Gabe
The meeting was hostile, but not more so than I was used to these days.
As time went on, it had gotten easier to stomach them. I was starting to let go, to detach.
Was I distracted by Sabrina? Yes.
She looked incredibly sexy tonight. Not that I’d ever tell her that.
She was decked out in all black, of course, her dress so formfitting I could see the spot where her hip curved into her waist. A spot I’d held on to while I was fucking her.
God, I was an asshole. The very kind of guy I’d always worked hard not to be.
How dare I have sexual thoughts about a woman who was here working her ass off to help us?
She was doing an incredible job presenting data and plans, shining a light on the hard work of others, and answering questions seamlessly.
People were excited. The town was energized for once.
I’d spent my early years in competition with her, though I hadn’t gone about it respectfully at all. My childhood had been easy. People had always liked me. I’d done well in school, and I had wonderfully supportive parents.
Sabrina was right. I was the golden boy.
And maybe I hadn’t given her the due she was owed.
She’d needed that scholarship. I’d needed it too.
But my parents had planned and saved for tuition.
I was going to school in state. It was reasonably affordable.
But I wanted to win every dollar and make them proud.
At the time, I was certain my life would be over if I didn’t get it.
As an adult, I can look back and understand that I would have been fine.
But that had been far more critical to Sabrina.
The two of us were so different back then, despite living in the same town and going to the same school.
Despite my blindness to the situation. I was ashamed of how competitive and shitty I’d been to her when we were teenagers.
We could have been friends and worked together.
Instead, I made life harder for her at every turn.
No wonder she’d been carrying a grudge for almost twenty years.
I busied myself, chatting as the official portion of the meeting ended and a crowd formed around Sabrina and Harper. The townsfolk were firing off questions one after another.
Thank fuck they had the answers. I didn’t understand social media. It was important, sure, but not part of my day to day.
But more and more, I could see how that had been a mistake.
I should have leaned harder to modernize, to take advantage of every avenue for growth.
Nothing I’d done in my time in this position had been interesting.
Fighting the zoning board or fielding angry calls about parking space layout was hardly the stuff of viral magic.
“And with the help of the mayor—”
My ears perked up at the sound of Sabrina’s voice, and as I looked at her, I realized several sets of eyes were on me. So I gave the crowd a thumbs-up. “Of course.”
A few women giggled, and Mrs. Whitcomb’s face flamed red.
“So you agree with Mrs. Whitcomb?” Sabrina asked. “You’d be up for chugging maple syrup shirtless on TikTok?”
“What?” My heart leaped into my throat.
“Kidding, Mayor. Pay attention,” she chided, causing her audience to really erupt in laughter.
From the back of the mass, Mavis Baker shouted, “That would get the tourists back. Give ’em the man candy.”
Sabrina raised her brows at me, her lips twitching, daring me. This was what we’d done as kids. We’d constantly one-upped each other.
And I was feeling brave.
“Sure,” I said with a calm smile. “You know I’ll do anything to help this town.”
Eyes widening, Sabrina sucked in a breath.
I winked at her. Checkmate.
Her nostrils flared, and a zing of excitement coursed through me. I loved besting her at her own game.
I turned to Harper, who was furiously typing notes. “Send me a calendar invite,” I told her. “I’m happy to participate in any town-sponsored content, and I’m at your disposal.”
Red faced, Harper looked up at Sabrina, who nodded.
Mavis and some of the other ladies cheered. Bitsy Bramble scowled from the back of the room where she was holed up with her husband and several members of the Maple Street Mafia.
“He could twerk against a tree,” a deep voice shouted from the back.
It sounded suspiciously like Logan.
I’d get him later.
Sabrina gave me a wicked grin. “I love it when citizens band together to tackle the hard stuff. But let’s focus on capturing the magic of the first sap run for now.”
From there she moved on to answering another question deftly.
She was her usual self, confident, certain, and just charming enough to scare people into compliance.
As much as it pained me to admit, I could learn a thing or two from her.
