Page 68 of Forever Yours

“So much time has passed, I don’t know if she’d remember me.”

“She’ll remember you,” Gabe promised.

“Yes, but how? As the man who broke her heart? She was inconsolable when I ended things, I said words that I couldn’t believe were coming out of my mouth and she said she never wanted to see me again.”

“Same here, Joe, same here, but she hasn’t gotten to the point of telling me to get lost.” Gabe picked up Joe’s mug and tilted it toward him in an offer to refill it.

“That’s all for me.” Joe waved his hand and stood, placing some bills on the counter. “Son, don’t make the mistake I did. If you know you love her, don’t let her go. Hold on to her with everything you have, otherwise you’ll be an old fuddy duddy like me, by myself, drinking a beer at eleven a.m. Go to your girl and make everything right, and if she doesn’t want to hear it, keep reminding her that you’re just human and you made a mistake. That kind of love comes around once, and she’d be crazy to let you go over your foolishness, and to not let pride or stubbornness get in the way.”

Gabe turned around to deposit the mug into a sink of water and when he turned back, Joe was gone.

Taking a step back from the odd realization that Mrs. Crenshaw was the recipient of a lifetime of unrequited love, Gabe thought about the words Joe had spoken to him about pride and stubbornness. A dash of arrogance and a pinch of conceit had created the perfect recipe for his attitude on Friday.

Gabe was kicking himself for everything that had happened over the last few days—all he wanted to do was run to Devlin and beg her forgiveness. He felt like it would take more than words to forgive her, and he had the perfect plan. He just needed to be able to make it to the town council meeting tonight.

The afternoon crawled along at a snail’s pace and if he didn’t know the basic concepts of time, he would’ve sworn that the clock was ticking backward. Every person that passed by the front window caught his attention but none of them were Devlin. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of her, or that she’d come over, but neither happened and that ended up being okay. He’d planned tonight out, and he wasn’t quite sure words this afternoon would hold the same influence as his gesture tonight.

Tonight, he was going to withdraw his proposal at the town meeting. By withdrawing, neither of them would know who the town council chose, but Devlin would get the building. He was sure he was making the right decision. Finnegan’s was fine for now, just as it was. He wanted to focus more on his woodworking, and he had space to do that in his garage. It was smaller than he wanted, and he didn’t have any place to store his creations, but he would figure that out.

He’d gotten to the town hall early so he could watch everyone come in. The meeting now was supposed to start in five minutes and Devlin still hadn’t shown up. He tapped his finger on his leg, wondering why she wasn’t there, frustrated from not seeing her for four days.

The door whipped open, and Annabelle whirled in, a notepad in her hand. She noticed him sitting at the front and made her way to him.

“Hi, Gabe. The meeting is almost ready to start.”

“I’ve been very aware of time today,” he admitted. “Have you seen Devlin?”

Annabelle avoided his eyes, turning around to take note of the other townspeople in the room.

“AB, have you talked to her?” he begged. “I need to know.”

She sighed. “I haven’t talked to her. She’s kept a low profile all weekend since she got sick.”

“Sick? Is she okay?”

“From what she says, yes. It seems like a normal cold, but she sounded miserable. She didn’t want us over so she couldn’t spread it.”

“I wonder if that’s why she isn’t here yet. Do you know anything else?”

“I don’t, we know as much as you.”

“You’re telling me you don’t know if she ended up submitting her proposal?”

“Fine, I know everything, but she made me promise not to tell.”

“Did you pinkie swear?”

“What?” Annabelle looked taken aback by the question.

“If you didn’t, that promise isn’t binding.”

Annabelle chewed on her pen cap for a few moments before she started talking again. “She didn’t submit.”

“I don’t understand. She was very clear that she was going to and nothing was going to stop her.”

Annabelle shrugged. “We talked after and once her anger went away, she decided she just wanted to be done with it all. It wasn’t worth any more mental anguish to continue to fight with you.”

“She has to have submitted—my plan will only work if she does.”