“You’re not going back to Savannah?” Brooke asked Gabe.
“No, I want to get to the courthouse here first thing tomorrow to petition the court to become administrator of Josephine’s estate.”
“I need to figure out what my next move is too. Josephine paid me a retainer, and I need to make a good-faith effort to follow through and stop the state from taking her land.”
“Your client is dead,” Gabe said. “Your obligation to her has expired. I suppose you can raise the matter with her heirs, when and if we track them down, or learn the truth about C. D.’s claim.” He leaned in closer to her, his voice low in her ear. “Have dinner with me tonight, Brooke. Please?”
“Tonight? I can’t, Gabe. I haven’t seen Henry in two days. I’m already feeling guilty about leaving him with Farrah for this long. Maybe we can catch up tomorrow, after you make your filing? We can compare notes.”
He sighed. “Okay, if lunch is all you can do. But, Brooke, I didn’t mean for this to be a business meeting.” He searched her face for a reaction.
Her face grew hot, and she could feel herself blushing.
“Never mind,” he said quickly. “Call me tomorrow if you want, and we can meet. Strictly professional if that’s how you want it.”
He turned and walked hurriedly toward his car.
43
Marie waited until they were in the car. “What was that all about?”
“What?” Brooke felt heat creeping up from her collarbone.
“That whispered conference back there with Gabe.”
“Oh, you know, just legal stuff. He’s going to stay over at Sea Island tonight so he can be at the courthouse here first thing in the morning to petition to become administrator of Josephine’s estate.”
“This is your mother, Brooke. I know something else was going on back there.”
Brooke sighed. “I think maybe Gabe just asked me out on a date.”
“Maybe? You’re not sure?”
“Okay, so yes, he asked me to dinner. But I totally blew it and embarrassed both of us.”
“What did you say?”
“The first thing that occurred to me. Which was that I’d been away from Henry for two days, and I couldn’t possibly go out to dinner. Then he asked me to have lunch with him, and at that point he made it very clear that he wasn’t talking about a business meeting when he asked me out for dinner.”
“Ohhhh. So how do you feel about that? About seeing Gabe socially?”
“I don’t know,” Brooke wailed. “God, I suck at this boy-girl stuff. I never was good at it. Maybe that’s why after I started dating Harris in college, I decided he was the one. It was such a relief, you know, to not have to go through this whole bizarre dating ritual.”
Marie laughed. “How did I raise such an odd duck as you? Brooke, honey, this is not all that tricky. Take it slow. Break it down to the basics. A nice man asked you out to dinner. He’s single; you’re single. Now. How do you feel about Gabe? On a personal basis?”
“Don’t you think he’s way too old for me? I mean, the last time we went out to dinner, somebody mistook him for my dad! It was super embarrassing.”
“Gabe Wynant is much younger than Gordon and, just between us girls, much better looking. Anyway, why do you care what I think or what some stupid waiter thinks? What do you think? That’s the only thing that matters.”
Brooke took a deep breath. “He’s a nice guy. When we worked together, he never talked down to me, never hit on me like some of the other, older partners in the law firm. We used to run together, you know? He really listened to me and respected my opinions.”
“What else?”
Brooke shrugged. “I guess I like how he treats women. He never said anything negative about his wife, ever, even though she must have put him through hell. He’s old-school like that, but not an old fogey, like Dad.”
“And?”
“Okay, I guess he is kind of hot, in a silver-haired-fox kind of way. He’s fit, but not obsessed with himself. Does that make sense?”
