Page 12 of Forever Yours
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It had been over a week of blistering wind and seemingly endless flurries.Devlin shoveled a fresh blanket of snow from the sidewalk in front of her shop. She hadn’t expected him to come running the next day to proclaim his undying love for her, but some sort of acknowledgment would’ve been nice. She supposed she could’ve gone over there too, but…well…she hadn’t.
She heard a jangle from the doorbell two doors down and out walked the man she was trying so hard not to think about. He emerged from the bar door, a shovel in one hand and a bag of sidewalk salt in the other. Turning in her direction, his eyes widened just a fraction when he saw her. Devlin tried not to look; she tried not to pay attention as he started to shovel, his movements graceful as he heaved the snow into an increasing pile. She couldn’t stop staring and had stepped an inch toward him when her movement was broken by a group of men carrying items out of the building between theirs. She resumed her shoveling, the movers creating an invisible line that couldn’t be broached as long they were there, watching each other with wary eyes.
The middle shop had indeed gone for sale like Annabelle had told her it would, but the way the township bylaws were written, the town council had to approve the sale. Tonight was the town council meeting where she’d present her bank approval and put in her official offer. When she’d bought Books and Beans, she’d given a quick informal presentation in front of the council, and they’d approved her purchase right away. She had no reason to see why tonight would be any different.
She was excited, with so many ideas and plans, and seeing the movers empty the space out made everything seem real. She’d been able to view it a few times with her realtor but couldn’t help wanting to know what it looked like empty.
Devlin approached the men. She could sense Gabe’s attention was on them despite him being turned away from her. “Hey, guys, do you mind if I take a quick peek inside?”
Gabe’s head turned to the side, a sharp movement as if a noise had startled him. She saw his perfect profile come into stark relief against the low winter sun that shone down the street, his breath white puffs, sharp and heavy.
“We’re done here, I’m just locking it up,” one of the men said.
Devlin batted her eyes at the helpless duo. “What if I promised to lock the door behind me?” At their hesitation, she explained, “I own Books and Beans, right there.” She pointed next door. “You know where to find me if anything is amiss. And your next cup of coffee is on me.”
“All right, but double check to make sure the place is locked tight when you leave.”
Her sexy pout turned into a large grin that fell off her face and she jumped when she heard Finnegan’s door open with a loud bang. Gabe walked inside with an inscrutable expression on his face, but the hard line of his mouth gave away his displeasure.
She shrugged and turned to enter the old art gallery. The winter day was dreary despite the sun hanging on at the horizon, so she flipped on all the overhead lights and let out a sigh of pleasure as she looked on to the bare walls. The brick along one wall was the same as in her shop and she imagined the extension into this room—seamless and perfect.
No more than thirty feet across, the space was smaller than her store. She ran her fingers along the rough brick of the wall and walked the length of one side, planning where she could take down a partial wall. An arched entry, maybe two, would open it up. She pictured bookshelves lining the walls, leather couches and overstuffed chairs welcoming customers to stay and drink coffee while they browsed and sampled books. Long farmhouse tables for the writers to hit their deadlines or students to finish papers. Prudence would be the perfect decorator—her design aesthetic was the ideal fusion of youth and elegance—a tricky blend to pull off, but Prudence did it with an ease Devlin envied.
I can do this. It would be another marker of her journey to Amber Falls, to become successful enough that she’d be able to expand. Getting pre-approval had been easy with the way business was going right now at Books and Beans.She was going to finalize her proposal after work. She picked up a roll of packing tape off the floor left behind by the movers and fiddled with it as she walked to the front of the store, her fingers dancing over the leaded glass detail of the window, then door. What would she do with this entrance? She couldn’t imagine needing two.
“It’s you.” A soft voice broke her from her thoughts. She shrieked and spun around, blindly throwing the packing tape in the direction of the voice. The voice of Gabriel Atwood.
She raised her hand to steady her thumping heart. He’d ducked, and the tape had hit the wall and landed on the floor at his feet.
“It’s you,” she repeated, not knowing what else to state other than the obvious.
They stood there for a long moment, staring at each other. She blinked, her throat tight, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. He was there, in front of her, arms motionless at his side except for one finger on his right hand tapping the side of his leg.
“It isn’t polite to sneak up on people like that,” Devlin accused.
“Sorry, I thought you would’ve heard me come in.”
All thoughts fled Devlin’s mind, wiped out by a panic that started to rise from her stomach. If her heart was beating fast a moment ago, it had nothing on the Formula One race now speeding around her chest. Her nostrils flared as she took deep breaths, trying not to betray her state of disquiet.How can he not hear the beating?She turned around to look at the wall behind her, taking the moment she needed to compose herself.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m going to put an offer in on this place and when I saw you come in here, I decided I’d come take a look.”
She spun around and her panic rose again. “You’re putting an offer in, too?”
“Too?” Gabe looked confused. “Who else is?”
Devlin raised her eyebrows, waiting for understanding to hit him.
“Shit,” he said. “That’s why you’re in here.”
Devlin didn’t know what to say. She didn’t need to confirm what they both now knew.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Gabe wasn’t sure what had propelled him to walk to Devlin, he only knew his feet moved of their own accord and within seconds he was close enough to touch her. He reached his hand out to ease the tension in her shoulders but let it drop back to his side. Taking a deep breath he inhaled her scent.Vanilla. The same scent that had plagued him, a scent he could breathe in again after so long.