Page 17 of Forever Yours
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re meeting at the store to pick out stuff for your house. That’s all I know.” The look on Greyson’s face was one of pure innocence.
Gabe eyed Greyson for a moment longer, then let it go. Greyson had no reason to lie to him about a shopping trip, right?
Chapter Six
Devlin pulled her car into the home store parking lot. She’d texted Prudence that she was on her way and only got a smiley face emoji as a reply, which seemed a little odd. Prudence prided herself on being on time, so an emoji rather than written confirmation was out of character.
She noted how busy the store was as she found a spot at the far side of the lot. She squinted into the sun and swore she saw Gabe Atwood standing at the front entrance. Slamming her car door shut, she sidled around a large SUV, not seeing any sign of Prudence or her car.
“Oh, Pru, you didn’t,” she muttered.
Gabe looked perfect. His hands tucked into the front pockets of his jeans; he bounced on the balls of his feet while looking around. The spring in his step stopped when he spotted Devlin, and he lifted his hand in a wave. As she glanced back at her car, a longing voice whisperedit’s not too late, just turn around and leave. He couldn’t know she was there for him, or whether she was coming or going. He didn’t know Prudence had oh so casually said that she could use some company when she was going to pick out furnishings for a client the next day. Gabe squinted and repeated his wave, and he seemed so unsure of himself in that moment that Devlin had no choice but to head over to him.
“Out doing some early morning shopping?” Gabe asked as she approached.
Well. He obviously didn’t know she was going to be there. “I’m supposed to meet Prudence to help her shop for a client.”
Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “I’m Pru’s client.”
“I think we’ve been set up.” Devlin sighed.
Gabe glanced around one more time before settling his gaze on Devlin.
“Okay, what are you here for?” Devlin asked after a prolonged silence. “We might as well shop. I’ll deal with Prudence later.”
“She was going to help me pick out some things for my house. I’ve been renovating it over the last few years.”
Devlin wasn’t going to say that she knew this—Prudence had mentioned sparse details of the renovations before—and asked instead, “Oh really? What kind of renovations?”
“My parents’ old house.” Gabe shifted, rubbing his hands together like he was warding off a chill. “I don’t suppose you want to help, since Prudence isn’t here?” When Devlin hesitated, he added, “Even just to warm up, it’s cold out here.”
She accepted with a nod and went through the door as he ushered her in. They stood for a moment and took in the size of the store. She’d been here a few times before but preferred to shop at smaller boutiques rather than big box stores.
“I come here when I know I’m going to be ordering in bulk for a large project, otherwise I like the shops downtown for everything else,” he said, as if reading her mind.
“Cutting costs is always a good idea, then you can spend a little more on the finishing touches. All right, if I’m going to be of any help, I need to know more about what you’re looking at getting done today. I don’t have an expert eye like Pru, but I’m here and I’ll do what I can. What do you need?” They started wandering through an aisle.
“I’m working on the basement. Most of the rest of the house is done, but I hadn’t decided on what to do downstairs until the last few months.”
She raised her eyebrows in question.
“I’m going to have a wet bar and game room.”
“How verybacheloresqueof you.” Devlin stopped herself. She had no right to offer any critique of what he was doing with his house. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. Have you started on anything down there?”
Gabe shook his head. “Nothing, it’s a blank slate. Insulation and sheetrock is all that’s down there. And the bathroom, but just the toilet and sink so far.”
“So, let’s start with the tile then.” She guided him to the right section. “What kind are you thinking?”
Gabe pointed to a busy mosaic pattern. “I like this one.”
“What tile do you have upstairs?”
“It looks more like this.” He pointed to a classic subway tile found in many old farmhouses in Massachusetts.
“Will there be a guest room?”
“No, I have four bedrooms upstairs, that’s enough.”