

  I shove the door open with one hand while I slide my phone out of my pocket with the other, holding it up so she can see the seconds ticking away on the screen. “I do know. That’s why I hit the record button for this little conversation as soon as I saw you in my driveway.”

  My finger hovers over the “stop” button, but before I press it, I have one last thing to say. “I’m sorry, Devyn.”

  Kyler grabs for my phone, but her short stature is no match for me. I hold my phone over my head, bring up a new message, and hit send, hoping the file isn’t too big to go through. Maybe I’m being immature, too, but I think I deserve to clear my name, regardless of who it pisses off. Devyn deserves to know, whether she ever speaks to me again or not.

  She crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. She’s at Aiden’s, and there’s not much reception out there. And when she gets back home, she’ll see a message from you and won’t ever open it. I told you, Dalton. She’s done with you.”

  “Well, then,” I begin, leaning in closer, “I guess it’s a good thing she told me she deleted my contact information from her phone. She won’t know it’s from me until she opens it.”

  “Shit.” Kyler takes off for her car, peppering the yard with gravel as she flies out of the drive.

  How in the hell did I end up in the middle of all this high school drama? High school is one place I don’t want to revisit, for sure. But I am. With Devyn Rion, of all people. She brought me misery then, and unfortunately, nothing has changed.

  And it’s all of this nonsense that I have on my mind after I shower and fall into bed. I’m done with it, though. Yeah, I know I’ve already said that, but I’m for real. I’ve spent more than enough of my life in the clutches of that woman, and most of that time, she had no idea I was even in her clutches. I haven’t pined for a woman since high school, and here I am pining for the same damn one, ten years later. She shows up and my nuts are right back in that vice. It’s ridiculous.

  As ridiculous as the banging on my door that wakes me up at two in the morning.

  “Okay, okay, okay,” I yell over the incessant booming, after stubbing my toe on a table leg and swearing the rest of the way to the door and flipping on the porch light. “What the hell do—oh. What are you doing here?”

  Devyn pushes through the door, hitting the same throbbing toe. “Was it really necessary to completely ruin my life?” She not quite screaming, but let’s just say that I can hear her perfectly fine. And so could the neighbors—if I had any very close. “Everything was great before you sent that message tonight. I would’ve never spoken to you again. Kyler would still be someone I could trust. And I wouldn’t feel like I’m about to lose my mind. Why did you have to do that?”

  “I thought you would want to know.” I’m trying my best to maintain a calm, cool tone, but it’s awfully hard with her banging her fists on my chest. “And I wanted you to know that I didn’t do what you thought I had done.”

  She shoves me, but I barely move. “Why the hell do you even care what I think? Huh? Why didn’t you just let it go? You should’ve just stayed with Kyler and left me the hell alone. Why didn’t you? Why?”

  Devyn’s fists are alternating between grabbing at my shirt and punching my chest at the beginning of each sentence, and even though I’ve never done well with this type of physical confrontation, I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around her and hold her close. She’s beyond upset, and I didn’t really take into consideration exactly what all of this would do to her. Tears are falling in rivulets, leaving behind trails of mascara around her red, puffy eyes. Her face is drawn and her jaw tense. She’s barely keeping it together. Something tells me that this isn’t just about me sending her that recording tonight. There’s years of frustration and tears pouring out of her.

  “Because I care about you, Devyn. And maybe it’s because I’m a little bit selfish and wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t lying to you. But most of all, like I’ve said before, you deserve better in your life. Carter, your sister…they’re playing you. It’s time for that to stop.”

  She launches clenched fists toward my chest again, but I catch both of her wrists in my hands and pull her against me. “Dalton, you can’t—”

  I cut her off by covering her mouth with my own. Now is probably not the best time to kiss her, but generally, two o’clock in the morning isn’t good for much else. I expect it to only last seconds before she pushes me away, but she immediately melts into me, so I let go of her arms and wrap one arm around her waist. The other hand gently cups her damp cheek.

  Her lips taste like salt, but her tongue tastes like a cherry Lifesaver, something I noticed her eating when she brought Simon to the clinic to play around in the lab. I know I may not have the opportunity to do this again, so I’m relishing every second. I’ve probably only caught her in a moment of weakness, and she’ll probably regret falling into me so easily, but right now, I don’t give a shit. If I only have a few minutes before she regains her bearings, I’ll gladly take what little time she’s giving me. Even if it means this will be the last time.

  The only light in the living room comes from the lamp in my bedroom and the porch light shining through the front windows, so as I shuffle backward toward the couch I have to be careful not to run into the coffee table. She sinks into the couch with me without any hesitation, and her lips never leave mine. Not for several minutes.

  “I’m so sorry,” she finally whispers between kisses.

  I take her face in my hands and look into the soft glow in her eyes. “Don’t apologize to me. I’m the one who’s sorry, Devyn. Maybe if I hadn’t been so selfish, you wouldn’t have to go through this. If I had just butted out, your life would be much simpler. You were just fine with how things were, and I took it upon myself to fix what wasn’t really broken.”

