Chapter Three
Gabe looked at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time. He loved New Year’s Eve, being a part of everyone’s night, and because of his business he was able to bring everyone together in one place, but tonight felt different. Annabelle was with a mystery woman. A woman who vanished every time he got near their booth. He swore that if he so much as thought about going over there, he’d look over to see she was already gone. He couldn’t pin down why she was so familiar to him. He’d had brief sightings of her over the last year or so. Tonight, he caught flashes of silver and the twirl of a dress out of the corner of his eye, but she was never there. The universe had more concrete proof that bigfoot existed than his mystery woman.
He sighed and tried to shake it off. It would die down after midnight, and he’d get to sleep in tomorrow. Maybe that was all he needed, a good night’s sleep. A quick zip of silver beading caught his eye and he turned. “Hey, what can I get you?” He locked eyes with the woman who had eluded him. He did know her; he had no doubt now. The bleach blonde from Boston now had short, brown hair—but those eyes. Now that he was mere feet away from her, he knew. He couldn’t mistake those eyes, so green, the color of moss in a rolling river on a spring day after the winter snow had melted.
They stood suspended in time as the clock started its inevitable countdown to midnight.
“Happy New Year!” The sound of the crowd cheering broke them out of their daze, but now the woman looked stricken. She put her hand to her mouth with a gasp, turned, and dashed out of the door.
Gabe was propelled into movement, running around the bar, dodging a kissing Greyson and Prudence as he ran to the door, but he was too late. She was too fast and had disappeared into the cold night. He closed the door behind him, leaning against it for support. It’s her .
“What the hell was that?” Annabelle asked as she walked up to Gabe. “What did you say to Devlin? Where did she go?” She shook his arm “Gabe? Where did Devlin go?”
Gabe snapped back to reality. “ That’s the Devlin you’ve been talking about?” he asked, although he now knew the answer.
“We should talk,” Prudence offered as she and Greyson joined them, the sounds of the midnight ballad fading.
“I have a plan!” Annabelle exclaimed, pushing her shoulder into Sebastian’s chest to move him back as he’d come to stand with the group.
“No, not one of your schemes, Annabelle.” Gabe ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He sighed. “All right, I’m listening.”
“First,” Annabelle demanded, “tell us everything. If I’m going to come up with a plan I need to know all the details.”
Gabe was uncomfortable with all the attention. He decided they weren’t going to leave him alone and motioned for them to follow him to the back room, shutting the door once they’d all filed in. “Listen, the details aren’t important. The last time I was in Boston I met her in a bar, and we spent one night together, I didn’t know her name.”
“Nice, man,” Sebastian said, then yelped as Annabelle pinched his arm.
Gabe continued, “I thought what we had was special, not just a one-night stand, but she was gone the next morning. No note, no clues to her identity, so I moved on.”
“What about when she moved here last year?” Prudence questioned.
“What?” Gabe noted the lack of surprise on his friends’ faces. “What the hell is going on?”
Annabelle shot a quick look at Prudence, who nodded. “Devlin moved here last year and opened Books and Beans. She told us that she ran into you one day, you guys talked and decided what happened between you was in the past and you’d just move on from it.”
“I haven’t seen or spoken to her since Boston,” Gabe insisted.
“How have you not noticed her around town?” Prudence asked.
“She’s literally two doors down from you, Gabe,” Annabelle added.
Gabe hung his head, letting out a sigh. “I guess I have, now that I think back on it. She was familiar, I got this weird sense of déjà vu one day when I saw a woman outside the bar, but by the time I got to the door to see who she was, she was gone. Was I supposed to track her down and say, ‘hey, was it you I had mind-blowing, life-altering sex with one night a year and a half ago in Boston?’ How well do you think that would’ve gone over? I’d end up looking like a shallow asshole no matter what. So, I just left it. I figured our paths would cross one day and I’d know, but that never happened.”
“By never happened, do you mean you’ve been avoiding her on purpose so you wouldn’t have to know?” Annabelle asked.
“Why would I not want to know, Annabelle?” Gabe snapped.
“Hey, I’m just saying,” Annabelle placated, “sometimes it’s easier to leave the unknown alone and live in blissful ignorance.”
“The person I was with never told me her name and was gone by the time I woke the next morning. And that girl”—he pointed to the office door— “looks nothing like who I was with in Boston. She had long blonde hair and…her eyes. I didn’t know for sure she was the same person until I saw her eyes.” Prudence started to say something, but Gabe cut her off, holding up his hand. “And by the way, she was the one who ended up outside my window. If she wanted to say something, she could have. Plus, she lied to you both.”
“I get it,” Greyson soothed. “Either way, you don’t come out looking great in this situation and that sucks.”
