Page 5 of Fanboy in the Falls (Devon Falls #3)

“Then it sounds like we’ve got a plan!” Eric claps his hands together excitedly. “This is great news. Colin, let me show you something on that wall you’ll want to be thinking about.”

He, Evelyn, and Colin head off to stare at a beam of wood, but Gabe keeps wide eyes on me. “I can’t believe you just offered to do this,” he says softly. “I mean, you’re right in the middle of making a movie!”

Oh, dear. He’s getting very close to asking some dangerous questions. I must distract him.

“I can tell this place matters to you,” I say. “That this is more than just a job for you.”

He tilts his head slightly to the side and frowns again.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “It really is, I guess. Even if I may not get to stay here for too much longer. I want to work at the inn for every moment that I possibly can.” He shrugs.

“I love the winery and the inn, and I want both of them to succeed. I want to have been part of something that matters, you know?”

What on earth is he talking about? I don’t remember Evelyn or Colin mentioning anything about Gabe leaving Devon Falls anytime soon. “Are you—”

“Okay,” says a voice from behind us. Firefighter Number One. Doug. Never mind; I’ll have to continue interrogating Gabriel Gomez later.

“Well,” Doug says, “everything looks structurally sound. Zeke and I did a pretty thorough look around. I think we’re about ready to head out.”

Next to him, Zeke grunts. From what I can tell, Zeke is not a man of many words.

“Okay.” Gabe nods. “Thanks, Doug. It sounds like we’ve got a plan to maybe get things fixed up here.

Hopefully.” He sends me a sideways glance, like he’s not entirely convinced Colin and I meant what we just said about taking on this project.

I have a sneaking and sad suspicion that Gabe is used to people letting him down.

“Hey, that’s great news!” Doug claps his hands together.

“I hope you all get this done before the festival. I was thinking of maybe booking us a romantic few days here that week. You know. Walk through leaves, enjoy some time away from mayoral duties and hockey tournaments and deadlines and whatnot.” He winks at Zeke.

Zeke rolls his eyes, but I see the corners of his mouth tilt up in a smile.

“So you two are a couple?” I ask. “Goodness gracious, does Hollywood know about you? Two firefighters in love and one of them is also the mayor? I see a film of the week right here.”

Zeke shakes his head hard. “Over my fucking dead body is anyone ever making a movie about us,” he says, but Doug just laughs.

“Babe, the movie star is just teasing us,” he says. “And anyway, we’re not a couple. We’re a throuple. And there’s our third now! Hi, Max!” A man approximately half the size of Zeke and Doug waves from the doorway across the remains of the room we’re in.

“Hey!” He comes jogging over. He’s wearing Chucks, tight jeans, and a salmon colored collared shirt, an outfit I immediately appreciate.

I’ll have to ask where he found the shirt; I like the fit of the collar.

“I finished up my interview over at the Thai restaurant about the Devon Falls open mic night series, so I thought I’d come by and say hi. ”

“Well, hi.” Doug leans down to kiss the apparent third member of their trio, softly and sweetly, and then Max jogs in front of him and over to Zeke, who borderline attacks him with his lips. Not that Max seems to mind.

Gabe makes a sound somewhere between a squeal and a sigh. “You three are couple goals, I swear. Or throuple goals, I guess.”

Doug lets out a booming laugh. “Ask these two if that’s the case when I leave my socks on the stairs. Anyhow, you two aren’t exactly slouches in that department either, from what I can see.”

The conversation falls silent as I process what he’s just said. Goodness. Doug thinks Gabe and I are a couple?

Gabe catches on more quickly than I do. “Oh, it’s nothing like that!” He squeaks out the words. “I’m, uh, not dating anyone. Definitely not Tom! And I’ve never dated a guy,” he adds quickly.

Those words sting with sharp familiarity, a large needle directly to my chest. I swallow and force myself to take the medicine.

