Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
GABE
Unlike the last Sunday brunch we attended, I feel lighter than I ever have before. Because by the afternoon, my family will know everything.
Abbie runs into the house ahead of us, not bothering to wait. As we ascend the porch steps, I grab Hallie’s hand and interlace our fingers. Her head snaps in my direction.
“We’re telling them today, right?” I confirm. It’s our last brunch before Clara drives our parents down to Toronto to catch their flight to Mexico.
Hallie nods, though her eyes are wide with worry. “Yes, but I thought maybe we would, you know, ease them in.”
I press a kiss to her bare ring finger. “You should know by now that I like to cannonball into the deep end, baby.”
Her irises flare, just like they always do when I call her that. She pushes onto the tips of her toes, leaning into me. I meet her halfway, and our lips meld together. If anyone were to look out the window now, there would be no denying what they saw.
When we break apart, Hallie sighs. “I guess we’d better tell them before Abbs beats us to it.”
I chuckle at that. “When you decided to tell her first, you definitely chose the least likely person in this family to keep a secret.”
She tries to look annoyed, but her smile breaks through. “Yeah, but she’s also the most important. If she wasn’t happy, then nothing else would have really mattered.”
Hallie lets out a noise of surprise when I bend and claim her lips again. That four-letter word is on the tip of my tongue, but I shove it down. One thing at a time. So instead, I let myself savour her.
“What was that for?” she asks, slightly breathless.
I cup her cheek. “Thank you. For never once thinking that Abbie shouldn’t come first.”
Hallie’s brows furrow. “Of course she should. Nothing else ever crossed my mind.”
“I know, and that’s why I lo—” I cut myself off. “Why I’m lucky as hell to call you mine.”
Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to catch on to my near slip. We decide to head into the house before Clara can come looking for us again.
My parents and siblings, along with Delilah and Parker, are already in the kitchen. Abbie is in the other room with Sophia, playing until the food is ready. When Hallie and I enter, conversation grinds to a halt.
Six pairs of eyes lock onto our joined hands, and then they search our faces. Hallie’s grip tightens; I give her a squeeze back in reassurance.
“Oh. My. God !” Clara finally exclaims.
Hallie pales beside me, guilt threaded through her expression. “Clara, listen. I?—”
“Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting for this day?” my sister shrieks, her body practically vibrating with excitement. “Over a fucking decade , Hallie Foster!”
She explodes out of her seat and makes a beeline for Hallie, gathering her in a tight hug. It might be ridiculous, but I refuse to let go of her hand. As Hallie hugs Clara back with her free arm, I can practically see the relief wash over her.
When they pull apart, Clara is still smiling. I didn’t necessarily think my twin would make a huge deal about us being together, but I also didn’t think she would be this excited either.
“When did this happen?” she asks, circling her finger to indicate our interlocked fingers.
Hallie grimaces, and I say, “Officially? The night we went to the bar.”
Clara spins around to look at Delilah. “I told you!” Then she turns back to us. “I had a feeling things changed after that. That drive home was awkward as hell for the rest of us, by the way.”
“You aren’t mad I kept this from you?” Hallie asks tentatively.
“Babe,” she says flatly, “you were wearing his shirt on girls’ night. We knew. We all knew.”
Hallie blushes bright red, and I release her hand so I can pull her against my side. She tucks herself in close, not caring that everyone’s eyes are still on us, and my heart soars. Fucking finally, we’re not a secret anymore, and I don’t have to pretend to not want my hands on her.
“Besides,” Delilah adds, “you two can barely keep your eyes off each other. It was only a matter of time.”
I like to think that’s true. That Hallie and I were so inevitable, nothing could keep us apart. Not forever.
Clara nods. “We’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.”
Hallie inhales deeply. “Gabe wanted to tell you—all of you—from the start, but I was scared. I was scared it would jeopardize our friendship or that you wouldn’t think I was right for him. It’s silly, really, but I let my worries win.” She looks at my parents. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Mom says. She drops her oven mitt and rushes over, cupping Hallie’s face. “ I’m sorry you felt like you had to hide from us, but I can’t tell you how excited I am.”
“Really?”
Mom smiles. “You’ve always been part of this family, Hallie, and you make my son happy. What more could I want?”
Mom returns to the food she was going to pull out of the oven, and Clara retakes her seat at the table. I start to follow, but Hallie stays rooted to her spot. When I look at her, she has a determined expression on her face.
“There’s something else,” Hallie says. “In the interest of being completely honest.”
I didn’t think we needed to tell my family about our fake engagement, but Hallie decided she would rather lay it all out in the open. Start fresh.
Clara gasps, perking up. “Are you pregnant?”
Hallie’s cheeks flame. “What? That’s not— I— What ?”
I chuckle at how flustered she is, and at my sister’s overactive imagination. “Hallie isn’t pregnant.”
Yet . But that’s a conversation for another time.
“Then what is it?” Dad asks. He and Mom are standing by the island, plating something that looks like home fries.
“Gabe and I have been pretending to be engaged in front of my father and his family,” she blurts, so fast her words all jumble together.
For a moment, everyone is silent.
Then Parker says, “That’s some serious rom-com type of shit.”
Delilah cuts him a look, likely for swearing when Abbie and Sophia could be in earshot, but he isn’t fazed.
