Page 5 of Forever Yours

“Thanks, Dev. I’m sorry this storm is throwing a wrench into our plans.”

“Hey, the new year will ring in no matter what we do and I for one find comfort in that fact. See you tonight.” Devlin turned to go but stopped. “You know, this is Sebastian’s first real winter. Atlanta only has two seasons—hot and rainy. You should cut him some slack.”

Annabelle snorted into her coffee. “I will do no such thing.”

Chapter Two

“Hey, toss me that screwdriver,” Gabe called to his brother, reaching out from under the hood of the car.

“Which one? You have at least ten in here.” Greyson rattled around in the drawer of the tool chest.

“Phillips, please.”

“Here you go. You know, Dan down at the service station can put the new spark plug in.” Greyson leaned against the side of his ‘86 Jeep and peered in.

“Hollywood made you soft. ‘86 was the prime year for this SUV, you should be able to do almost anything but replace the engine on it.” Gabe swore as the screwdriver pinged off the screw and hit his other hand. “Damn, this one’s almost stripped. Why’d you park down here anyway?”

“I wouldn’t call it parked—this is where the Jeep died. I’m lucky I got it into this lot.”

“I suppose. Hand me that spark plug. You need help with the new house any time soon? I’m almost done with the renos on my place, and I need a new project.”

Greyson had just purchased a large fixer upper a few blocks from Gabe’s house. The house was in rough condition, but Greyson said it would be home for him and Prudence once he could repair it. Gabe had looked at the house with him before Greyson had purchased it, giving advice about the repairs and what they’d be able to do together.

“All right, that should do it.” Gabe straightened, a smile passing over his face. His smile fell right off when he saw the green tinge on Greyson’s face. “You breathe in too many fumes?”

“I’m going to propose to Prudence tonight,” Greyson blurted.

“Oh shit, man! That’s fucking awesome news!” Gabe pulled Greyson into a hug, clapping him on the back.

“I’m glad you think so, because my pulse has not stopped beating double time since I got the ring from Mom.”

“Grandma’s ring?”

“No. Mom’s always held that ring close to her heart. I figured when she lets it go, it’ll be for her baby boy.”

Gabe landed a punch to Greyson’s arm. “You’re an idiot, she would’ve been happy for you to have it.”

“When I called her last week and told her I was proposing to Pru, she dropped the phone and Dad had to come on the line. They’re both excited about it, but she did tell me she had a ring that would suit Prudence much better, Great Aunt Shell’s ring.”

Greyson pulled a small box out of his pocket, opening it to show Gabe an antique ring set in platinum with a ruby stone surrounded by diamonds. “She said with Pru’s red hair, it would be stunning on her.”

Gabe reached out and touched the ring. Despite the cold day, the ring was warm, like it had just been taken off a finger. “I haven’t seen this ring in decades.”

“I’m always grateful for Mom, especially at times like this.” He snapped the box shut and tucked it back in his pocket. “She also said you don’t call her enough and wanted to know if you’d found anyone special yet.”

Gabe rolled his eyes, their brotherly bonding moment broken. Even though he and Greyson were the only children, he was the baby of the family and still, on a rare occasion, he was treated like it. Their mom couldn’t understand why he hadn’t found a nice girl to settle down with. Greyson had always gotten a pass on things like that. Being a big Hollywood actor, he was supposed to be a playboy and not get serious. “I own a bar, Grey. I can find someone special every night.”

“I don’t believe that, you don’t have it in you. And this town’s too small.”

“Well, I’m not alone.”

“There’s a difference between being alone and being lonely.”

Gabe slammed the hood of the Jeep down. “Jesus, what movie did that line come from?”

“A Good Day to Die, the last Ben Stone movie,” Greyson said.

“Let’s keep cheesy quotes like that in the movies, shall we?” Gabe put his gloves back on and rubbed his hands together to warm them.