A calendar chock-full of Christmas spirit gave Gabe a splitting headache, but when he’d visited his grandmother earlier that afternoon, she’d been adamant that he represent the flower shop at the business owners’ meeting. Gran still had more lucid days than not, but things were becoming fuzzy enough for her that he wanted to hold on even tighter than before to the woman he knew and loved.

If it had been solely up to him, Gabe would have said no to Mal in a heartbeat. He could imagine Gran’s elation when he told her that the mayor had chosen Gabe to cochair the event with Carrie since she was having some trouble with her pregnancy. Gabe had missed so many opportunities in his life to make his grandmother proud. He couldn’t pass one up now, not when he had no clue how much time they had left.

Just as Mal called the meeting to order and the room went silent, Angi burst through the door. Everyone turned to stare, and Gabe had to hide the smile that tugged at one corner of his mouth. She certainly knew how to make an entrance, even more so with her thick dark hair piled high on her head in some sort of I Dream of Jeannie topknot and her singular outfit, which consisted of a tattered sweatshirt under a thick flannel jacket, paisley-print leggings encasing her shapely legs and fuzzy slippers on her feet.

The slippers were a nice touch, he thought.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, her skin turning an appealing shade of pink.

“You’re right on time.” Mal grinned. “How’s your mom doing?”

“Good.” Angi nodded. “Better anyway. She had a little setback this weekend, but...” She drew in a shaky breath, and a shiver of sympathy rippled along Gabe’s spine. “She’s okay.”

He rolled his shoulders to diffuse the sensation. Angi didn’t need—or likely want—his sympathy.

Mal nodded. “We’re sending her our best. She’s a strong woman.”

A few people called out words of encouragement, and somehow Gabe imagined them like bullets ripping through Angi’s soft skin. He was used to thinking of her as tough and unflinching, so the vulnerability she couldn’t seem to hide when it came to her mother unnerved him.

“Yeah.” The smile she offered didn’t reach her eyes. “I guess I should be up there with you.” She frowned as she noticed Gabe, and he curled his lip out of habit. Mutual distaste was much easier to handle than the invisible connection that sometimes filled the space between them.

Mal inclined his head. “We’re waiting for Carrie.”

“Right.” Angi nodded. “Carrie still isn’t feeling well. I just saw her out front, before Dylan picked her up. She’s asked me to take over her responsibilities for Christmas on the Coast.”

“Ah, hell, no,” Gabe muttered.

Mal turned to him with a quelling glance as the gathered crowd erupted into murmuring whispers. Gabe had no idea whether people were talking about him or Angi or the two of them. Either way, he didn’t like it.