Gabe might have lessened Angi’s struggle with her mom by agreeing to their pretend relationship, but he’d been the one to benefit the most. And this was despite the fact that she saw him as a temporary arrangement and nothing more.

He wasn’t going to be her more.

Even after he left Magnolia, he’d see Christmas lights each year and think of her warm brown eyes and the way she hummed off-key when she was focused on a task. The scent of citrus would evoke memories of her soft skin or the way she’d hold him more tightly when he slid into her in the quiet hours of the night.

A couple holding hands came out of Il Rigatone at that moment, laughing about some casual story or private joke. Gabe wished he’d taken Angi on some real dates while they’d been together. Maybe then she would have seen that they could be more than just pretend.

Maybe he’d have the guts to tell her how he felt.

Probably not.

Old habits died hard, as the saying went, and Gabe wasn’t good at talking about his feelings. Every time he’d opened up, it felt like he’d been hurt. His grandmother had been the only exception to that rule.

Even Angi had turned on him when they were younger. He’d trusted her when they were kids and told her she was his best friend.

A week later she’d humiliated him in front of her friends.

She wasn’t that person now. He understood that. He also wasn’t the awkward boy he’d been.

But that kid was still part of him, and his past prevented him from claiming the future he truly wanted.

All he could hope now was that Angi would find her happily-ever-after without him.

He knew she wasn’t at the restaurant still. She and Andrew had stopped by the shop earlier while they were taking Princess for a walk. The dog sported the most ridiculous holiday sweater, and Gabe had been shocked to hear that Angi’s mom had bought it for the animal.

Apparently, it had only taken Princess a day to win over Bianca, who’d been staunchly against an animal in her house.

Both Angi and Andrew had seemed happy and relaxed in a way Gabe envied, and he didn’t doubt that despite the troubles both of them had faced recently, mother and son would find their way through it. They had each other for support, after all.

While, with Gran gone, Gabe had no one.

He walked down the quiet street and stopped in front of Champions, the local bar around the corner from the hardware store. It felt pathetic to have a drink alone, but he couldn’t face returning to his grandmother’s house yet.

Angi hadn’t visited him since the dog’s arrival in their lives. She’d told him she didn’t feel comfortable leaving in case the dog was restless or woke overnight, and Gabe had no reason not to believe her. But the insecurity he couldn’t quite release reared its ugly head in the wee hours, whispering that the animal was an excuse. He was no longer necessary since Angi had stopped working at the inn. She didn’t need him, or perhaps she could sense that he needed her too much.