He’d seen the movie and remembered the outcries in the theater at the end. “I’m glad I could help.” Although, the prospect of them watching a double feature that would last almost six hours sounded good to him. As he’d told her earlier, they needed to maximize the time they had left.

When the food arrived, Serenity let out a soft moan after the first bite. “Mmm, so, so good.”

He smiled and started in on his food, loving that her appreciation of good food mirrored his. They’d been eating and laughing for a few minutes when a woman he’d never seen came over to the table.

“Well, hello, Serenity.” She divided a speculative glance between Serenity and Gabriel.

“Hi, Mrs. Satterfield.”

“Who’s this handsome young man?”

“This is Ms. Della’s grandson, Gabriel.”

“How are you, Mrs. Satterfield?”

“Doing well for an old woman,” she answered with a huge grin.

Gabriel chanced a glance at Serenity and saw her roll her eyes. He sensed her rising irritation.

“You two make—”

“Um…Mrs. Satterfield, we don’t want our food to get cold,” Serenity cut in.

“Oh, yes, yes. You’re right. Enjoy your dinner, and it was nice to finally meet you, Gabriel.”

“Nice to meet you, too, ma’am.” The woman stood there a moment longer, as if she wanted to say something else, then strutted off. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah. That woman is always in somebody’s business.”

Wanting to reclaim their relaxed camaraderie, he said, “Look on the bright side: she’s not as bad as Adele, and we won’t have to worry about her sitting in the window.”

A small smile peeked out. “I guess.” The tension lining her features lessened, and she went back to eating.

A few minutes later, a second person wandered over to ask about them dating and commented on what a nice couple they made. Shortly after, a third person stopped by. Each time, Gabriel felt her withdraw more, and the nice dinner he’d hoped to have had been shot to hell. Serenity left half her food on the plate, and his appetite had waned considerably, so he had the remainder boxed up to go. By the time they made it back to her place, she had all but shut down.

At the door, Serenity said, “Thanks for dinner.”

“Anytime. I’m sorry about all the interruptions.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I guess that’s the price we pay for living in a small town. You want to come in for a few minutes?”

“Sure.” Gabriel followed her to the kitchen, where she placed her leftovers in the refrigerator, then to the family room. He placed his container on the end table and sat next to Serenity on the sofa.