Gabriel could honestly admit the town had some merits—the homemade ice cream, the ability to see the stars without lots of buildings, and of course, meeting Serenity topped the list—but he hoped to be back in Atlanta by then. However, the thought of not seeing Serenity, not being able to kiss or touch her, not sitting with her to watch the sunset while enjoying their favorite foods, somehow brought on an entire set of emotions, and he refused to analyze the reasons. “Sounds like a plan,” he told his sister.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to dinner. I know Gabriel is anxiously awaiting that pound cake.”

“Yes, I am,” he said with a little laugh. “I’m going to take a piece home to go with my ice cream from Splendid Scoops, too.”

“It’s really time for me to hang up now. A double scoop of strawberry would be sooo good right now.”

“Guess you’ll have to wait until you get here.”

“Yeah.”

Her dejected voice made Gabriel laugh even harder. “We’ll talk to you later. Love you, Sis.”

“Love you, baby,” Nana said.

“Love you both.”

Gabriel hit the end call button and stood to clear the dishes off the table. “If you want to get comfortable and watch your TV shows, I’ll put the food away and clean up the kitchen. That’ll give my dinner time to settle before I have some cake.”

Nana slowly got to her feet. “I appreciate it. Take some of that food home and the cake. Oh, and make sure you cut a piece to take to Serenity,” she called over her shoulder as she shuffled down the hallway.

His grandmother was persistent, if nothing else. It took less than thirty minutes for Gabriel to restore the kitchen to its former pristine state. As he reached for a knife for the cake, his phone buzzed. He went back over to the table where he’d left it and saw a text message from his sister.

Andrea: I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me. How long have you and Serenity been dating?

Gabriel: Again, we’re just hanging out. It’s nothing serious.

Andrea: I wonder what Serenity would say if I asked her.

Gabriel: Don’t even think about it.

Andrea: Oh, it’s like that? Lol, okay. I won’t say anything. For now. Tell Serenity I said hello when you see her, which I assume will be very soon. 

He sighed and tossed the phone back on the table. The last thing he needed was his sister—or anyone else—interfering with his and Serenity’s relationship, if that’s what it could be termed. Hell, even he didn’t know what to call it. Still, he couldn’t wait for their trip to the Bay Area on Saturday.

*  *  *