She held the room, demanded respect, and controlled the narrative with ease.
That was why people paid her the big bucks to solve their impossible problems. No one would dare say no to her.
While she chatted with various townsfolk, I folded chairs and cleaned up.
Harper packed up the technology equipment and made me promise to upgrade the projector in here, then headed out. By then, most people had left. Though Stella Stone was still lingering at the other end of the meeting room, folding and stacking chairs.
My parents were still here too, of course. When they were in town, they made sure to attend every community meeting. At least since I’d become mayor.
“You’re always staying late,” my mom chided.
“Town hall doesn’t tidy itself,” I said. I needed a few minutes of quiet anyway. To process and figure out the next steps. Tonight had been a success, but we still had a lot of work ahead of us. And this place often put me at ease. I loved this building, its history, and this town.
“You did well tonight. Great job getting Sabrina. She’s a firecracker,” Dad added. “The energy is shifting. The people are feeling more positive again.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“So smart. And so pretty.” My mom sighed dramatically. “It’s a shame you two didn’t hit it off on your blind date.”
I gave her a pointed look. “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for that. You’re still in trouble.”
She waved me off. “Can’t blame a mom for trying.” She smiled at me and patted my dad’s arm.
She’d been relentless. Since my aunt and uncle died, my parents had unofficially adopted my four cousins, who now had five kids—eight if I counted Celine’s kids. She and her children seemed pretty settled in Josh’s house these days.
Now that my cousins had all started families, my mom had become fixated on my love life.
She’d left Sam alone for now. Probably because he was busy with his Army duties in North Carolina.
Our baby sister Mabel was in school in Pennsylvania and too young to settle down yet anyway.
That left Nate and me. And the brewery kept him busy for the most part.
Though that didn’t stop her from sending eligible bachelorettes over there for free tasting flights.
“We’re going over to the Drip Line to grab a bite,” Dad said. “Let me buy you a plate of maple wings. You’re looking pale.”
“Okay,” I said, leaning over to kiss Mom’s cheek. “I’ll walk over when I finish up here.”
Once they were gone, I focused on the tables. After a minute or two of quiet, I realized the only other person left was Stella.
Gut sinking, I let out an exhale.
She carefully stacked chairs, a smile on her pretty face. She was so kind and helpful. An elementary school teacher and super volunteer in town.
She baked cookies and volunteered at the Lawrence family’s annual Chainsaw Day and never missed a town event or committee meeting.
She was a committed, sweet person. But I had an inkling that there was another motivation there as well. By being involved in so many activities, it gave her ample opportunity to see me.
I really didn’t consider myself egotistical or cocky, but it was a fact that Stella had been in love with me since I was in high school and she was in middle school.
She’d come to every one of my games back then.
She’d always been friendly with my family, she’d worked on my first campaign for mayor, and she was always… around.
And now she was coming my way, a warm smile on her face. She was the exact type of woman I should want. The definition of a small-town girl who loved her community and worked hard, and she was a lovely friend and neighbor.
She was familiar and safe. The person everyone I knew expected me to end up with.
A choice that wouldn’t make waves.
I’d built an entire identity on not making waves, on being agreeable. But I could no longer deny how fucking tired of it all I was.
And I didn’t want Stella. While I’d known it for years, lately, there’d been more urgency to put an end to the crush. Because I wanted someone else.
A woman who was neither available nor interested.
A woman who kept me up at night and challenged me in ways I couldn’t quite comprehend.
And it had hit me recently just how big an asshole I was by allowing Stella to continue to pine over me.
“That was a great meeting,” she said. “Let me know how I can help with all these new initiatives.”
Her blond hair fell to her shoulders. Her winter coat was pink, the same color as her glossy lips. She was bright and warm. And I’d taken advantage of that.
She broke into the sweetest smile. “A bunch of us are headed over to the Drip Line. Wanna walk over? Grab some dinner?”
“Do you have a minute?” I asked, my heart rate ratcheting up.
