I couldn’t help but chuckle at his serious response.
Gabe started to lead us toward a table when Lily called over to us.
“Oh, Leo! Would you want to come to yoga with Jules and me on Saturday? Gabe is coming, too.”
Gabe tilted his head to the side. “I don’t remember—” he started, but one look from Lily and he quickly changed his tone. “Yoga. Right. I’ll be there.”
“Eliza is teaching,” Jules chimed in.
Huh. I looked between the three of them, unable to figure out their motive. There had to be one, right?
“Yeah, sure,” I agreed. “I’ve been meaning to check out the studio. I don’t have a mat, though.”
“Perfect!” Lily exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “And don’t worry about it. Just show up Saturday at eight, and I’ll handle the rest.”
“C’mon,” Gabe said, nodding toward the empty table. “Before she ropes us into something else. She can be very convincing.”
Lily simply grinned, and Jules tossed her head back with a laugh.
“I can tell. She’s good at it, too, almost like you don’t realize she’s convincing you.”
Gabe nodded, expression serious. “It’s very scary.” When he glanced over in Lily’s direction, his eyes softened. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Anyways, I’m glad we’re meeting up. Feels like just yesterday I was new in town, too. You settling in okay?”
I gave Gabe the rundown of my first two weeks in town, creating the menu, and how last weekend went. I’d managed to briefly talk to him and meet his grandfather Hal when they came in for dinner with Lily.
“You two seem close,” I commented about his relationship with Hal. “But you didn’t grow up here?”
Gabe shook his head. “No, and I actually wasn’t in touch with my grandpa until recently. Long story short, my dad was—stillis—a controlling asshole, although he doesn’t have the grip on me he used to. He cut off contact with Hal and forbade him from seeing me for most of my life. It wasn’t until last winter when Hal reached out about the building”—Gabe gestured around us—“that I visited Golden Falls for the first time. Took a little bit for the town to warm up to me and see I wasn’t my father, but it was worth the effort. I was able to reconnect with Hal, and with Lily’s help, separate my career from my father’s, finally. Now, Lily and I own the building together.”
“Damn,” I said on a sigh. “Sounds like it all worked out, though?”
Gabe nodded with a chuckle. “It did.”
“I was honestly surprised that I haven’t gotten more push back from being here seeing how close-knit the town is.”
“How so?” Gabe brought his mug up to take a sip.
“With Eliza being from here and me being her ex’s brother. I thought there would be more animosity there.”
Gabe hitched a shoulder. “I mean, I don’t know what happened between the two of them, and I think most people don’t. Or at least I haven’t heard anything. It’s probably because Eliza hasn’t said anything about Colin to get people thinking that you should be on their bad side. Did things not end well between the two of them?”
“I think things ended fine,” I offered, but there were pieces I couldn’t stop thinking about. Colin’s tone when we spoke on the phone. Eliza not being in a relationship after him. None of it was any of my business, but I couldn’t help wondering what happened. “Anyways, what are you and Lily planning with the empty storefront?”
Gabe shared how they were setting up the space to be a business incubator and allow people to set up shop without committing to a brick and mortar. They were hoping to open it in time in time for farmer’s market season to add to the vendor list.
Residents were thrilled about it because of the support for local businesses and opening up vendor spots for the farmer’s market. Applications for the farmer’s market had been steadily rising over the last few years as the town’s summer tourism expanded. Lake Ridge offering food would only further increase the interest from out-of-town visitors.
The hour went by fast, and Gabe needed to wrap up to finish work. He worked remotely most days, and today he was going to finish up the day at the café.
“Guess I’ll see you Saturday at yoga then,” I said while getting up.
“I guess so.” Gabe chuckled. “See you then.”
My expression as I walked away matched Gabe’s—slight fear over what we’d gotten ourselves into.
13
ELIZA
