I gasped when he smacked my backside. It wasn’t hard but enough to make it jiggle a little. I wasn’t a particularly well-endowed woman, but I had a little something going on back there. Something which Gabe must’ve enjoyed if the way his eyes sparkled and the mischievous grin that covered his face was an indicator.
“You go sit,” I said when he began taking out the cartons from the bag. “You brought the meal. The least I can do is plate it.”
I unpacked all of the food and brought our plates to the table along with drinks.
“You think you got enough?” I asked before setting his plate on the table in front of him.
“Wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a little of everything,” he said. “If you would’ve—"
“I know,” I said, cutting him off. “If I would’ve responded to your calls and text, blah blah, blah.” I laughed as I settled in the chair next to him.
He shrugged. “As long as you know. What are your plans for this weekend?”
“Same as every day. To write. Or try to write,” I mumbled.
“Change of plans,” he said. “I’ve got something planned for us on Saturday.”
“You have something planned already?” I asked. “What if I had made plans with someone else?”
His face darkened, and he slowly dropped his fork to the plate. “Who else do you know in Harlington besides Jodi?”
“No one.” I glanced away and shrugged.
“Exactly. And Jodi and Micah are going out of town this weekend. I knew you’d be free.”
“But I could’ve decided to go on a hike or something. Jodi says there are tons of trails around here.”
“You wouldn’t have gone by yourself, and since you didn’t ask me, I know you didn’t plan on doing any hiking. Though we can put that in the schedule if you want.”
“So, you’re essentially taking over my Saturday without even asking me.”
He shrugged. “Essentially. What’ve you got to lose? It’s one day. You can get back to your writing on Sunday. This is your muse speaking,” he joked before flicking at my chin with his pointer finger. “I’m doing my part to inspire you.”
I laughed at the amusement in his eyes. I continued to have all the doubt in the world on this muse thing. Especially seeing as I still hadn’t written a word and I was afraid even to touch my new production equipment. But the gleam in Gabe’s eyes made me want to know what he had in store for that weekend.
“Nope. You’ll find out on the day of,” he said when I tried to find out what he had planned. “Wipe that cute ass pout off your face and eat. Dinner’s getting cold.”
I glared at him but continued to eat. A million thoughts ran through my mind as to what we were going to do that weekend. Whatever it was, I hoped it helped with my writing.
Also, I had to remind myself that my spending time with Gabe was simply to help activate my creative side. Saturday wasn’t a date, not in the typical sense. I would have to think of it as an adventure—nothing more, nothing less.
Chapter 11
Gabe
The Saturday after I helped Lena set up her production equipment, I turned into her driveway. It was still dark outside at five-thirty in the morning. But this was part of my planned outing.
The weather was supposed to be perfect that day, with a high of around seventy-eight. Right then, it was only in the low sixties. From what I could see, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
I could make out the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country. Lena and I would have a much better view of them soon.
That is if she trusted me enough to follow through on what I had planned.
I bounded up to the front door, knocking. I heard Lena as she approached the door, and tingles rolled up my spine, the way it always did when I knew I’d get to see her.
She pulled the door open, frowning.
“I thought you were joking when you said you’d be here this early.”
