Serenity didn’t know what to say. His sincerity touched her, and she felt the cracks in the wall surrounding her heart widening. They rode in silence for a while, then Gabriel’s phone rang and she saw his friend’s name pop up on the display.

He connected the Bluetooth. “What’s up, D?”

“Nothing much. You busy?”

“I’m on my way to Oakland. Jill Scott is in concert tonight.”

“Sounds interesting. I’m betting you’re not taking this little trip alone.”

“That would be a safe bet.”

“And by these cryptic responses, I guess Serenity is sitting next to you.”

Serenity bit her lip to keep from laughing at Gabriel’s expression, which was a mixture of annoyance and exasperation. At least I’m not the only one with nosy friends.

“That would be a good guess.” Gabriel slanted her a sidelong glance.

“Hey, Serenity. How’s it going?”

“I’m doing fine, Darius.”

“I have no doubts about that,” Darius said with a chuckle. “You kids have fun, and I’ll talk to you later, Gabe.”

“Later.” Gabriel disconnected, and the music started up again. “Sorry about that.”

“No need to be sorry. He reminds me of my friends. They’re the same way.”

“Nosy and always in your business.”

“Exactly.” They both laughed. For the remainder of the drive, they swapped stories about their friends’ antics.

When they made it to Oakland and Jack London Square, Gabriel said, “Since this is my first time here, I’ll defer to you for parking.”

Serenity had been there only a few times herself. “We can park in the garage next to Yoshi’s. That way we don’t have to worry about moving the car or adding more money to the meter.”

“Works for me.” He followed her directions to the garage. As they walked back out to the street, he stopped to glance in the window. “They have a restaurant?”

“Yes. If you eat there, you can get a reserved seat for the concert. Otherwise, it’s first come, first serve.”

“We can eat here if you want to do the reserved seating.”

“Oh, no. I’m fine with standing in line. I’ve got my taste buds set for some barbecue. The doors open half an hour before the show, so we should probably plan on being back at least thirty minutes before then. Natasha came to a concert here, and she mentioned that the line gets long pretty quick.”

He nodded. “Barbecue it is. Do you want to eat now, or a little later?”

Serenity checked her watch. “It’s a little past four now. Maybe we can walk for a little while or sit near the water, then head over to the restaurant in an hour or so.”

“Sounds good.” Gabriel took her hand, and they started toward the water. “How far is the restaurant?”