  She leans away from me and straightens. “Are you kidding? I wasn’t fine with anything in my life, except for Simon. He’s the only thing that’s right, and my choice to turn a blind eye to everything has been hurting him a hell of a lot more than it has hurt me. How could I be so stupid? How could I not see what all of this has done to him? The kind of person that I’ve become?”

  “Simon knows that you’ve done everything you could to protect him from the reality of life. You kept things civil with Carter to protect Simon from the fights as much as you could. You gave in to his ploys to control you to protect Simon from the fallout of fighting him. I can see that in everything you do, and I’m just an outsider. I know Simon sees it, too. He may only be a kid, but he’s smart and perceptive.”

  “He is smart.” She slumps back into the couch pillows and sighs deeply. “I’m not surprised by anything that Carter has done, but Kyler…I had no idea. It really hurts, you know? I’d like to think that she just fell under Carter’s spell and was only acting under his influence, but so much of that—with you especially—had to be all on her own. I don’t know how I could ever forgive her.”

  I grab her elbow and drag her over to me, wrapping both
arms around her shoulders. “You will. I think she’s dealing with her own insecurities, and Carter probably fed them. He’s always known how to play people.” I’m relieved when she doesn’t really catch what I just said. I have to be more careful. The last thing I need to do right now is to make her realize who I am. That’s a conversation for a day when she’s not already at her breaking point.

  “He has,” she sighs, resting her head against my shoulder. “I’ve let him play me for way too long. But I don’t know how to stop it. It’s going to mean finding a new place to live. A new job. Starting completely over.”

  I tilt her chin up, so I can look at her, letting her see my sincerity. “You won’t be starting over, Devyn. You never got the chance to start. You lived the life he wanted, so it’s time to live yours. Whatever you want…no matter what it is…it’s yours for the taking.”

  I almost want to kick myself for saying that. There’s something about her that makes me speak as if I’ve traded in my man card for a freaking inspirational greeting card. But the look of sheer determination that sweeps over her face tells me that my words have a lot more worth than I think they do. It’s that look that tells me she finally has hope that everything will be just fine.

  And I actually think it will be.

  “ANYONE EVER TELL you that you look like shit when you don’t get enough sleep?” Sawyer asks with a half-eaten slice of jalapeno cornbread pinched between his fingers.

  “All the time,” I mumble through a yawn.

  And I’m sure I do look like shit today. We drove down here to Orange Beach yesterday after I had been awake since Devyn came pounding on my door at two in the morning. We talked for a few hours before she narrowly escaped Sawyer’s arrival. I didn’t want to just tell her to leave—or why—but I was starting to sweat it. If he’d caught her there, I know I’d be in for another lecture from him.

  We packed my car, picked Wes up, and drove up to see William for a while. The drive down here was less than an hour, but we hit the ground running, hitting up my favorite restaurant and a few bars and staying out way too late. The whole time we were out, Devyn and I were texting like a couple of teenagers, and I can’t really say that I didn’t like it. It was damn hard to hide it from the guys, too, but I’d never hear the end of it if I got caught. To be fair, though, both Sawyer and Wes answered calls from Makenna and Callie. They broke the “no women” rule first, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.

  But when we got back to the beach house I rented, Devyn asked if she could call me. It’s not like I was about to turn that down, so I offered to take the bedroom downstairs and let the other two guys take the rooms upstairs. I tried to come across as if I was really making some huge sacrifice, but I really wanted to have the downstairs to myself so I couldn’t be heard on the phone.

  So much for that idea.

  Apparently, Sawyer came back downstairs after I thought they would’ve had plenty of time to be asleep. Of course, I didn’t know this until I was listening to Devyn talking about how jealous she was about my little weekend trip and I had just blurted out that she should just pack a bag and come on down here. That’s when I noticed my bedroom door was open, and Sawyer was standing in it, looking a little perplexed. He asked if I had any ibuprofen and left after I tossed the bottle to him. I’ve been waiting all day for him to ask who I was talking to, but he still hasn’t. Maybe he had more to drink than I realized and doesn’t even remember.

  Before the sun even thought about rising this morning, we were at the marina, boarding a charter boat for a morning of fishing. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how bad of an idea that was after drinking last night, but surprisingly, we all toughed it out and had a great time. We ended up bringing back several snapper, a couple of redfish, and the memories of Wes turning fifty shades of green and nearly puking on the boat captain.

  We all came back to the house and crashed for a couple of hours, and I still feel like I could sleep another twenty-four. But that sure as hell won’t be happening. After dinner, we’re planning on hitting the Wharf for some drinks and live music. One of Sawyer’s favorite local bands will be on at ten, and if I’m lucky, I’ll get him home in bed by two—per Makenna’s very bossy orders.

  Not that I’m the best listener.

