Page 9 of Forever Yours
Annabelle turned to look at Sebastian. “What on earth are you still doing here? What happened to your date? Shouldn’t you be in a sex dungeon somewhere tying her up right now?”
“Jealous?” he asked, clearly oblivious to the eyes widening in the room. He took a fraction of a step back from the force of Annabelle’s glare. “She’s my sister, Winters, and that’s low, even for you. Besides, she already left withyourdate.”
“One,” Annabelle retorted without missing a beat, “you felt the need to go all night without telling me she’s your sister? And two, you let your sister leave with one of your subordinates?”
Sebastian’s smirk fell right off his face. “Oh, shit.”
“Back on topic, guys.” Prudence motioned for them to cut it out.
Gabe was both happy his friends wanted to help and frustrated they thought he needed help. “I’m serious.” He decided he wanted them to stay out of it. “I’m a grown man who can take care of his own life. I’ll deal with this in my own way.” He walked over and opened the office door, gesturing for them to start moving out. “Now let’s get back out there and finish off the night. I have a business to run.”
He turned and headed back out to the bar first when they didn’t move fast enough, glimpsing the look that passed between Greyson and Prudence and the little shove Annabelle gave Sebastian to get him moving.
* * * *
Devlin was shattered. All her memories from Boston, all the memories she’d tried to run away from, that she’d wanted to bury, were ricocheting through her head. She’d only had a panic attack once and this felt the same. One minute she was gasping for breath and the next she heard the soothing voice of Annabelle, her hands running over her back. She was so grateful at this moment that they were good enough friends to have exchanged keys.
“I’m sorry, Dev,” she heard her say, and focused on Annabelle’s hand making circles on her back. “I rang three times and when you didn’t answer I had to come up.”
Devlin’s breathing was returning to normal, and she sat, leaning her head against the back of her couch, her eyes closed. “Thank you, Annabelle. I didn’t hear the buzzer.”
Annabelle stood from her crouch and sat in the chair across from Devlin. “I figured that.” She appeared thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I figuredsomething. I told Prudence to go home. Getting engaged is a big deal and I didn’t want her to be away from Greyson tonight.”
“Oh God, no!” Devlin exclaimed. “Thank you for doing that. She would’ve been here otherwise. Tonight should’ve been a celebration of their engagement.”
Annabelle grinned. “I don’t think anything will stop them from celebrating.” Her phone pinged multiple times in a row. “Her ears must be burning, that’s her now.” She was quiet for a few minutes while she typed, then set her phone down and looked at Devlin. “She wanted to come over, but I said we’ve got this covered. She’ll bring Chinese food for lunch tomorrow, though.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” She lapsed into silence for a few moments before asking, “What did he say, AB?”
“He told us what happened in Boston.”
“Us?”
“Prudence, Greyson and Sebastian.”
“Sebastian, no!”
Annabelle grimaced. “I know, I’m sorry. He’s so nosy.”
“What was his version of what happened?”
“If I tell you his version, will you please tell me yours? The real one this time?”
Devlin nodded.
“He said he met you at a bar in Boston one night. You went back to his hotel and had mind-blowing sex, then you disappeared by the next morning, and he never knew your name.”
“That’s it?”
“Should there be more?” Annabelle questioned, ever the reporter.
“Not in Boston, that’s pretty much what happened.”
“He said he might’ve seen you here. He saw a woman through Finnegan’s window who had a passing resemblance to you, but your hair was too short and not the right color, so he blew it off as a weird déjà vu.”
“I remember that day. That’s when I knew he was here.”
“He wasn’t one hundred percent sure until tonight.”