by Paris Hansen
Gabriel smiled as the thought of starting a family filled his head. After Jonathan died, he figured he would never find happiness that he would spend the rest of his life alone and then she walked in and he was a goner. Now a future with Savannah, their kids running around the backyard, was all he could think about and he loved it. He couldn’t help, but hope that his friends would all someday find the happiness that he had found. He didn’t care if that made him sound like a girl or a fool, love was what mattered and he knew now that everyone deserved to find it.
“Enough of this sappy shit, are we going to play cards or what?”
**********************
Gabriel couldn’t believe how much his life had changed in the six months since Savannah walked through the door of his restaurant and sat at his bar. It didn’t matter to him that they had only officially been a couple for three of those months; his world was rocked the minute she looked up at him. He’d made some major decisions during that time and today he was solidifying the biggest one yet. Looking over at the picture of Savannah on his desk, he smiled. The feeling he got when he thought of her or saw her proved that no matter what anyone else said, he was making the right decision.
It didn’t matter to him that people would say he was moving too fast. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was meant to spend the rest of his life with Savannah St. James. Weeks ago he had picked out a ring for her; today he was going to make sure that the ring passed her best friend Finley’s approval before he finally gave the jeweler his money. He couldn’t wait to officially make Savannah his and as soon as Finley saw the ring, he didn’t have to. He just wished she’d hurry up.
Anxiously, he looked around at the other additions to his office. All of them were pictures of Savannah. Some with him, some with their friends, but always with her beautiful face smiling at the camera or at him. He was supposed to be concentrating on the stack of paperwork on his desk, but between the butterflies and being easily distracted by his girlfriend, he was having a difficult time comprehending what was in front of him. Reluctantly, but with great motivation from Savannah, Gabriel had finally hired more help at the restaurant and had relinquished a lot of the day to day work to focus on continuing Jonathan’s dream of expanding Arrow. He had always wanted a bunch of locations and probably would have had two others open by now if the accident had never happened. On top of the business expansion, Jonathan would have been married to Lacey with at least two kids running around by now too. His brother was always the one with ambition and Gabriel was always the one that felt obligated to take the hit so Jonathan could do whatever he wanted.
Now that Gabriel was out from under his dad’s thumb, he was bound and determined to do things right. Making Jonathan’s dream a reality was one of the things he wanted…no needed to do and that included both the expansion of Arrow and the perfect family. He just hoped that Savannah was on the same page.
That was really where he hoped Finley was going to come in. He not only wanted her opinion on the ring, but he also wanted to gage what Savannah’s reaction would be. Savannah was still sometimes skittish; sometimes worried that they were moving too fast or that things were too intense and serious. For a woman who had been looking for a stable, committed relationship, she sure was wary of what he was offering her and it was making him a little restless. There was nothing in the world that he wanted more than to be her everything; she just needed to let him.
He tried again to concentrate on the list of locations that his real estate agent had given him. There were still a ton of places to look at, but he wasn’t sure what the best option was. Although Savannah was in the middle of her own expansion, it was probably time that he asked for her opinion on the matter. She had more experience running a successful business than he did. Plus, if they were going to have a future together, he wanted her to be involved in the growth of Arrow, to feel like she had a say in what happened to the restaurant.
Thankfully his contemplation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Without waiting for him to answer, Finley walked into his office. Her jet black hair was streaked with a deep red and pulled up into a messy ponytail. Paired with the black tank top, dark blue jeans and the combat boots she wore, it was obvious to Gabriel that she had come from the club. The smudge of dirt on her forehead told him she had likely been accepting deliveries before coming to meet him.
Just as he figured she would, she crossed her arms against her chest as soon as she was in the room. The placement of her arms pushed up her more than ample breasts, but he barely noticed because of the look on her face. She was smirking at him, the overheard light glinting off the two hoops pierced through the left side of her bottom lip. She looked skeptical and he really couldn’t blame her. His plan was crazy and impulsive and he had to admit, scary as hell. All thoughts of teasing her about the dirt smudge vanished as he waited for her to lecture him.
“Are you sure about this? Do you know what you’re doing?” Finley asked, the smirk never leaving her face.
“No….Yes…Maybe?” he answered before standing up and walking around to meet her at the still open door. “It feels right. Everything about her…about us, feels right. God, I just hope that this doesn’t scare the shit out of her. I don’t want her to try and run away from me.”
“You guys haven’t been together that long.”
“And I’m not planning on proposing tomorrow unless the moment is there. I want to though, don’t get me wrong. I want to propose tomorrow and marry her the next day so I know that she is mine,” Gabriel admitted. “I’ve been engaged before Fin and it never felt like this, not even when the relationship was new. Savannah is it for me and no amount of time will change that.”
Finley smiled up at him, “That’s all I needed to hear. You’ve got my support; now let’s go see if your taste in jewelry is as impeccable as your taste in women.”
