Page 48 of A Table for Two
“As far as I know.” She tried not to think about the reasons why his leaving for good bothered her. “Actually, he called earlier and said he had to go back to Atlanta this week. I assume it has to do with his job.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Why wouldn’t I be? We both agreed that whatever this thing is”—she waved a hand for emphasis—“it would end when he left. Nothing has changed.”
“Hmm. I wonder,” Natasha said, stuffing another piece of bread piled with chicken salad into her mouth.
Serenity sighed. “I won’t lie and say he’s not a great guy and one I could probably fall for at some point. He is. But I don’t want to get serious with anyone at this stage of my life, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to put my heart on the line again. Gabriel feels the same way, so this works perfectly.”
“I hear you, Sis, but what if things do change and you start to feel more?”
She already felt the little stirrings of “more” and firmly shut them down. “They won’t.” She couldn’t allow them to change.
Chapter 13
What the hell are you doing here? I thought someone was breaking in and almost called the police.”
Gabriel glanced over to the office doorway where Darius stood—phone in hand—glaring. “Good morning to you, too. I’m working. What does it look like I’m doing?”
Darius entered and dropped into the chair across from Gabriel. “When did you get in?”
“Sunday evening.”
“It’sTuesday, Gabe. Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? And you never did answer the question as to why you’re here.”
Sighing, Gabriel leaned back in the chair. “I thought I’d pop in to check on things at my place, and I figured since you and Brent have been doing all the traveling, I’d do it this time.”
Darius folded his arms and angled his head. “You’re going to have to do better than that. We meet every week by videoconference, we’ve been taking care of your condo, and you had your mail forwarded. So, again, what’s going on?”
Gabriel should have never stepped foot in the office, and instead worked from home like he originally planned, avoiding this little interrogation. But the part of his workaholic personality that still existed wouldn’t let him stay away. Here he had dual monitors and could work on multiple things at once. And he needed a distraction. However, that old adage of out of sight, out of mind wasn’t working when it came to Serenity. She invaded his thoughts during the day while he worked and his dreams as he slept. For the past two mornings, he’d awakened aroused and hard, and none of his cold showers had helped. Gabriel eyed Darius, whose expression hadn’t changed. “Nothing’s going on.” He shrugged. “I just wanted to come home for a bit.”
“I see. How’s your grandmother?”
“Nana’s fine. Feisty as ever.” And still not budging on moving away from her home. “I have no idea what I’m going to do if I can’t change her mind about coming here. Even though her doctor said she’s doing well, she’s still getting older, and I’m not comfortable leaving her alone. Besides, Drea would kill me if I did.”
“Man, you’re in a tough spot. If you need to stay a little longer, I’m sure we can work it out.” Darius smiled. “Besides, I kind of like having somewhere to visit that I can use as a tax write-off. And you mentioned Serenity having some good-looking friends, so it’s a win-win for me.”
He shook his head. “Only two of them are single. Terri is married.”
“Speaking of Serenity, how are things going between you two?”
“Fine.”
Darius threw up his hands. “That’s all you’re going to say? I know you like her.”
“Yes, I like her.”A lot. More than I should.“We decided to see each other while I’m there. She’s not looking to get serious, which works perfectly for me because I’m not, either.”
“With the way you were staring at her the day we met, I’m not so sure.” He leaned forward. “It doesn’t have to be that way, Gabe. There’s no reason for you to stop seeing Serenity. People have long-distance relationships all the time, and if Nana decides not to move here, you’re going to be stuck in your little town for a while.”
“I know,” Gabriel murmured. “The town isn’t as bad as I previously thought, and I could possibly extend my stay, but I still don’t know if I want to live there permanently. I mean, it’s so…small.”
As soon as he finished the thought, a vision of Serenity’s beautiful smile flashed in his mind. His simple plan of getting to know her as a neighbor and possibly just a friend had turned into something else entirely. She was kind, considerate, and had a generous heart. Their attraction didn’t surprise him. What man wouldn’t be attracted to such a beautiful woman? His problem—he liked kissing her too much and couldn’t recall the last time he’d enjoyed being with a woman this much. Everything about their relationship seemed…easy. Maybe knowing their liaison had a definite ending made it feel that way. Easy or not, he couldn’t afford to get caught up in his emotions. Once had been enough. Yet he couldn’t deny that he was happier than he had been in a long while.
Darius chuckled. “I hear you. It would be hard not having all the conveniences of a big city after living here all your life. But you should give some thought to staying.”
“We’ll see.”
“Darius, who are you talking—Gabe?What are you doing here? What happened?” Brent rushed into the office, his face lined with concern.
