Gabriel smiled faintly. “Yeah, probably.” Except he needed a minute to get his body in order. “But we’ll never make it to the backyard if you keep standing there looking at me like that.” The woman was temptation personified.

She shook her head but was smiling. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

“Behave and come on.”

Chuckling, he followed her out to the back, where her three friends and another couple he didn’t know sat laughing and talking.

“Hey, Gabriel,” Dana called out. “I hope that bag means more wine.”

He held it up. “It does, indeed. And it’s already chilled.”

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about.” She hopped up from her chair and claimed the bag.

Smiling, he greeted everyone.

Serenity led him over to the couple. “Gabriel, I’d like you to meet my sister, Chandra, and my brother-in-law, Mark.”

Gabriel stuck out his hand, and both rose to shake it. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here, my brother,” Mark said.

Gabriel repeated the gesture with Chandra. The two sisters were similar in looks and color, but Chandra was a few inches taller.

Chandra studied him and smiled. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Gabriel. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

He shifted his gaze briefly to Serenity, who lowered her head, then back to Chandra. “Oh?” He really wanted to know what Serenity had told her sister about them. She merely smiled and nodded, then hooked her arm in his and steered him toward the table filled with various appetizers. Uh-oh. “How long are you going to be here?” he asked, hoping to head off any interrogation.

“Just the weekend.” She gestured to the spread. “Go ahead and fix yourself a plate. Everything is delicious.”

“If your sister cooked, I have no doubt.” Gabriel scanned the offerings, which had been labeled—bacon-wrapped scallops, crab-stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon, mini teriyaki beef skewers, lamb rib chops, barbecue chicken bites, vegetable and fruit trays, cheese and crackers, and spinach dip with sliced baguettes. He looked at the dessert-size plate in his hand. This wasn’t going to work.

“Problems?”

“Nothing that a bigger plate won’t solve.”

Chandra stared at him, then burst out laughing. “My husband said the same thing.” She handed him another plate. “Take two. That’s what he did.”

“Good idea.” He accepted the plate and between the two got some of everything.

“So, Gabriel, how do you like living off the beaten path?”

“It’s not as bad as I originally thought it would be, but I prefer being closer to the city.”

“So do I. Serenity told me you cut her grass when I mentioned how good it looked. That was nice of you.”

“Just trying to be a good neighbor.”

“And do overnight trips, concerts, and kisses fall in the category of being a good neighbor?”