Page 82 of A Table for Two
“Doing well for an old woman,” she answered with a huge grin.
Gabriel chanced a glance at Serenity and saw her roll her eyes. He sensed her rising irritation.
“You two make—”
“Um…Mrs. Satterfield, we don’t want our food to get cold,” Serenity cut in.
“Oh, yes, yes. You’re right. Enjoy your dinner, and it was nice to finally meet you, Gabriel.”
“Nice to meet you, too, ma’am.” The woman stood there a moment longer, as if she wanted to say something else, then strutted off. “You okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah. That woman is always in somebody’s business.”
Wanting to reclaim their relaxed camaraderie, he said, “Look on the bright side: she’s not as bad as Adele, and we won’t have to worry about her sitting in the window.”
A small smile peeked out. “I guess.” The tension lining her features lessened, and she went back to eating.
A few minutes later, a second person wandered over to ask about them dating and commented on what a nice couple they made. Shortly after, a third person stopped by. Each time, Gabriel felt her withdraw more, and the nice dinner he’d hoped to have had been shot to hell. Serenity left half her food on the plate, and his appetite had waned considerably, so he had the remainder boxed up to go. By the time they made it back to her place, she had all but shut down.
At the door, Serenity said, “Thanks for dinner.”
“Anytime. I’m sorry about all the interruptions.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I guess that’s the price we pay for living in a small town. You want to come in for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” Gabriel followed her to the kitchen, where she placed her leftovers in the refrigerator, then to the family room. He placed his container on the end table and sat next to Serenity on the sofa.
After turning on some music, Serenity scooted close to Gabriel and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat in companionable silence for a while, and then she asked, “Do you plan to come back and visit once you return to Atlanta?”
The question threw him a little because he didn’t know where the conversation was going. “Yes. Nana was adamant about not moving, so I’ll be in and out to check on her. Why?”
“I know you’re planning to leave soon, and we said what we have would end. But I was wondering about us…I mean…I like hanging out with you and thought maybe we could still see each other.”
Gabriel sat up, his heart pounding.Is she saying what I think she’s saying?He studied her for a lengthy moment. “You mean like a long-distance relationship?”
“I guess. But you don’t have to answer right now.” She shrugged. “It’s just something to think about.”
Not that he could. She’d rendered him speechless. He’d been afraid to hope for this very thing, and his emotions swelled with the prospect that they might be on the same page. He also understood how hard it was for her to even make the suggestion, particularly after seeing how uncomfortable she’d been with all the townspeople stopping by their table, knowing what happened with her ex and wondering if the outcome would be the same with them. “Serenity—”
Serenity shook her head and stood. “Just think about it.”
Not wanting to make her uneasy and hoping she hadn’t changed her mind, he just nodded, grabbed his food, and started for the front door. Once there, Gabriel covered her mouth in a gentle kiss. “Get some rest, and I’ll call you tomorrow about a time for the movie. We can talk more then.”
“Okay. Good night.” She closed the door softly.
Sighing, he shoved his hand in a pocket and headed home. He had a lot to think about and sat up most of the night agonizing over what he should do. It had taken his mind a while to get on board with what his heart had been telling him, and the sun had already made its ascent into the sky when he finally admitted what he wanted. Serenity. Only her. With an exhausted smile, he fell across the bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Saturday morning, Gabriel jerked upright in bed at the sound of pounding on his front door, followed by the incessant ringing of his doorbell. Bleary-eyed, he checked the time and saw that it was nine. He’d gone to bed only two hours earlier. Groaning and flipping the covers back, he got up, pulled on a pair of basketball shorts, and stumbled toward the front door, preparing to give whoever was banging on it a piece of his mind if it wasn’t an emergency. He snatched the door open.
“What the—”
“You look like hell.”
He muttered a curse and glared at Darius.I do not need this today. “What are you two doing here?”
Brent pushed past Gabriel and entered the house, with Darius following. “You stopped answering our calls and texts,” Brent said, as if that explained everything.
“I responded to Darius’s text yesterday.”