“Okay,” Annabelle said. “So, Devlin knows you live here, but she’s been avoiding you and we don’t know why.”
“We?” Gabe asked the group. “Who exactly is we ?”
Prudence and Annabelle raised their hands.
“Wait, you knew, Pru?” Greyson asked.
“The story wasn’t mine to tell, Grey,” she sighed. “But it’s out in the open now. We’ve only known since the Fall Festival. She didn’t go into the whole story with us, she just filled us in on the barest of details before asking us not to say anything. We didn’t push her, we figured she’d tell us more if she needed to.”
Annabelle nodded. “Everyone has a past, and some people want to leave theirs behind. But” she added, looking around at the group, “that doesn’t mean we can’t do something about it now. I really do have a plan.”
“Are you being serious, Winters?” asked Sebastian, who had been silent since Annabelle had pinched him.
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 with your date.”
“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 figured something . 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.”
Devlin nodded. Everything she’d held back felt like it needed to get out of her, and it had to happen right now.
“There was a guy.” She looked at Annabelle, who nodded at her to continue. “My boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. He wasn’t very nice to me. He wasn’t very nice to anyone.”
“I’m so sorry, Devlin.”
“Don’t be. I left him right before I met Gabe. I found Amber Falls a few weeks later and have never looked back.”
“Damn right you did, sister.” Annabelle sat straight in her chair, nodding. “But it must’ve been so strange to see Gabe, right?”
“Oh yes. I had a weird feeling like being sucked into a void, like a sinkhole or something. It lasted for only a few minutes until I realized he didn’t recognize me, and if he didn’t recognize me then I didn’t need to be around him. I came here for a fresh start. I’d finally gotten the courage to get out of a bad relationship and I didn’t want anything to do with Boston, including Gabe. I could live my life, he could live his, and we’d never have to cross paths.” She sighed. “Then Greyson came home.”
“Yes, he did,” Annabelle agreed.
“Once Greyson and Prudence got together, it felt like we started to be forced into each other’s company. That’s why I told you Gabe and I had spoken and to please not say anything. I didn’t want you two to do anything. I was able to make excuses not to be around when I knew he’d be there until tonight.” She shook her head. “Was he upset when he found out I knew?”
“I think surprised, more than upset. You guys need to talk this out.”
“What a mess I’ve turned this into.”
“You could’ve stayed home, Devlin. I would’ve been fine on my own.”
“No, I decided I wasn’t going to hide tonight.” She shrugged. “I take that back; I wasn’t going to hide out of sight the whole night.”
“You don’t have a bladder problem, do you?”
Devlin laughed at how ridiculous this all was. “I don’t. I just left the table every time Gabe started walking in our direction.”
“Thank goodness. I just want to sleep until the afternoon and not run you to Dr. Simmons.
“Are you still staying here tonight?”
“I don’t think I could drag my tired ass home if I tried. Besides, why let this ruin our slumber party? I’m sleeping on your couch.” She pointed to the overnight bag Devlin had grabbed earlier. “I’m ready for pjs.”
“That sounds like heaven right now. I’ve been up for”—Devlin looked at her watch—“twenty hours and I could drop.”
They sat in silence, both too exhausted to move, but Devlin needed to know what happened with Annabelle and Sebastian.
“Where did Sebastian end up tonight after you all had a heart to heart with Gabe?”
“That was his sister he was with, not a date.” She stopped talking long enough that Devlin thought she’d fallen asleep. “He walked me here.”
“Really?” Devlin asked, surprised both by the comment and the fact that Annabelle was still awake.
Annabelle nodded. “He said I was a pain in the ass, but I was his pain in the ass, and he wasn’t going to let me get kidnapped despite me letting him know how close you lived.” She closed her eyes, the combination of the whiskey, long hours and emotional conversation overtaking her. “Isn’t that nice?”
Devlin watched her friend about to doze off on the couch, not sure if Annabelle knew she was letting her softening feelings toward Sebastian show. She stood and grabbed Annabelle’s hand and led her toward the bathroom.
“That was very gentlemanly of him, I’ll give him that. Now let’s get you into your pajamas. We’ve got some hardcore sleeping to do and I’m not going to let you pass out in a flapper dress, no matter how tired you are.”
“You’re a good friend, Dev. I’ll see you in the morning.” Annabelle entered the bathroom, closing the door.
Devlin pulled out the hide-a-bed and dimmed the lights before entering her room. After changing her clothes she sat on her bed, drained, thinking over the last few hours. Then, she did what she hadn’t been able to do for years. She let go of her past misery, giving her body a shake. Everyone had a history. She wasn’t going to let hers define her and would be damned if she was going to spend another second wallowing in it. She was stronger than that.