Page 49 of Forever Yours
“I’m not sure I do. Gabe, we had a one-night stand. It wouldn’t have been odd to you that I showed up in your hometown half a year later? Like I said, stalker vibes.”
He held her gaze, not wanting her to shy away from this conversation. “I felt a real connection to you that night.”
Understanding appeared to dawn on her face. “You’re hurt,” she stated, reaching over and taking his hand. “You think I didn’t feel the same.”
“All indications point to the contrary.”
“I had to leave that night.” She squeezed his hand hard. “I’d just broken up with my boyfriend a few days before. He wasn’t nice to me. I knew—even with the short amount of time we spent together—I could sense the goodness in you. It felt too much like whiplash from what I’d come from, and I wasn’t ready for those feelings so I left. When I saw you again, all those intense emotions came rushing back and I was overwhelmed. Then I felt foolish that you didn’t recognize me, and it made everything easier to pretend we didn’t know each other. Until Grey came home and made a mess of all of this.”
Gabe wiped a solitary tear that had fallen from her eye. “Did he hurt you?”
At this question, tears started streaming down Devlin’s face and a protectiveness coursed through Gabe, ready to battle anyone who had wronged her. “No, God no. At least physically he never hurt me. All his behaviors were emotional abuse, classic narcissism, and I stayed with him for far too long. My parents were very much the same, and I jumped from one toxic relationship to another, never thinking or knowing that I deserved more. Then I met you and I got a glimpse of what a real man should be like, and it scared me. You’re so different from what I was used to my whole life, and I got spooked and ran.” She grabbed a napkin from a holder at the center of the table and dried her face. “Here I am, pouring my pathetic life story out over a game of Monopoly.”
“Your life experience isn’t pathetic, Devlin. It’s yours and we’re all shaped by ours, good or bad.”
“Is it wrong to wish that mine was shaped by a trust fund, or winning the lottery?”
“No, that just makes you human.”And I love you all the more for showing me your human side. That popped in and out of Gabe’s head before he could grab a hold of it and analyze what it meant.
They played in silence for a few more rounds, exchanging rents and jabs until Gabe’s pile of cash dwindled to a few dollars.
“I still don’t know why Annabelle traded me Boardwalk for St. James Place,” Devlin wondered as Gabe rolled an unlucky number and landed on the said property. “That property has knocked out everyone.”
Gabe turned up his palms in defeat, handing over the last of his few dollars and mortgaged properties. “Let’s make it official. You have won what I’m dubbing The Great Blizzard Snowed In at the Cabin Monopoly Game.”
“That’s catchy. You think it’ll look good on a resume?”
“Monopoly master is the only thing you should need on a resume, in my opinion. It says everything one needs to know. You can manage money, you make wise real estate decisions, you’re cutthroat in business and you’re lucky at rolling dice.”
“Lucky dice rolling is now a sought-after skill in the workplace?”
“I’m surprised more employers don’t ask about it.”
Devlin laughed and handed him the board. “Loser has to pack it all up.” A yawn split her face and her jaw made a popping sound. “Oh, man, I’m beat. I don’t think we’ve gotten a lot of sleep these last few days. I think Annabelle and Sebastian have it right—how does a nap sound? I think I could sleep until the morning.”
Gabe was surprised to find that he was tired as well. The physicality of their lovemaking combined with the emotional conversation had worn him out.
“Then nap we shall.” He stood and held out his hand, ignoring the mess of the game, a shiver of happiness rolling through him when she took it.
He was pleased to discover that he would be content to just hold her while she slept. If he couldn’t slay her demons for her, he would settle for holding them at bay.
Chapter Sixteen
Almost a week had passed since they’d been able to leave the cabin and they were both busy. The college students had come back in full force after the winter break, and it hadn’t slowed yet. Between coffee in the morning and booze at night, business was booming.
Devlin stood behind the counter of Books and Beans and felt a thrill pass through her when she saw one particular man in the middle of the long line of customers. They’d spent what time they could together, but their opposite hours made it difficult, so they visited each other at their respective establishments when the opportunity arose. Breakfast at Devlin’s shop and lunch or dinner at Gabe’s bar. Having Devlin’s loft right there had been helpful for them to get some much needed alone time.
Devlin counted the days until they could be together with no other commitments, but with the Winter Wonderland activities starting today, she knew they’d have to get creative in order to spend time together. She couldn’t forget the proposal deadline looming like a bucket of water held over their heads. They hadn’t discussed it since the cabin by silent mutual agreement, but it was there, and she was more than aware of it.
The proposal she’d come up with at the cabin with Annabelle and Prudence was a solid one. They’d poured over her finances, forecasted profits and drawn up plans that included other options to increase her profits, including expanding her customer base and the products she offered. Between the three of them, they’d exhausted all avenues of growth and she felt better than ever with what she had to present to the town council.
Looking at Gabe now, and seeing the smile on his face, she felt a small tingle in the back of her brain. The tiniest hint of unease about her plan appeared and she faltered for a moment, burning her thumb on a coffee warmer just as Gabe reached the front of the line. She hissed in pain, blowing on the offending digit.
“You’re lucky today is the ice sculpture competition.” Gabe reached over the counter to take a look at her finger. “There’ll be plenty around to cool off that burn.”
“How can I forget? Annabelle hired someone for the newspaper to sculpt a bee and she won’t stop talking about it. I don’t see what’s so exciting about sculpting freezing ice in freezing temperatures.”
Gabe shrugged. “I wish I had a fun story to tell, like the town elders held yearly competitions to see who could come up with the best way to preserve ice year round until refrigeration was invented, but there’s no story to go with this one.”