Gabriel followed Finley out through the kitchen and into the dining room where he left instructions with Sylvia and Meghan. They had been amazingly helpful with transitioning from him being there every minute of every day to him taking time off here and there. He was hoping to give them the recognition they deserved by promoting them both to management positions, but wasn’t quite sure how to work it out. It would be nice to know that he could not come in for an entire week if he didn’t want to or if he had plans with Savannah. He knew in all likelihood the girls and the rest of the staff could definitely handle him not being there. They had done it right after Jonathan’s death when Gabriel still wasn’t sure what to do with the restaurant. Now though, he wasn’t sure he could let go enough. Being a control freak was something he inherited from his father and something he hoped he could get over someday.
They walked the few blocks to the jewelry store in silence. She was busy text messaging the manger of her nightclub and he was too busy thinking about the possibilities for his future. Everything seemed to be coming together for him both personally and professionally. The only thing that he wished was that his brother was still alive. The only problem with that was if Jonathan was alive, Gabriel would likely still be miserable working as a lawyer and probably miserably married to Valerie. It made Gabriel sad to think that if Jonathan was around, then the happiness that he was so wrapped up in wouldn’t exist. He’d just be the Gabriel that let his dad dictate what he did with his life even though he hated everything about it.
“Oh Mr. Archer, it’s so good to see you again,” Mr. Flannery said as he and Finley walked through the door of Flannery and Sons. The jewelry store had been a West Seattle staple since before the old man had even been a thought in his parent’s heads. Now, even though he was well into his 70s, he spent most of his time at the store and had helped Gabriel pick out the perfect ring when he’d come in weeks earlier. He’d also been patient with him when he came in nearly every day since to look at it.
“Is this the lucky lady?”
“No, Mr. Flannery, this is Finley, the lucky lady’s best friend. I wanted her to see it just to
make sure I picked out something that Savannah would love. If Finley approves, then I’ll go ahead and take the ring today.”
Finley looked around the shop as Mr. Flannery went to pull the ring out of the vault. Gabriel paced in front of the case, his nerves nearly getting the better of him. He was on the verge of a life-changing moment; one that he couldn’t predict the outcome of. If he was honest with himself that had pretty much been the case during his entire relationship with Savannah, even before they actually started dating. From day one, he wasn’t sure exactly what he would get from her and part of him liked that she kept him on his toes. But then he wasn’t always fond of the rolling feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when he tried to figure out what she was thinking about their future together. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted her to be his future, but did she want him? His palms began to sweat as he thought about Savannah and the uncertainty she made him feel.
“Alright, Mr. Archer, here she is,” Mr. Flannery said interrupting Gabriel’s thoughts. Finley stopped walking around and headed back to the case where the older man was opening the black ring box that housed the perfect ring for Savannah. He heard Finley gasp before she reached out to grab the box out of the old man’s hand. She held the ring up to her face so she could get a closer look at it.
“Oh Gabriel, its fucking perfect,” she muttered before looking up suddenly at the jewelry store proprietor. “Shit…sorry. I didn’t…”
“It’s alright young lady, it is fucking perfect,” Mr. Flannery said.
They all laughed as Finley continued to stare in awe at the ring. It was made of solid white gold with two elements on each side that twisted together to meet the 1.5 carat oval cut diamond in the center. One strand on either side was made of several tiny diamonds that sparkled in the overhead light. When he had come looking for a ring, Gabriel thought it would take him forever to find one that he thought fit Savannah and her personality. The minute Mr. Flannery pulled out the tray and he saw the ring that Finley was now oohing over, he knew it was the one. Everything about the ring screamed Savannah. It was classic, yet not overdone. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate a huge diamond that would get in her way and cause problems, but he also knew that she loved beautiful things. The center diamond of the ring was a little flashy, but not over the top.
He let Finley continue to examine the ring while he pulled out his wallet so he could pay Mr. Flannery. He handed the older man his credit card and waited while he rang him up and then handed him the slip to sign. There was no going back now, but that didn’t matter. The nerves were absolutely non-existent now. Whether Savannah balked or not, she was his future. She would wear his ring someday, even if he had to wait months, even years. There was no doubt in his mind that he would make it happen.
Once the transaction was finished and he finally wrestled the ring away from Finley, he tucked the box into his pocket where it would stay until he could put it into the safe at Arrow. He couldn’t take it home in case Savannah found it too soon and the safe was really the only secure place he could think of to put it. He just needed to make sure that he hid it from Sylvia and Meghan and even Ray. Those three wouldn’t be able to keep his secret and Savannah would know about the ring before he even had a chance to propose.
Lost in thoughts about Savannah, Gabriel parted ways with Finley outside the jewelry store. She had to head back to the club to get ready for the night and he had to get back to Arrow to prepare for the dinner rush. He hoped that Savannah would be able to come visit him at work that night, but she was getting busier and busier as the countdown to the new opening began. Even with her sister helping out, things were becoming even more chaotic than usual. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he thought of Savannah wrapped up in that chaos. No matter how hard she tried, she always ended up with flour or some other ingredient on her clothes, skin or hair. It was one of the many things that he loved about her.