  “It’s flown by, but it’s been nice to get away,” Sawyer says before stuffing another grilled shrimp dripping with butter into his mouth. “It would be nice to bring Mak down here sometime. She’d love it.”

  “You just broke your own rule, man.” Wes launches an empty skewer at him, pegging him in the chest. “No woman talk. All men, all testosterone, all the time. Remember?”

  Sawyer flings the wooden spear back at him, landing it perfectly in his water glass. “This coming from the guy who was on the phone with his wife for an hour last night. The walls are pretty thin, brother.”

  I swallow hard, waiting for an accusation to get thrown my way.

  But it never comes.

  “I’d say I’m sorry for what you heard, buuuuut…I’m not. Cal’s pretty frisky at this stage of her pregnancy.”

  I wave my hands around and shake my head. “No. Nuh-uh. The conversation is not going there. Anything but that. You two need to stow your freaking purses and drink some beer and scratch your balls or something. For the love of God, this is supposed to be a bachelor party.”

  Sawyer chuckles. “Sorry, buddy, but you’re really the only bachelor here. Or at least I think so.”

  Here it comes.

  “Who were you talking to last night when I came into your room?”

  “Nobody, asshole. Shut the hell up.”

  Wes tosses his napkin into his plate. “Damn, seriously? You work fast. I’m impressed.”

  “It’s nothing serious. You know me.” It’s true, right? It’s not anything serious yet, but I can’t say that I don’t want it to be. I still want to date her. I want Devyn to be my girlfriend and see how far this can go. But she doesn’t even know who I really am.

  “Yeah,” Sawyer agrees. “I know you too well.”

  He and Wes get off on some other conversation, and I excuse myself to go to the restroom. My phone has buzzed in my pocket a couple of times, and I know exactly who it is.

  Devyn: ‘Can you talk right now?’

  Devyn: ‘You’re going to think I’m crazy.’

  Me: ‘I only have a sec. And I doubt I’d ever think that.’

  Devyn: ‘Let’s test your theory. I’m here.’

  Me: ‘Where is here?’

  Devyn: ‘Orange Beach. Can you just call me?’

  I lean against the bathroom stall, against my better judgment, and process this for a minute. Devyn is actually here. I told her that I wasn’t kidding when I invited her down here, but I never thought she’d actually do it in a million years.

  Dialing her number, I run through a couple of scenarios of how I can get away from the guys to see her, but I know it won’t be easy and I know I couldn’t get away for long. It is Sawyer’s night, after all.

  “Now do you think I’m crazy?” Devyn’s voice is barely more than a whisper.

  “Not at all. But I’m definitely surprised.”

  “Oh, no.” She exhales. “You weren’t serious when you told me to come down here, were you? I should’ve known you were only kidding.”

  “I wasn’t kidding at all. I just never thought you’d actually do it. Where are you right now?” The bathroom door opens and I peek through the crack in the stall door to make sure it isn’t Sawyer or Wes. Luckily for me, it’s just a teenage boy with earbuds stuffed in his ears.

  Devyn giggles softly. “Honestly, I never thought I’d do it either. I just checked into the little condo I rented. It’s called…” I hear her shuffling through some papers. “…the Seaside Escape. But it’s more like the seaside threw up in here. It’s quite terrible, but it’s also the best I could find on short notice.”

  “Is that the place with the flaking pink paint and the boarded up window in the office?”
r />   “The very one. It has a certain Bates Motel charm, don’t you think?”

  I shudder at the thought. “Now that you mention it, yeah, it does. We’re about to head down to the Wharf for the evening, but I can’t sneak away for long. You know, the whole bachelor party code thing. But let’s meet at the Ferris Wheel in an hour. After that, I’ll figure something out. Sound good?”

  “I’ll see you at nine.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  The guys and I are finally walking around the Wharf after about thirty minutes, leaving me only thirty more minutes to plot my escape. Not that we’re joined at the hip everywhere we go, but I know Sawyer will be suspicious if I suddenly have to go somewhere alone. However, being a man, he’ll understand when I tell him I have to step away to call the girl I was talking to last night. It’s not a total lie, after all. I will call her as soon as I’m there to figure out where she is.

  After the second round of beers is served at the bar, I know I’m out of time to make my announcement. “I need to step out for a minute to make a phone call. It’s a little loud in here.”

  “Who are you calling?” Sawyer waggles his eyebrows up and down. “Girl from last night or a different one?”

  “Last night. I’ll be back well before it’s time for the band to start.” Without giving them much time to do the math that I just bought myself about forty-five minutes, I down the rest of my beer and push back from the bar. Knowing Sawyer and Wes, they’ll be too wrapped up in ESPN to notice how long I’m really gone.

  I walk down the tight row of shops and restaurants, looking back to make sure the guys didn’t follow me out. There are a lot of people out here tonight since a Dave Matthews concert just ended, but I’m glad the crowd is here to get lost in. Even if they were looking for me, I don’t think the guys could ever find me.