Page 10 of Forever Yours
Devlin nodded. Everything she’d held back felt like it needed to get out of her, and it had to happen right now.
“There was a guy.” She looked at Annabelle, who nodded at her to continue. “My boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. He wasn’t very nice to me. He wasn’t very nice to anyone.”
“I’m so sorry, Devlin.”
“Don’t be. I left him right before I met Gabe. I found Amber Falls a few weeks later and have never looked back.”
“Damn right you did, sister.” Annabelle sat straight in her chair, nodding. “But it must’ve been so strange to see Gabe, right?”
“Oh yes. I had a weird feeling like being sucked into a void, like a sinkhole or something. It lasted for only a few minutes until I realized he didn’t recognize me, and if he didn’t recognize me then I didn’t need to be around him. I came here for a fresh start. I’d finally gotten the courage to get out of a bad relationship and I didn’t want anything to do with Boston, including Gabe. I could live my life, he could live his, and we’d never have to cross paths.” She sighed. “Then Greyson came home.”
“Yes, he did,” Annabelle agreed.
“Once Greyson and Prudence got together, it felt like we started to be forced into each other’s company. That’s why I told you Gabe and I had spoken and to please not say anything. I didn’t want you two to do anything. I was able to make excuses not to be around when I knew he’d be there until tonight.” She shook her head. “Was he upset when he found out I knew?”
“I think surprised, more than upset. You guys need to talk this out.”
“What a mess I’ve turned this into.”
“You could’ve stayed home, Devlin. I would’ve been fine on my own.”
“No, I decided I wasn’t going to hide tonight.” She shrugged. “I take that back; I wasn’t going to hide out of sight the whole night.”
“You don’t have a bladder problem, do you?”
Devlin laughed at how ridiculous this all was. “I don’t. I just left the table every time Gabe started walking in our direction.”
“Thank goodness. I just want to sleep until the afternoon and not run you to Dr. Simmons.
“Are you still staying here tonight?”
“I don’t think I could drag my tired ass home if I tried. Besides, why let this ruin our slumber party? I’m sleeping on your couch.” She pointed to the overnight bag Devlin had grabbed earlier. “I’m ready for pjs.”
“That sounds like heaven right now. I’ve been up for”—Devlin looked at her watch—“twenty hours and I could drop.”
They sat in silence, both too exhausted to move, but Devlin needed to know what happened with Annabelle and Sebastian.
“Where did Sebastian end up tonight after you all had a heart to heart with Gabe?”
“That was his sister he was with, not a date.” She stopped talking long enough that Devlin thought she’d fallen asleep. “He walked me here.”
“Really?” Devlin asked, surprised both by the comment and the fact that Annabelle was still awake.
Annabelle nodded. “He said I was a pain in the ass, but I was his pain in the ass, and he wasn’t going to let me get kidnapped despite me letting him know how close you lived.” She closed her eyes, the combination of the whiskey, long hours and emotional conversation overtaking her. “Isn’t that nice?”
Devlin watched her friend about to doze off on the couch, not sure if Annabelle knew she was letting her softening feelings toward Sebastian show. She stood and grabbed Annabelle’s hand and led her toward the bathroom.
“That was very gentlemanly of him, I’ll give him that. Now let’s get you into your pajamas. We’ve got some hardcore sleeping to do and I’m not going to let you pass out in a flapper dress, no matter how tired you are.”
“You’re a good friend, Dev. I’ll see you in the morning.” Annabelle entered the bathroom, closing the door.
Devlin pulled out the hide-a-bed and dimmed the lights before entering her room. After changing her clothes she sat on her bed, drained, thinking over the last few hours. Then, she did what she hadn’t been able to do for years. She let go of her past misery, giving her body a shake. Everyone had a history. She wasn’t going to let hers define her and would be damned if she was going to spend another second wallowing in it. She was stronger than that.
Chapter Four
A week had passed since the New Year’s Eve debacle, and Gabe still hadn’t seen Devlin.Devlin. Sometimes he said her name out loud, in the quiet of his car, in the office of the bar, while lying awake late at night in his bed. It seemed so foreign to him, to have a name to put to the face that had haunted him.There it is again, a haunting. What else would you call it? For the last year her blurred countenance had inhabited his mind, unbidden and unwelcome. Now that he knew she was mere feet away from him all day long, he’d become clumsy and distracted, over-pouring beer, knocking over bowls of pretzels, forgetting orders. Even now, with his good friend Annabelle seated across from him, he couldn’t seem to hold on to the thread of their conversation. In his defense, both Annabelle and Sebastian had come in separately for lunch and sat at opposite ends of the bar pretending the other person wasn’t there but butting into each other’s conversation. Everything was getting confusing.
“…seriously can’t believe you haven’t gone over there yet, Gabe,” Annabelle was in the middle of saying. “How can you not go and talk to her?”