my arm and looked right in my eyes. “Seriously.”
I put my hand over his. “You’re welcome. And I hope Dallas comes to the games.”
His eyes lit up even more. “Are you kidding? Wild horses won’t be able to drag her away.” He withdrew his hand and sat back, and he looked downright dreamy. “Man, I can’t wait to get going on this. I swear, I will be useless at work tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
Devin laughed. “Because I’ll be thinking about all this instead of all that crap they pay me to do. I’ll be lucky if I can sleep tonight with my brain going…” He gestured beside his head. “Richard will probably get tired of me, with all these ideas.”
“Nah, I doubt it. In fact maybe he’s right—maybe you’re in the wrong line of work.”
Devin laughed again, but it sounded bitter this time. As he picked up his fork again, he said, “Oh, I hate my job, and I’d give it up in a heartbeat if I could.”
I studied him for a moment. “Out of curiosity, why don’t you?”
Sighing, he dropped his gaze to his food as he cut off another piece of chicken. “Mostly it’s the issue of time off. I’ve been with the company long enough that I have some leeway to ask to leave early, work from home, take days off at the last minute to be with Dallas.” He looked at me through his lashes. “My higher ups hate it, and they give me as much hell as they’re legally allowed to, especially during my reviews. I’m pretty sure the only reason they don’t fire me is because even with all the time I take off, I keep the department running smoothly. If we ever get dinged on an audit?” He grimaced. “That’ll be all the excuse they need to fire me.”
“Shit. Really?”
Devin nodded. “I’ve been on thin ice with them ever since we realized Dallas’s migraines were a chronic issue. And the thing is, if I start anywhere else, I’m starting at the bottom. No seniority. Probably no paid time off at all during the probationary period. And if I take any time off, paid or otherwise, during that probationary period?” He drew his finger across his throat. “I’ll be out the door without qualifying for unemployment. Or at least not much of it, since I’ll only have been there a couple of months rather than thirteen years. I can’t afford to take that risk, not while I’m up to my eyeballs in medical debt. Plus I can’t afford to lose my health insurance.” His shoulders sank as he sighed. “I hate my job and the company I work for. But unless someone comes along and dangles an offer in front of my face that’s worth the risk of leaving? I’m stuck.”
“Jesus,” I said. “I had no idea it was that hard to change jobs.”
“It is. It’s…” He hesitated, then shook his head, and when he met my eyes again, he smiled. “My job is what it is, but getting to be involved with this thing for kids like Dallas? I’m seriously excited about that.”
“Me too. I can’t wait to see what happens with it.”
Our eyes locked, and we both smiled. As we kept eating, we batted around some ideas for events and fundraisers. He made notes of a few of them in his phone, which was good, because I didn’t think I’d remember any of them. I was just too caught up in how happy he was. The way his blue eyes sparkled when he was excited—that was something that would keep me company on those nights on the road even more than all the hot and sweaty memories that usually had me smiling into my pillow. Devin could barely sit still through lunch, and I loved every second of watching his delight at the possibilities this new program was creating.
Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?
All too soon, our late lunch was over and Devin needed to go pick up Dallas. I was disappointed to see our afternoon end, but still flying high from watching him flying high, so I had no complaints.
We headed toward the elevator, but we both paused before either of us pushed the button.
“Listen, um…” I met his gaze. “I’d walk out there with you, but…”
Devin smiled. “It’s okay. At least in here, nobody will see us.”
“No, they won’t.” I lifted his chin and pressed my lips to his. Just like it did every time, my pulse