I was a good guy. The one who showed up. Who rolled up his sleeves and never let anyone down. But I was about to do something that didn’t fit that mold. It was time to cast aside the man I’d been for so long and grow, just like Maplewood was.
I leaned against the folding table and swallowed past the lump lodged in my throat, digging deep for courage.
“Stella.” I sighed. “I’ve been a selfish asshole.”
Her pretty brown eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“You are a wonderful person. And I’m proud to be your friend. But there isn’t going to be anything more than that between us.”
Her cheeks turned pink.
Bile rose in my throat. This was awful.
“I haven’t treated you fairly. Not because you aren’t wonderful and deserving, but because of my own issues around disappointing people. And I’m sorry for that.”
She tilted her head, her brow furrowing in concern.
My stomach churned more violently. Fuck, she was so understanding.
“I struggle to be honest sometimes. When it means I have to let someone down or make an unpopular choice. And that’s on me.”
“Okay.” She drew out the word, patiently waiting for me to spit it out.
“I’ve known for a long time that you—” I winced and huffed a breath. “That you have feelings for me. And instead of being honest and telling you I didn’t share those feelings, I avoided the conversation altogether.”
She took a step back, lifting her chin. “Wow. Okay. I just—”
“You’re fantastic, Stella,” I rambled on.
“But there is no romantic future here. Not because you aren’t amazing.
Because you are. I admire and appreciate you.
But—but,” I stumbled. “Because I don’t feel that way about you.
” I ran my hands through my hair. “And I think I have, um, feelings for someone else.”
The way her body tensed made me hate myself even more.
“I have no chance with her. It’s not like that. But it has made me realize that I needed to talk to you.”
After an excruciating silence, she inhaled and responded softly. “I’m an idiot.”
Internally, I slapped myself. “No.”
She shook her head. “I am. I’ve been telling myself that the timing was wrong, or that you weren’t ready yet. For so long, I put you on a pedestal.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
She let out a dry laugh. “I’ve spent years thinking you were this amazing, spectacular guy, but now I see it. You’re emotionally shallow. And kind of coward.”
I blinked but otherwise kept my reaction in check. I deserved that. Every people-pleasing cell in my body was screaming to take it all back, to smooth things over and fix this.
But she kept talking.
“I wish you’d just been honest. I’m almost thirty. I can handle it. You’re not the first dude to tell me I have no shot.” She pushed her hair behind her ears.
“Stella—”
She held a hand up. “I’m good.”
“Ruby mentioned you weren’t dating, and I—I hope you weren’t waiting”—I cringed—“for me.”
Her eyes widened, but this time there was anger there.
“Of course I’m not dating. Because there isn’t a single dateable man in this town.” she scoffed. “Please don’t confuse my lack of options with desperation.”
“Sorry.” I was digging my own grave here. “Just… know that I’m sorry. I let things go on because it made my life easier. Which is pretty shitty.”
“Epically shitty,” she said.
I absorbed the retort. Once again, I deserved it. “Can we be friends?” I asked.
She looked me up and down.
“Normally I’d say yes, because Stella Stone is friendly and kind,” she said, her eyes narrowing, the fury on her face so unnatural.
“But no. Because friends are honest with each other. But you led me on. And that’s just selfish.”
Dipping my head, I nodded. “I’m so sorry.”
“I accept your apology,” she said firmly. “But I’m leaving now. Have the night you deserve.” In one fluid move, she turned on her heel. Then she strode out the door.
I slumped into the one remaining folding chair, running my hands through my hair.
I’d spent a lifetime being desperate to be liked, never wanting to let anyone down.
Yet that’s exactly what I’d just done. Defeat flooded me.
But at least I’d been honest. It had probably cost me a friend, but I couldn’t keep doing this.
Keeping everyone happy and placated. Denying what I wanted in service of the rest of the world.
I had to make the hard choices, and I would live with the consequences. I’d be honest and brave. Even when it made me feel like shit.