Darius laughed. “Hey, I told you I’m looking for that one woman, but if I don’t keep dating, how am I supposed to find her? It’s not like she’s going to appear out of thin air and announce she’s my one.”

“He’s got a point,” Brent chimed in. “At least we do date. You, on the other hand, have gone out what…four, five times in the past two years?”

Gabriel didn’t appreciate having his love life or lack of one analyzed so early in the morning. “Did y’all call for something else? If not, can we be done with this conversation?”

“Sure, but we’re still making that trip. And before you start again,” Darius said, “we’re not coming to interfere with your love life. We rarely get out to the West Coast and want to check out San Francisco, Oakland, and maybe even Napa. And since you’re there now, it gives us a reason to fly out.”

He had been to the Bay Area only a couple of times years ago, and it would be cool to visit again. “Sounds like a plan. Let me know when you’re coming and we can make it a weekend.”

“You all will have to count me out of this one,” Glenn said. “I don’t think Toya wants to hang out for a guys’ weekend. Once you three stop playing around and get married, we can take a group vacation.”

“On that note, I’ve got to go,” Gabriel said with a chuckle.

Brent’s laughter came through the line. “Yeah. Gabe, we’ll let you know when we’re coming and will probably have it worked out by the time we meet next week.”

“Sounds good. Later.” Gabriel disconnected and smiled. He relished the friendship with his boys, even if they got on his nerves sometimes.

Swinging his legs over the side of the lounger, he stood and checked the weather on his phone. Seventy degrees was perfect for running.

The drive to Seaside Meadows Park took less than ten minutes. Natasha hadn’t lied. The beauty of the area took his breath away—flowers blooming in every color, majestic tree-lined trails, and a tranquil lake perfect for just about anything. He saw a few couples strolling along the paths hand in hand and imagined bringing Serenity here.

Gabriel took a few minutes to stretch, set his watch for three miles, then started a slow jog. He kept the easy pace for the first few minutes, then gradually increased his speed. While he ran, he thought of new ideas to deal with the technical issue he’d been having with one aspect of his program and how he was going to convince his grandmother to leave her home. But mostly, his mind kept straying to Serenity and why she had captured his attention the way she had.