“He’s not wrong,” Clara says. “And I definitely didn’t see that coming. After Carole spilled the beans, I figured you would have told Kevin it was just a rumour.”
“I should have, but it’s for some of the same reasons I wouldn’t let Gabe tell you about us.
” Hallie looks down at her hands, then back up.
“I was worried about what people would think of me. Of what I had to show for myself. I’m done with all that now.
I don’t want to be anyone but exactly who I am. ”
“Good,” Mom says. “Because we happen to love her very much.”
Hallie’s expression lightens as all of her previous worries melt away.
I lean closer, speaking only for her. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
She shakes her head. “I should have known your family would be amazing, as always.”
Hallie goes to join Clara and Delilah at the table, and they start whispering together. It looks like Clara and Delilah are both interrogating her.
Someone claps me on the back, and I turn to find my brother sporting a smug grin. “I was beginning to think I’d never see the day you finally decided to make a real move,” Luke says.
I shake my head. “Again, you’re a hypocrite.”
He ignores my jab, and his grin turns sincere. He tips his head in an approving nod. “Happy for you, Gabe.”
“Thanks.” He goes to move away, but I stop him. “Hey, Luke? Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Now that Hallie has confessed, I feel like I need to do the same. Dad said he wouldn’t say anything until I did, but I’m sure Mom knows by now. Those two tell each other everything.
Luke gestures to the door. After receiving a reassuring smile from Hallie, I follow him out to the front porch.
“Mind making this quick?” he asks, leaning back against the wooden railing. “It’s fucking freezing out here.”
It is, but outside is the only place we’re guaranteed a lick of privacy. Everyone else will find out eventually, so maybe it’s a moot point to talk to Luke alone, but I figured I owe him that much. As my boss, but also as my brother.
I grit my teeth, gathering my nerve. “I just wanted to give you a heads up that I’ll be quitting sometime in the near future.”
Luke rears back, looking like I slapped him. “Quitting? You planning to move or something?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m staying on the island. But I’ve been thinking, reevaluating what I want my life to look like. And I’ve come to the conclusion that being a firefighter isn’t what I want. It never really was.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Luke look so shocked. “What? You were so proud to join the crew.”
“No, you and Dad were proud. I was just following in your shadow.”
“You mean my footsteps?”
My smile is more of a cringe. “All my life, I’ve looked up to you.
I mean, of course I have. You’re my older brother.
But I’ve never really been allowed to be me the way you and Clara have.
In school, I was always Luke’s brother , never just Gabe.
Always measured against you. And when it came down to it, I chose the path that everyone else thought I should take because I didn’t want to be known as the family fuck-up. ”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You and Clara, you’ve always been so sure of yourselves.
Knew exactly what you wanted to be. I had no fucking clue, but I knew I couldn’t do nothing, so I joined the department.
” I blow out a breath before admitting something even Hallie doesn’t know.
“I almost quit once before, years ago. Had my resignation signed and sealed, ready to go.”
Luke stares at me. His expression is unreadable. “What stopped you?”
“Larissa told me she was pregnant. I couldn’t quit then. Not when I needed a steady job to take care of my daughter. Not when I was already the irresponsible kid who got a girl pregnant who I wasn’t even dating.”
My brother shakes his head. “You know we never gave a shit about that, Gabe. We never judged you.”
“Maybe you didn’t, but when all anyone else has ever done is compare me to my perfect, dependable older brother, I’m going to fall short every damn time.” And after a while, it starts getting to you, until you start to believe there’s truth in it.
Luke runs a hand through his hair. “Shit, Gabe,” he says. “I had no idea you felt that way.”
I shrug, then cross my arms against the chill. It really is fucking cold out here. “Because I didn’t tell you. I didn’t tell anyone.”
Except Hallie . While she doesn’t know that I had been on the verge of resigning before, she knows how everything else has affected me.
“Still, I’m sorry. I’ll admit, I’ve been wrapped up in my own shit these past few years. I should’ve paid better attention to you, though. I’m sorry I dropped the ball.”
Shaking my head, I say, “You’ve gotta cut that shit out, too. I’m not telling you all this because I want you to manage my problems for me. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t.”
“I don’t?—”
“You do .” I raise my brows. “You let me get away with being late all the time, and that’s just one example. I know why you do it, but I don’t want to be treated differently. I can’t prove I’m capable if you don’t give me the space to do it.”
He frowns. “You don’t have to prove yourself to us. To me.”
“I want to prove it to myself.”
For years, I’ve been carrying these feelings around. Finally voicing them feels better than I thought it would.
“So if you’re quitting, what are you going to do next?” he asks. And I’m pleasantly surprised to find there’s no anger there, only genuine curiosity.
“Ethan was in town a while ago, and we ran into him at Sunnyside. He works with the coast guard now. He offered me an in, if I wanted it.”
Luke’s expression is serious, jaw set, as he considers this. Slowly, he nods. “Sounds perfect for you. Mom’s gonna hate it, though.”
I laugh as a ton of weight falls off my shoulders. “Hallie’s not too jazzed either. She’s happy for me, but I know a small part of her wishes I could work a desk job.”
“Yeah,” he says, swinging an arm around my shoulder and tucking me in tight so he can give me a noogie, like the good ol’ days. “But where’s the fun in that?”
I break out of his hold, flip him the bird, and then we both chuckle as we head back inside to our family.