His grin sharpened. “So this is adatedate.”
Gabe shot him a look. “Can I borrow a jacket or not?”
He didn’t bother hiding his amusement. “Give me a minute.” He walked out of the room, leaving Gabe to listen to his boots onthe hardwood. He drifted over to the papers spread out on the desk.
The intel about Henry Alder. Simple things anyone could find in a directory—address, business, net worth. That figure had Gabe’s eyes popping and a motive blossoming in his mind.
If Henry had a fortune, and someone was after it…maybe even searching for ways to get it…
The thumps of Carson’s boots announced his return. He carried a charcoal suit. A lighter gray dress shirt with a lightly patterned tie dangled on a hanger from his finger.
“You’re lucky this was just dry-cleaned.”
Gabe reached for it, but Carson held it just out of reach.
“So you’re taking Felicity to the nicest place within a hundred-mile radius. In a suit. And she’s in a little black dress.”
He huffed a laugh. “Who would ever guess, right?”
Carson snorted. “All the women in this house, that’s who.”
Gabe accepted the suit, ducking his head to hide from Carson’s direct gaze. “I appreciate this, man. I’d better not keep her waiting.”
Gabe was halfway to the door when Carson called out. “Hey!”
He turned.
“I’m happy for you.”
He didn’t expect that to hit as hard as it did.
In the tiny bathroom, he stripped fast and changed into the suit. It fit damn near as well as his Marine Corps dress blues. He buttoned the cuffs, smoothed the jacket and caught his reflection in the small mirror over the vanity.
He didn’t recognize himself for a second. His pulse kicked as a new realization swirled in his mind. It wasn’t the mountain air making changes in him, smoothing away the lines carved byyears of battle and the PTSD that followed. It wasn’t being on the ranch that put a new gleam of happiness in his eyes.
Tonight wasn’t about dinner.
It was about what came next. About the woman in the little black dress…and every step he wanted to take with her after tonight.
He passed Carson’s office on the way to the exit. Carson gave him a quick once-over. “She’s going to forget her own name.”
Gabe shot him a grin. “That’s the plan.”
* * * * *
Felicity stood waiting for Gabe, her fingers twisting in front of her each time her sister’s words rolled through her mind.
No one was sure how long Gabe was going to stick around. He came in the middle of the night with no plans for how long he would stay or what he wanted to do beyond right now.
It made her nervous, thinking that she could be getting in too deep with the sexy and sweet Marine. Especially with the rest of her life hanging in the balance. In a very short time, he’d become her rock.
She heard a door close and turned toward the sound.
The instant Felicity saw Gabe in that deep gray suit, with his too-long hair brushing the edge of the crisp shirt collar, her ovaries exploded. Her insides clutched with every step he took toward her, with the way the pants hugged his muscular thighs and the jacket pulled just right across his chest.
The night just got better when the hostess at Prairie Ember led them to a small table near the windows. For a second, Felicity felt like she’d stepped into one of the novels she shelved every week.
Golden light enclosed them in a private cocoon. Real linen tablecloths and heavy silverware gleaming in the candlelight created an enticing backdrop for what was sure to be a fantastic meal, and a vase with a single white rose sat in the center of the table, the petals unfurled.
