Page 87 of A Table for Two
Darius made a show of thinking. “Good point. You’ve got at least an hour to come up with a way to get it done, my brother.”
That hour turned out to be one of the longest in his life. The fact that they’d left after ten in the evening and missed all the traffic was the only thing that kept him sane during the drive. When Darius turned into Gabriel’s driveway, Gabriel barely waited for the car to stop before he hopped out. He tossed Brent the house key. “I don’t know what time I’ll be back.”
“Hopefully, sometime tomorrow,” Darius said with a grin.
“You guys can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but I’m glad you have my back.” They did a fist bump and went in opposite directions, them to his house and Gabriel to see Serenity. He rang her doorbell and waited anxiously. He took a surreptitious glance over his shoulder to see if Adele was in her usual spot, but the house was dark. He spun around when he heard the door open.
“Gabriel.”Serenity’s eyes went wide.
“May I come in?”
She hesitated briefly, then stepped back for him to enter. “What are you doing here?”
Any doubts he had about his feelings disappeared. He loved this woman more than his own life, and it took all his control not to kiss her, especially seeing her in the skimpy tank and shorts set. They needed to talk first. “I came for you, baby.” He stroked a finger down her cheek, grasped her hand, and led her to the sofa. For a moment, he sat and tried to gather his thoughts. Still holding her hand, he brought it to his lips and placed a kiss on the back. “I know you’re afraid. So am I. But I love you, Serenity, and I can’t give you up.” Okay, so he had an entire speech he was supposed to say before blurting out those three little words, but apparently, his heart said otherwise.
She brought her hands to her mouth, and tears filled her eyes. “What did you say?”
“I said I love you and probably have since you tossed those brownies at my head.”
A little laugh escaped her. “I was so mad at you.” Serenity reached up to touch his face. “But you turned out to be that angel, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with you. I was afraid to want more because I broke the rules.”
He understood. He’d broken them, too. They’d agreed to keep it casual, but love had other ideas. And he couldn’t be happier. “Some rules are meant to be broken. So what do you say about us keeping this going?”
Serenity got up and paced in front of him. “I have to think about a long-distance relationship. They never seem to work out. And then there was your message about going back to Atlanta without an explanation.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But what I needed to say couldn’t be said in a voicemail message.”
She stopped and whipped her head in his direction. “What are you talking about?”
Smiling, Gabriel stood and gathered her in his embrace. “Ours won’t be a long-distance relationship.”
She stared up at him, frowning. “Are you saying…?”
He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it for the past few weeks, and I don’t want to be without you for months at a time. Ican’tgo without seeing you for that long. I’m staying here.”
“Yes!”
He swept her into his arms, kissed her with all the love in his heart, then strode down the hallway to her bedroom. Gabriel wanted her to be part of his life forever and knew the perfect way to seal their commitment. Nana would be happy to know that he hadn’t let his blessing pass him by.
Chapter 23
Serenity opened the door to Natasha. “Come on in. I’m almost ready.”
“Girl, your smile is so bright, I need my sunglasses,” Natasha said, pulling them off her head and sliding them over her eyes.
Serenity laughed. “I know, and I can’t help it. I didn’t think I could be this happy.” It had been exactly three weeks since Gabriel’s declaration of love that Saturday, and they’d spent just about every evening together sharing dinner and talking about what they wanted for their future.
“I’m so happy for you and Gabriel. When are you guys going to Atlanta?”
“We’re flying out on Thursday. I’m coming back on Sunday, and his friends are going to help him drive back.” He’d put his condo on the market, and they were going to pack everything up.
“Then I’m glad we’re having our supper club tonight.” Natasha and Serenity shared a smile. “Thanks for going with me to take pictures of Crystalwood Lake and Brookshaw Cove. I promise it won’t take long because I know you’ve got to get things ready for dinner.”
Serenity squatted and tied her tennis shoes. “It’s no problem. I think what you’re doing is a great idea.” She slung her purse on her shoulder and picked up her keys.
“So do I. We need more tourism here, so I figured doing a little brochure about our best-kept secrets might help. The land development company is going to break ground on the new condos next spring, and I’m doing everything I can to be the exclusive Realtor, so the brochure will be good for that, as well.”
“You’ll get it. This isn’t going to be one of those huge multi-building complexes, is it?” Serenity asked as they got into Natasha’s car.
