“No. I talked my brother into moving here because I don’t want to leave Nana alone.” Andrea shifted in her seat to face Serenity. “I hope this isn’t an imposition, but, Serenity, could you do me a favor and help him get settled in? He’s a city boy through and through, and making this transition is going to be a big shock for him,” she added with a laugh.

Serenity met Natasha’s smiling face and knew exactly what her best friend was thinking. From the moment she’d come to town, Natasha had tried—and failed—to get Serenity to date again. Jumping back on the horse was how she’d phrased it, but Serenity wasn’t interested. Andrea had mentioned her brother a time or two, and Serenity seemed to recall her saying something about him not wanting to be in a committed relationship. In Serenity’s mind, that spelled trouble. She’d finally found a Zen-like balance in her life and had no intention of letting anyone upset that equilibrium. However, Andrea had been a wonderful friend, so she couldn’t deny the request. “Sure. I’ll be happy to help out if he needs something. I’ll even invite him to a supper club dinner.”

“Oh, that would be great.” Andrea hugged Serenity. “I know he’ll enjoy it.”

She smiled. “I hope so.” She also hoped he understood the only thing she planned to offer was a neighborly acquaintance.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Pay up.”

Gabriel Cunningham glanced briefly at the door where his three best friends stood, then went back to connecting the ports on his computer. “What?”

Brent Ward sauntered over to the desk. “I bet Darius and Glenn that you’d be in here working.”

“I’m not working. I was just setting everything up.”

Both Darius Houston and Glenn Turner shook their heads. “Mm-hmm. Five more minutes and you would’ve been knee-deep in coding. You could’ve at least waited until we were gone,” Darius said. They always gave Gabriel grief for working long hours.

“Sorry. You’re right.” His three friends had been nice enough to help him move from Atlanta to Firefly Lake. The least he could do in return was see them off before he jumped into things.

Glenn propped a hip on the desk and folded his arms. “It’s Saturday, Gabe. Being here is supposed to give you a chance to learn balance and relax more, not continue on the same path to burnout you were on at home. And you agreed to take off two or three weeks. You haven’t taken a vacation in years.”