Page 36 of A Table for Two
“Anyway, he’s a really nice guy.”
“And you like him.”
“Yes, I like him. He makes it hard not to, but I’m not trying to put my heart out there again. You remember how it was with Lloyd. My self-esteem took a beating, and I don’t want to go through that again.”
“Who says you will? Honey, you aren’t the first woman to experience a broken heart, but if you put yourself on a shelf, thinking that’ll protect you, you’re going to end up alone and left with a lot of what-ifs. I don’t want that for you. I’m not saying this guy is the one, but someone is going to come along who is worthy of your heart, and you’ll have to decide whether you want to take the risk.”
She heard every word Chandra said. Everyone else—her mother, Natasha, even her father—had said the same thing, but Serenity didn’t believe she would ever be able to give herself or her heart to another man.
Chapter 10
Gabriel increased his pace, the slip-slap of his running shoes hitting the pavement with a steady rhythm. The midmorning run was just what he needed to clear his mind. He’d been in town a little over a month and had done only minimal work. He didn’t want to admit that Glenn had been right about his needing some downtime. But now he was ready to get back into the groove. He had a call with Darius scheduled so they could go over the specifics of the new app they were developing. This would be a project for themselves, which they hoped to market once completed.
He hit the curve and decreased his speed to a slow jog. Since it was a Thursday, he pretty much had the trail to himself. A shortcut he’d discovered last time led him to a small waterfall, and he continued his stride until he reached the lake. Once there, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, then walked back to his car.
Gabriel had enough time to shower and grab a quick bite to eat before calling Darius.
“What’s up, G?” Darius said when he picked up. “I’m thinking we should switch to video, so we can screenshare. I have a few things I want to show you.”
“Works for me. You want to send the invite, or do you want me to do it?”
“Just sent it.”
“Okay.” He ended the call, opened the email, and hit the “join meeting” link. For the next two hours, they discussed what they wanted to include on the note-taking app. “Are we talking something where multiple people can take notes, share them, or add to them, all from their phone or tablet?”
“Yes, and the ability to use it on a desktop, as well. Think about how easy it’ll be if people could access their notes across all platforms.”
Gabriel read the document Darius had up. “Even better.” They went on to discuss having a variety of fonts, highlighting, folders. By the time he looked up again, four hours had passed. But they’d made good progress and would be able to start writing the initial codes. “I can’t believe we talked this long.”
Darius nodded. “The only time we get caught up like this is when we’re designing our own programs,” he said with a chuckle. He ended the screenshare. “Now that we’re done with this, what’s up with you and Serenity? I hope you took our advice.”
Because they had always kept each other’s confidence, Gabriel was comfortable sharing the decision he and Serenity had made. “We decided to date for as long as I’m here, but to keep it light…no commitments. And before you say anything, it’s what she wanted. She’s been hurt before.”
“Welcome to the club. You sure it’s a good idea, though? I can see this going sideways if one of you changes your mind.”
“It won’t,” he said emphatically. Because of their histories, he felt it wouldn’t be an issue for them to keep their emotions out of the equation. He had finally met a woman who wanted the same thing he did out of a relationship, and he planned to enjoy it to the fullest.
“If you say so. Well, it’s after six, and I’m supposed to be meeting someone for dinner in an hour.”
“A potential Mrs. Right?”
“We’ll see.”
“Keep me posted and let me know if I need to dust off my tux.”
Darius chuckled. “At the rate we’re going, by the time you, me, and Brent get married, we’ll have to buy new ones because the old ones would have disintegrated.”
Gabriel laughed. “You’re probably right. Later.” Still chuckling, he cut the connection.
He’d promised Nana he’d do her yard, so he put on his shoes, loaded up his mower, and drove over.
“Come on in, Gabriel,” Nana called when he knocked on her screen door.
He found her exactly where he’d expected—watching reruns ofLaw & Order, one of her favorite shows. “Hey, Nana. I’m going to start on the yard.”
“After you get done, go on in the kitchen and fix you a plate. I made some spaghetti. All you need to do is toast the bread.”
Gabriel smiled. “Thanks, Nana.” Between her and Serenity, he was kept well fed. That reminded him, he hadn’t decided what to have for his picnic date with Serenity. He toyed with picking up something from Ms. Ida’s, but he wanted to make up for the candied yam fiasco. He waved at one of Nana’s neighbors as he started up the lawn mower. Her yard was twice the size of his and took twice the time.
