Page 64 of Forever Yours
“I don’t remember exactly what was said, but Iamsure we didn’t agree to go ahead with the plan as if nothing happened between us.”
Emma appeared thoughtful as she finished with the last of her prep, taking her apron off and hanging it on a hook behind the counter.
“I’ve been in the background for a lot that’s happened the last few months, in the unique position to observe what’s been going on without anyone paying attention to me. When Greyson Atwood came in to get coffee, he wasn’t here to talk to the lowly barista Emma, he wanted to talk to his girlfriend’s friend. He wanted to get to know you because you were important to Prudence, and the look in his eyes when he talked about her was unmistakable. He was so clearly in love that it hurt my own heart. That same look is in Gabe’s eyes when he’s around you. If he can look at you like that, then nothing will stand in your way, especially all this.” She waved her hands around the space indicating the expansion. “I’m sorry, Devlin, it’s not my place, but I wanted you to see it how I did. I’m going to put the till away then I’ll go home.”
She wasn’t willing to hear it. Emma’s youthful take on love seemed like a foreign movie with subtitles she couldn’t understand. She knew what was happening but couldn’t put the plot together, the nuance of it lost on her.
Devlin saw Gabe walk by her door and stop. He looked in, his face inscrutable, and she wasn’t sure if he saw her, then turned and walked away.It’s not worth it, her mind chanted while her heart broke. She’d picked up her life and moved on once before and she could do it again.
Chapter Twenty
Devlin had promised Annabelle that she’d be at the snowman building contest to help decorate for The Bee, but she just wanted to curl into the fetal position and sleep for a week. She was sure that Annabelle would let her off the hook for the day, especially after what had happened last night at Finnegan’s, however she’d spent so long hiding from Gabe that she wouldn’t do it anymore, so she bundled up and went to the town square.
She’d run from her problems all her life, hell, she’d moved cities when the last one was too much to bear, and she was tired. Bone tired of running and fighting. Or, rather, fighting then running. Even if she didn’t end up with Gabe, that cycle needed to break.
Amber Falls was home—more of a home to her than Boston had ever been, and the friends she’d made here were closer to her than family. That was one of the reasons she left her loft when she would’ve been happy working or deep cleaning or doing any other menial task. Annabelle was family, and she wouldn’t let her down.
The contest was in full swing as Devlin made her way across the open space. So many different kinds of snowmen were being built—some she would call snow sculptures, since they were more intricate than three large balls of snow and decorations with variations that included a sasquatch, a dragon and a bear. Annabelle was still rolling out her second ball, the middle section, when Devlin walked up.
“Finally, Dev! Where have you been?” She accepted a cup of coffee from Devlin’s outstretched hand.
“I’m just a few minutes late, you started early.”
“I suppose I did. I either had to start moving or freeze my butt off.”
“Where is everyone else? Sebastian isn’t here?”
“The Duke called me just as I got here to tell me he’d forgotten he had a spa weekend booked that was a gift from a sponsor and it would be bad etiquette to not go. He was just about to get a hot stone massage, that bastard.”
“That’s low, knowing you’d be out here freezing.”
“I told him that and he just laughed and hung up, but I’m determined that I’m going to win this thing without him.”
“Mrs. Crenshaw isn’t participating, is she?”
“She would somehow figure out a way to outshine us all, if she was, like building a kitchen with a wood stove and whipping up a prize-winning dish.”
Devlin bent over and helped Annabelle heave the middle ball into place, packing additional snow around to stabilize it.
“I like a lot of the snowmen, but I’m surprised that so many people are making sculptures instead.”
“They won’t win, the rules are clear that it has to be a snowman, but they still do it to show off.”
“Did you know there’s a World Snow Sculpting Championship?” Devlin asked.
“No shit. Now that must be some miserable people. What Scandinavian nation came up with that?”
“It’s held in Minnesota, believe it or not.”
“I believe it. Those people are about as Scandinavian as they come.”
“You ever been there?”
“No, but I’ve watchedFargoand I’m sure that’s an accurate portrayal.”
“You betcha,” Devlin joked. “Where are the accessories, or should we have brought our own?”
Annabelle pointed to some large boxes in the gazebo. “We can take whatever we need out of there.”