By Sunday morning, Serenity was a basket case. She’d barely slept a wink, speculating on where Gabriel planned to take her. More than once she had picked up her phone to send a text asking, but she chickened out each time. She had no idea why she felt so nervous. It was just a lunch date, not to mention, she and Gabriel had shared more than a few meals together. She snatched her phone up again, and before she could lose her nerve, sent the last text, which was still waiting in draft. Several minutes passed before he replied: Just somewhere to have a quiet lunch. Dress casually and wear sneakers.

“That’s it?” She waited to see if he was going to say more, but the phone stayed silent. Maybe I ought to go see Adele. If anybody knows, it’s her. Willing herself to relax, she checked the temperatures, then selected a pair of black shorts and paired it with a sleeveless purple top. Not a huge fan of makeup, she put on her standard light coating of mascara and some lip color. At the last minute, she decided to switch out her purse for a mini crossbody, one just large enough to carry the necessities.

Gabriel rang her doorbell at exactly noon, and all the calm Serenity had worked hard to restore flew right out the window the moment she opened the door. He looked devastatingly handsome in a black tee that reminded her just how well defined his upper body was and dark-tan shorts.

Gabriel’s gaze made a slow tour down her body and up again. “Hey, beautiful. Ready?”

“Hi. Yep.” She stepped out onto the porch and locked the door. Belatedly, it dawned on her that leaving in broad daylight didn’t help keep the busybodies out of her business.

He must have sensed her apprehension because he said, “I don’t think we have to worry about Adele. Apparently, that wave did the trick, or at least it made her step back because, just as you predicted, she didn’t say one word to Nana.”

“That’s good to know.” But she couldn’t stop herself from doing a hasty perusal up and down the block. Because it was Sunday, a good number of the people were in church at this hour, which worked in their favor. Gabriel helped her into his SUV, then rounded the fender and got in on the driver’s side. “This is the first time I’ve been in your car.”

Gabriel cocked his head to the side. “Hmm, you’re right.” He started the engine and pulled off. “But it won’t be the last.”