So wrapped up in picturing how Savannah probably looked at that moment, Gabriel didn’t notice the person that was standing outside of Arrow. If he had, he might have turned around to avoid her, but by the time he reached her it was too late to make an escape. She said his name softly, her voice cracking half way through. Something was wrong, he knew just by looking at her. There was no way, she would have ever been caught dead looking the way she did, eyes puffy and red from crying, her nearly perfect face devoid of all make-up, her designer clothes mismatched and hanging off of her body. Although he never wanted to lay eyes on her again and had told her so when he broke it off with her, now that he was looking at her, he knew something wasn’t right and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms. Instead, he stood there too stunned to speak until finally all he could do was say her name.
“Valerie.”
Chapter 9
Savannah knew she should be working. The pile of things she needed to do was only getting bigger, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than Gabriel. Things between them had been nothing less than intense since they’d gotten together. She was undoubtedly in love with him and he was in love with her, but sometimes she felt like they were moving too fast. Deep down she knew that it was because she was scared about getting hurt. The way she felt about him, he could easily destroy her if he ended things and she hated knowing that. She hated that her happiness, her well-being was dependent on someone else.
But that was what being in a relationship was all about and it was what she had been searching for when she decided she wanted to find someone to share her life with. She knew the risks, the consequences. She had no idea why she was now suddenly scared of how things were going to work out. From the start, she knew that there was a chance that she’d end up brokenhearted like her sister, but there was also a chance that she’d spend the rest of her life with her soulmate like her parents.
Her brain had been working overtime lately, dwelling on all of the possible bad outcomes of her relationship with Gabriel. She knew where her issues were coming from and why she was only thinking about the bad things. It was because of Valerie and her sudden reappearance in Gabriel’s life, when she walked back into his life two weeks earlier with the news of her father’s death. Since then, Savannah felt like a third wheel, but only on the rare times she actually got to spend time with Gabriel. On every other day, she almost felt like she was single again. Sure she’d occasionally get a phone call or a text to check in with her, but for the most part she’d barely heard from or seen Gabriel since Valerie showed up.
Savannah understood that they were grieving. Hank Meadows was more of a father to Gabriel, than his own dad had ever been. Even after he and Valerie called it off, Gabriel tried to keep in touch with Hank, but since Gabriel had taken all the blame for the break up, Hank wasn’t always receptive. Eventually, they lost contact and now he was gone. Gabriel admitted to her, more than once, that he felt guilty about letting their relationship dwindle. Since Hank’s death, Gabriel had shut her out, never letting her in on how he was feeling. It was obvious the same wasn’t true with Valerie. They were sharing something that he should have been sharing with Savannah and it hurt that he wasn’t.
All she could do was hope that it would pass and that he would come back to her. The nightmares that had him returning to Valerie would go away and her insecurities would be erased. She just had to remember that Gabriel loved her. He told her so whenever they talked or texted and he had told her sister, her parents and her best friend numerous times. There wasn’t any doubt that he loved her and wasn’t likely to stop, but was it enough to keep him with her? Did he love her more than Valerie? The two of them were friends first, before they were together for six years. At one point they were going to get married. There was a lot of history between them. Savannah and Gabriel had only been together for a few months and while he said he never felt for Valerie the way he felt for her, what did that really mean?
“You need to stop thinking and start talking,” Brooklyn said. She sat in one of the chairs in front of Sa
vannah’s desk a scowl marring her pretty face. Savannah sighed knowing that if she didn’t fess up her sister wouldn’t leave things alone. Brooklyn knew something was wrong just by looking at her. They had always been able to read each other, which was how Savannah knew things weren’t right between Brook and her ex-husband long before Brooklyn was ready to admit it.
“There’s really nothing to say. I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”
“He loves you, you know that.”
Savannah sighed again, “That’s not the point. I miss him Brook. He’s my boyfriend, we’re supposed to support each other through difficult times and he barely even sees me. I haven’t spoken to him in two days; all I’ve gotten are text messages letting me know he’s hanging out with “Val”. He didn’t even want me to go to the funeral with him. And then after the funeral he spent all night drinking with her. I found them passed out on his couch the morning after when I went over to make him breakfast. Her head was in his lap, his arm draped over her. I keep seeing that picture in my head.”
“You don’t think…”
“God no…at least I don’t think so. Gabriel’s not the cheating kind. Even if he’s grieving, I don’t think he’d do anything physical with her. But I’m not gonna lie. His going to her instead of me in regards to his emotional needs is threatening to break my heart Brook. I don’t know if I can deal with this much longer.”
Brooklyn leaned over, reaching across the desk to take her sister’s hand. “You need to talk to him. Tell him that you want to be there for him and how you feel about Valerie.”
“Is it horrible that I think she’s using their shared grief as a way to get back into his life? She only looks that sad when Gabriel’s next to her. There’ve been times where I’ve seen her on the phone and she looks like nothing has happened. Then when Gabriel is with her you’d think the world has ended and Gabriel is the only one who can soothe her broken heart. I don’t trust her. And I know for a fact that this isn’t the first time that she’s come sniffing around Gabriel since he broke it off with her. I’m afraid this time she might get what she wants.”