Gabe’s straight, then? I suppose I should have seen that news coming, given the marginal attraction I’ve felt for him since we first met last fall.

I wonder if it’s possible to hold a world record for being interested in unavailable people.

I force myself to smile and nod in agreement. “No, we’re not a couple,” I add.

Doug’s eyebrows go up. “Well, my apologies. I hope I didn’t just fudge anything up there. Zeke, let’s go get this paperwork signed off with Evelyn. Max, want to head to the diner for some chow after that?”

“No one calls it chow,” Max calls after him as Doug and Zeke walk away. Zeke makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a grunt.

Gabe frowns as he pulls his phone from his pocket.

“Bethany’s texting,” he says. “She needs help in the tasting room. I’ll be right back.

” I nod, and he disappears through the blackened doorway of the room.

A sense of loss rings through me, like a ghost passing through my body.

Perhaps I’ve become lonelier lately than I’ve realized.

“Sorry about Doug,” Max says. He shrugs his shoulders. “He’s the kind of guy that sees love everywhere. Which is sort of ironic, since it took him forever to see it right in front of his face.”

There’s a story there, I’m certain, but I don’t feel up to asking about it.

Not when I can still feel the residual heat of Gabe’s body next to mine.

“It’s not a problem,” I murmur to Max. And I mean that.

Because it’s always better to know these things, isn’t it?

When something you want is completely off-limits, it’s better to be aware of that.

You can’t be disappointed to lose something you knew you could never have.

I swallow down all the obnoxious little feelings littering my stomach.

“No problem at all,” I add as I let my eyes drift around the room toward Colin.

“Listen,” Max says, “I don’t want to bug you about this, but I was wondering. I’m a journalist. Mostly freelance. And I’ve heard through some sources that there might be some odd things going on behind the scenes of The Good Sword . Is that anything you’d be interested in talking about?”

I barely manage to hide my flinch as I let out a strangled half-chuckle. “Oh, I’m afraid there’s no story there. Nothing to tell.”

“I see.” Max frowns and narrows his eyes, and all too well I recognize the expression of a reporter who knows he’s not being given the whole truth.

“Okay. Well, listen. If that’s the case, then I’m sorry I bothered you.

But just so you know… if you ever do want to talk to me, I’d be happy to listen and make sure your story was shared fairly.

” My pulse immediately speeds up. “I’m sorry to tell you that there’s no story,” I repeat, keeping my voice as even and neat as possible.

“I just finished filming for the second installment, actually. Now I’m here. ”

Max nods. “Okay, then.” He shrugs. “Like I said, no pressure at all, ever. And I know you barely know me, but you can read some of my stuff if you want to see what I’m about.

You’re a great actor, and you seem like a really great person, the way you’re supporting Northern Stars Winery and the people here.

I’m just saying, if you ever need a megaphone to tell your story, I’m happy to help with that. ”

Doug calls his name, and Max and I shake hands briefly. Then he leaves. I stand stock-still in place, unable to process everything he’s just said. The words of my final conversations in LA pulse through my brain.

Not sure this is working out.

Time to re-think this contract.

If you’d just keep your mouth shut, Tom.

Waves of failure push and ride through me.

I glance at Colin, suddenly desperate to tell him everything.

Desperate for his comfort. Colin is the first person I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last person I think of before I fall asleep.

I’ve spent so many years imagining, wondering, what it could be like if he ever decided he felt the way for me that I do for him.

But I know all too well that Colin doesn’t feel attraction in quite the same way I do.

And I’m very aware that he doesn’t feel attraction to me.

Still, none of that knowledge stops me from craving his nearness, his touch, right now. I start to walk in his direction, only to hear a few phrases Colin is saying to Eric.

“Oh, Tom? Yeah, we’ve known each other since we were little kids. His family lived next door. Sometimes the tabloids like to get weird about us, but we’ve never been together or anything like that. Just friends. That’s all we are.”

All this pining might really kill me if I’m not careful. I quickly walk away.