Gabriel’s warm chuckle came through the line. “Good afternoon to you, too. And not this time. Something came up at home, so I’ll be headed to Atlanta tonight.”

She paused stirring the squash. Her smile faded, and her heart rate kicked up. Not that it should have, since they weren’t involved in anything serious. “How long will you be gone?”

“Probably about a week.”

“Oh, okay. When you get back, it’ll be my turn to cook. Maybe we can have brunch—waffles from scratch with my homemade vanilla maple syrup, or biscuits with some of my famous strawberry jam.”

He groaned. “You’re killing me, you know that?”

“Hey, just trying to give you an incentive to come back.” The words left her mouth before she could stop them, and she wished she could go back and slap a hand over her mouth. It didn’t help that Gabriel remained silent for what seemed like forever.

Finally, he said, “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“I’m sure you have a million things to do before you leave, so…um…have a safe flight.” Serenity figured she should get off the phone before she said something else she shouldn’t.

“A few things. I’ll call you.”

“Sounds good.” They spoke a minute longer, then disconnected. She banged her palm lightly against her forehead. “Great, Serenity. Now the man probably thinks you’re trying to push for something more serious.” She’d gotten way too comfortable with Gabriel over the past several weeks, and she found it harder and harder to keep her guard up. She finished the squash, then set the pan aside so it could cool before she added it to her containers.

Two hours later, with her meals and laundry done, Serenity poured herself a glass of iced tea, picked up her cell, and went to sit on the deck. Leaning back on the lounger, she inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. Thoughts of Gabriel immediately came to mind, and no matter how hard she tried to keep them at bay, they kept coming. If she were in the market for a long-term relationship, he’d definitely top the list of what she’d want in a man. He was intelligent, considerate, easy on the eyes, and the best kisser, hands down, that she’d ever had.

She was so lost in her reflections, it took her a moment to realize her phone was ringing. She snatched it up. “Hey, Natasha.”

“Hey, girl. Are you busy?”

“Nope. Just chilling. Why?”

“Good. I’ll be over in ten minutes to get all the details of last night’s date.”

Serenity let out a little laugh. “There’s not that much to tell, so—” She heard a beep and glanced at the phone. “I know she didn’t hang up on me,” she muttered, staring at the black screen. Shaking her head, she went back inside.