A short time later he pulled into the newly created tabby driveway. Dora peered out the window, taking in all the landscaping that had been done since she’d last seen the house, only a few weeks ago.
“You used my landscaping ideas,” she exclaimed.
“Course I did. I told you that you were good. Your design really opened up the place, especially that pergola over the garage. Real classy. I never would’ve thought of that.”
His words were like salve on a wound. Still, it broke her heart to see the cottage going on the market, even though it had been her job to ready it for sale. Seeing the pretty cottage all decked out and with new landscaping was like giving away a puppy after whelping and raising it for a full eight weeks.
“Come on inside.” Devlin fiddled with the key. “I have to put this lockbox on the front door for the Realtors. You go on and take a look around.”
Dora walked from room to room of the cottage, her head turning from left to right as she took in the freshly painted walls in colors she’d chosen, the molding, the refinished hardwood floors, the spanking-new lighting fixtures that she’d selected. Out back, Devlin had created the patio area that she’d designed to complete the larger pergola that matched the one out front. A stone pathway wound its way to Hamlin Creek. Dora stood on the patio with her fingertips to her lips and tears forming in her eyes when she saw the new wooden dock stretching out over the racing water.
Every color choice, every light fixture in the cottage, she’d selected. Each paver, each plant, each tree outdoors, was directly from her design. It was as if she had been decorating the house for herself.
She heard a crunching of the gravel behind her, then felt Devlin’s arms around her waist.
“What’ya think?” he asked in a slow drawl by her ear.
“It’s beautiful. Perfect.”
“I told you that you were good at this house stuff.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Could you see you and Nate living here?”
Dora’s breath stilled. She turned in his arms to face him. “What are you saying?”
Devlin’s blue eyes shone in the lowering sunlight, and in their light she read his love, so sincere that her heart opened.
“I have a proposal.”
“Oh, Devlin . . .”
“I’m not asking you to marry me,” Devlin said with mock frustration. “Woman, you do tire a man out. I’m talking about a plan I have.”
Dora had the grace to blush. “Oh. Sorry.” Her lips twitched.
“You’ve seen what your measly allowance could get you in a rental. Now, I could dance around this, but I won’t play with your intelligence. I know your antennas are wiggling, so I’m going to put it right out there. You love this cottage. You put your heart and soul and sweat into fixing it up, right by my side. Don’t think that didn’t endear this place to me, too? I think we created something really fine here. Don’t you?”
Dora nodded, listening intently.
“I could put it on the market. I’d make a small profit if it sold today. But truth is, the market is slow and it might sit for a long while. That’s never good. But if I hold on to the place awhile and let the market improve, which I’m betting it will, I’ll increase my profit in a year, maybe two’s time. After all, this little house is sitting on some deep water. It’s got potential.”
Dora didn’t dare speak.
Devlin shifted his weight. “So I’m wondering if you’ll do me the favor of living in it for a while. Look after it. Just for a year or so.”
Dora drew back in his arms. “Absolutely not.”
Devlin shook his head and let his arms drop. “Why the hell not, woman? Don’t you like it?”
“I love it. And you know it.”
“Then why . . .”
“Because if I accept this gift—because that’s what it is—I’ll be seen as a brazen hussy from this county to the next. I’m already dating you. Sleeping with you. They’ll call me a kept woman.” She shook her head with determination. “I can’t let Nate live in a situation like that.”
“A kept woman? What century are you living in?”
“You know what I mean. This is a conservative area.”
“Then marry me!” he shouted.
“No!” she shouted back.
Devlin stepped back. He looked deeply hurt.
“I can’t marry you,” Dora explained, cajoling. Her fingers reached up to play with the buttons of his shirt. “I’m not divorced yet.”
“I know that,” he mumbled with dejection. “I meant later.”
“Please, Devlin. Don’t go there. Not yet. Not tonight. I’ve told you already, I don’t want to think about getting married again until I’ve signed my divorce papers. I want to take a deep breath as a single woman. To sign my name as Eudora Muir just once more before I change it again. Let’s not confuse things between us. We’ll still be together. A couple. Nothing’s going to change between us but that piece of paper that means so little to you but is so very symbolic to me. It’s who I am, Devlin. I’m a traditional girl and I’m already breaking a lot of rules here. I’ll come around. And when I do”—she reached up to tenderly stroke the stubble on his cheek—“I promise, you’ll be the first to know.”
Devlin sighed and his chest rumbled with the effort. “Woman, you are one hell of a negotiator.”
Dora smiled and kissed him. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
His hand patted her bottom with a proprietary air. “How about this? You rent the house from me. We’ll make it legal.”
“I can’t afford—”
“I know what you can afford,” he said, cutting her off. “And I’ll rent it to you for that amount. You can tell the world you’re renting the house, and that’ll spare your reputation. Now, Dora,” he said slowly, “think before you spout out another no.”
Dora quieted and gave him his say.
“Nate will love living here. He loves the island, knows it, thinks of it as home, and it’ll keep him close to Mamaw. Living here won’t be as big a change for him as moving into some condo a ways off.” Devlin stretched out his arm, pointing to the dock. Her gaze followed his. “And look out there at that dock. Nate can fish out there anytime he wants. I built that special for him.”