Epilogue
Winter melted away and the sweet smell of spring was in the air. Trees and flowers were blooming, and Gabe couldn’t stop smiling. He hadn’t for months.
The Spring Fling was in full swing in Amber Falls as Memorial Day was fast approaching. They were at the Spring Fling dance, the kickoff to the annual celebration.
Gabe and Devlin were dancing, their arms around each other and everyone else tuned out. Gabe could hear the music, just enough to sway to the beat, but everything else around him was muted, quiet, so he could focus on Devlin. The music stopped and he leaned his forehead against hers, not wanting to let her go.
Her winter wear of jeans and thick sweaters had changed over to a spring wardrobe of flowy dresses, and he relished in the shape of her body under the thinner fabric. She’d pulled on a cardigan as the night took on a seasonable chill and gave a little shiver now.
“You ready to go home?” he whispered, and felt her shiver again as his warm breath hit her ear.
“I’m ready,” she agreed. “Let’s go.”
As they were walking over to say goodbye to the rest of the group, they were stopped by a familiar face. Joe, the man that had given Gabe life changing advice, waved them down.
“You must be the girl,” he stated after saying hi to Gabe.
Devlin gave Gabe a quizzical look and he just grinned back at Joe. “She’s the girl.”
“I’m very happy to hear it.” He put his arm around Mrs. Crenshaw. “And here’s mine. Agatha, these are the two I was telling you about.”
“Hi, Agatha. How are you doing?” Gabe asked.
“That’s Mrs. Crenshaw to you, young man.”
Gabe was secretly happy at this set down, it felt strange to call her by her first name.
“I’m glad I ran into you, Gabe,” Joe said. “I’m not sure if you know it, but I own the building on the other side of Finnegan’s.”
Gabe’s eyes widened. The building had always been closed, but never run-down, taken care of enough that Gabe never gave it a second thought.
“I’m ready to sell it,” Joe continued. “The old family property hasn’t gotten any use in the last twenty or so years. I’m hoping to move somewhere warm soon, if I can convince Agatha that sunshine is the real fountain of youth.”
“I’m far too wise now to want my youth back,” Mrs. Crenshaw admitted. “I’ll take you just as you are.”
“I’m glad to hear that, dear. I was hoping that there would be someone who wanted to buy it and I wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of listing it. If I make the deal with you, the town council will approve, I’ve already talked to them.”
Devlin squealed with excitement. “Gabe, that’s perfect!”
He agreed. Perfect was exactly how he’d describe it.
“Joe, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything yet. We can look at the building next week, and if it suits your needs, and your price point, it’s yours. Now you two go and have a good rest of your night.” He shook Gabe’s hand and Mrs. Crenshaw led him over to the display of prize-winning jams, for which she’d won the grand prize.
Everything was falling into place, and he was going to ask Devlin to move in with him tonight. They’d been fixing up his house in their spare time and he felt now that the house was just as much hers as it was his. She’d taken over the design job, a job Prudence had given up gladly so she could spend more time with Greyson. Gabe trusted Devlin’s aesthetic and it felt wrong now when he went home and she wasn’t there. He was nervous and didn’t want to wait until later, so he just spit it out.
“Will you move in with me, Devlin?”
“Yes!” came her immediate reply.
“The house has turned—wait, yes?” It took him off guard, though he wasn’t sure why he thought he’d have to convince her to give up her loft.
“I’d love to move in with you, Gabe! I’ve come to love that house so much. I’m glad you feel the same way I do. In fact, I’ve been hinting to Emma that if she needs a new place, I might have the loft available for rent this summer.”
Gabe’s heart soared. He was truly the happiest he’d been, and he couldn’t wait to start this next chapter of his and Devlin’s lives together and maybe he’d get to use his grandma’s ring after all.
He shared the good news as soon as they reached the group.
“Devlin’s going to move in with me,” Gabe announced.
“That’s great. I’ve got my truck if you need help moving,” Sebastian offered.
“Thanks, Seb,” Devlin said. “It won’t be much, I’m going to leave a lot there and rent it out, maybe to Emma.”
“That makes sense, business-wise,” Sebastian agreed.
“With the renovations and expansion, you’re going to want to get away from that place at some point,” Greyson added. “Otherwise it’ll take over everything.”
Gabe started to lead Devlin away when Prudence stopped them.
“Wait, before you go, I can’t forget to tell you. Grey and I are going to fly out to L.A. in a few weeks for the Passel awards. The writer’s strike has moved the show back so many times, but they finally picked June. Grey is begging me to come with him. He said that if I’m there, the paparazzi will be nicer to him and that I can crack the whip on anyone who tries to take advantage of him, Nadia included.”
“They all think she’s some sort of dominatrix that holds all the cards and they’d have to go through her to get to me,” Greyson confirmed. “Plus, Nadia is scared of Pru, so hopefully she’ll leave me alone.”
“It’ll all go smoother if I just go with.”
“What about Summer Stock? Isn’t that right when it’s starting?” Devlin asked.
Prudence grinned. “That’s the best part. Grey and Wyatt finally made peace with each other and Wyatt agreed to come and teach the first few weeks of it.”
“Now we can have that Wyatt Reed movie marathon.” Annabelle high-fived Prudence and Devlin. “Ladies’ night!”
“A marathon of third-rate romantic comedies?” Sebastian groused. “No thanks.”
“You weren’t invited,” Annabelle pointed out.
“Hey, he’s got a lot of good action movies, too,” Greyson defended Wyatt.
“I’m going to have too much to do, anyway,” Sebastian explained. “My sister, Sofia, is going to be visiting for a month this summer. I’ll have to make sure she’s got enough to do while I’m working.”
“You mentioned she might be coming here, I’m glad she can make it.” Gabe noticed Devlin yawn and they said their final goodbyes.
He took Devlin’s hand and they walked out into the spring night, the voices behind them fading away.
“Hey, Gabe.” Devlin snuggled close to his side on their walk home. “I’m so grateful for your support with my expansion that I want to return the favor somehow.”
“Believe me, you’ve returned the favor more than you know.”
She gave him a nudge. “You know what I mean. Joe’s offer got me thinking about your woodworking. You love it so much, and I think you could make a serious business out of it.”
“You’re a mind reader, Dev. I have so many thoughts swirling around about that, but I don’t know yet how I’d do it.”
“You already have your shop to build your pieces in, now you can have a place to showcase them all.”
“That’s a genius idea. It might be small, but that’ll only highlight the pieces I put in there.”
“There’s a lot of planning to do, but I’m here with you for it all. I know you love Finnegan’s, but this is your passion.”
“You’re my passion, Devlin. Nothing else matters as long as we’re together.”
Gabe wrapped his arm around Devlin’s shoulder and a sense of peace surrounded him. He felt like he had a true partner, that they supported each other, and there was no better feeling than that. Well, maybe that they were going home—to their home—together.