As they exited through the sliding glass door, Gabriel turned back. Once again, his eyes held hers for a lengthy moment. A slow smile spread across his lips, and he saluted her with his glass. “Thanks for the invite. I’m looking forward to the meal.”

“You’re welcome.” She spun around and marched over to the stove, then slid the salmon under the broiler, took the bread out and placed it on a rack to cool. The double oven was one of the things she loved most about her spacious kitchen.

“Girl, that man is fine! Andrea didn’t mention that part, and I saw how he was looking at you.”

Serenity startled. She glared at Natasha. “He wasn’t looking at me any kind of way.”

Grabbing the bowl of salad and bottle of dressing out of the refrigerator, she chuckled. “Mm-hmm. Whatever you say. But I saw him.” Natasha waggled a finger Serenity’s way. “Who knows, he might be the one to get you back out there again.”

“Lalala, I can’t hear you.” She reached into the still open refrigerator to remove the container holding the corn and some butter. She melted it in a skillet, then added the corn and a dash of salt.

“I so love that fried corn, especially in the summer.”

“So do I. Having all these fresh vegetables and fruits makes living here worth it for me.”

Natasha shook her head. “Spoken like a true cook. Most people think of the small-town ambience or our beautiful lakes and mountains as a selling point, but not you.” She mixed the dressing in the salad.

Serenity shrugged and stirred the corn. “Hey, what can I say?”

“I’ll take this out and be back to slice the bread.”

She finished cooking, then placed everything on serving dishes and carried them outside. After going back to bring out the wine, she cued up her playlist and took her seat. Everyone filled their plates and, for the first few minutes, only the sounds of forks scraping against plates competed with the music playing through her outdoor speakers.

“Serenity, you’ve outdone yourself again,” Ms. Della said. “I haven’t had fried corn in so long.”

Smiling, she said, “I’m glad you like it. It’s not too dry, is it, Gabriel?” She probably should have taken the high road, but him smiling and acting like he hadn’t been rude to her earlier had started grating on her nerves. Yes, he brought wine, but he’d forgotten the apology.

Gabriel held up a forkful of corn. “Not at all. It’s really good. Everything’s great.” He chewed and angled his head thoughtfully. “Have you ever thought about adding bacon to the corn? They say bacon makes everything better.”