Page 85 of A Table for Two
“No.” He pushed his half-full plate away.
Darius placed his napkin on the table. “If you’re done, we can head over to the hotel.” When Gabriel nodded, he signaled for the server.
They’d booked connecting suites that had a living room area in between. Gabriel lowered himself onto the sofa, leaned back, and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, Brent said, “Okay, G, we’ve given you time. You need to tell us what’s going on. And don’t try to tell us it’s nothing. We’ve known each other way too long. Did you and Serenity break up?”
He let out a short bark of laughter. “If only it were that easy.” Gabriel sat up, braced his elbows on his thighs, and buried his head in his hands. “I’m in love with her,” he mumbled.
“We figured as much,” Darius said. “And you’re running scared.”
“Yes…no…hell, I don’t know.”
“Have you told her how you feel?”
“No. And last night she mentioned us trying long-distance, since I was supposed to be going back to Atlanta in a couple of weeks. It caught me off guard, and I didn’t answer right away. Before I could open my mouth, she seemed to backpedal and ushered me out. I’ve been thinking about what you guys said about extending my time by a month or two to see where this thing could go. Or even think about staying.” And he wondered whether she would still have pulled away if he’d said something sooner.
Brent shrugged. “Maybe she’s just as scared as you are.”
“She had a bad breakup, which is why she said she wanted to keep it light with us in the beginning.” Gabriel scrubbed an agitated hand down his face. “We went to Ms. Ida’s for dinner last night, and more than one person came over to the table to ask about our relationship. I could tell she was getting uncomfortable, and by the time we got back home, she had pretty much shut down.” Until the proposal.
“I think you should do more than think about staying. You should just do it.”
“Man, so it really is true what they say about small towns, that everybody knows everybody’s business.” Darius shook his head and muttered, “Unbelievable. But I agree with Brent. If you love her, you have to stay and work it out.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but Brent’s phone rang.
“It’s Glenn,” Brent said as he connected. “Hey, Glenn. I’ve got you on speaker.”
“Hey. Everything okay with Gabe?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Darius called out. “G slipped and fell in love.”
Glenn’s laughter came through the line. “That’s not a bad thing, Gabriel.”
“I can’t be sure,” Gabriel said. For the first time in a long while, he wished his father were still alive. He’d always given Gabriel good advice, and Gabriel could use some right about now.
“I thought things were going well with you and Serenity.”
He filled Glenn in on everything he’d told Darius and Brent, including Serenity’s breakup. “And then there was the whole issue of me maybe going back to Atlanta.”
“We told him he should’ve told her how he feels,” Brent said.
“I don’t always agree with these two, but this time they’re right. If she’s still nursing that broken heart, she’s not going to readily put herself out there. Chances are she’s waiting for you to make the first move.”
Men didn’t want their hearts broken any more than women did, and he was no exception. In hindsight, he realized that maybe he should’ve made that first move and spoken up the moment she made the proposition because he wanted the same thing. “How did you handle it with Toya?”
“I didn’t handle it at first because I refused to believe I’d fallen for her so fast,” Glenn said with a chuckle. “But when I couldn’t go more than a few minutes without thinking about her, I knew something was up. I’d like to tell you that this thing called love isn’t scary, but I’d be lying. It’s scary as hell, but it’s also the best risk you’ll ever take with the right person. Only you know if Serenity is that person for you. Oh, and as far as the issue surrounding where you’ll live, you can do your job just as well in Firefly Lake as you did in Atlanta.”
Darius threw up his hands. “Thank you! That’s exactly what I said. And we’ll have a permanent vacation spot.”
“Ha ha. If you must know, I’d already been considering staying and was heading to Atlanta to let you all know.”
Brent and Glenn chuckled, and Brent said, “It’s about time.”
Gabriel sat digesting his friend’s words. Everything Glenn said expressed how Gabriel felt. Now he needed to determine only one thing—was she worth risking his heart? Every moment of his time with Serenity played in his head like a movie reel, and the answer came back a resoundingyes. He leaped up from the sofa. “I need to call her. I need to tell her I’m staying.”
“So, Doc, when I have a momentary lapse while pursuing my Mrs. Right, can I count on you for some of this good advice?” Darius asked.
They all laughed, breaking the tension.
