“Is it always this crowded?” Gabriel asked as they walked toward the dessert table.

“It has been since I moved here. Is your grandmother here?”

“Yes. I left her and Ms. Flora playing bingo.”

She laughed softly. “Those women are serious about their bingo. They play every week at the community center.”

“That’s what she told me. I thought it was just fun and games until she told me there’s money involved. She said the reason I didn’t know was that it’s grown folks’ business. She is something else,” he added with a shake of his head.

Serenity pointed out her desserts on the table and waited while he purchased two each of the pound cake and strawberries and four of the six remaining brownies. On the way back, she said, “Four brownies?”

“Hey, I was trying to be nice leaving those two.” He held her gaze. “They’re my weakness.”

Have mercy! He stared at her as he had that night, forcing her to remember the timbre of his voice, the tender touch of his lips. She took a step and nearly tripped.

Gabriel slid an arm around her waist to steady her. “You okay?”

She nodded and prayed no one else noticed. Blessedly, she made it back without further mishap. A smile spread across her face when she saw that Terri and Jon had joined them. She hugged them both and introduced Gabriel to Jon.

The two men hit it off, and the group spent the remainder of the day laughing and eating. Eventually, the conversation turned to cooking.

“I can barely boil water,” Jon confessed. “So I can’t say anything about somebody’s skills.”

Dana laughed. “What about you, Gabriel? Can you throw down in a kitchen?”

“I can do a little somethin’ somethin’.”

Natasha and Serenity shared a look before Natasha said, “Think you hang with our girl?”

A mischievous grin spread across Gabriel’s mouth. “Maybe.”

Dana and Natasha hollered.

“I say they should do a cook-off, best side dish,” Dana said with a squeal, clapping her hands.

Natasha high-fived her. “Yes, girl! Let’s do it.”

Serenity held up a hand. “Hold on a minute. How are y’all going to just volunteer us to cook? And exactly how is this going to work?”

Dana shrugged. “Simple. He comes to the supper club this weekend, and we vote on which dish tastes the best. Y’all can work out the prize. Now we just need to decide which dish.”

Serenity’s mouth fell open. Prize? Her gaze flew to Gabriel’s. He didn’t seem to be bothered in the least, and it had her speculating on what he would want if he won.

“What about candied yams?” Natasha wiggled her eyebrows.

“Works for me.” She felt confident she could easily win. Even if he did cook, she doubted his candied yams would top hers.

Gabriel stuck out his hand. “I’m in.”