She was scowling at him.
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you’re safe. I know it’s hard to get professional jobs with just a high school diploma. At least, I never heard about your going to college. Did you?”
She seemed to stiffen, then set her wine next to his and crossed her arms. “No. I was taking care of my grandparents so they could die at home.”
He felt terrible but didn’t know how to make it better.
“You know, I had you pegged differently. When we were growing up, you didn’t treat me like a dumb girl. If you guys were playing a game, you treated me equally. It didn’t matter what the game was. Hide-and-seek. Battleship. Cards. Whatever. But now it seems like you’d be worried that I’d hide in the wrong place or sink my own battleship.”
He laughed. “I don’t think that. You’re smart and plenty brave. But I also know you’re beautiful, and—” He didn’t know how to finish that sentence. He really didn’t. Was he being chauvinistic? He didn’t mean to be. He scratched his head. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
“Why? Before this afternoon you didn’t even know I worked in a bank. Or… Wait. Did Parker put you up to this?”
“Parker?”
“Yeah, Parker. My brother. Your good friend. Remember him?”
Gabe tried for a casual chuckle, but it came out more like a nervous laugh.
“Oh, shit. He did!”
“No. I heard you moved back to Boston. He did tell me that.” He thought about how he could tell the truth without giving anything away. He didn’t want to outright lie to her, but pretending that he just happened to walk into her bank was pretty suspicious.
She was staring at him like she wouldn’t believe whatever came out of his mouth next. He had to admit he wouldn’t believe it was a coincidence either. “I’m sorry, Misty. You’re too smart to believe anything but the truth. Yes, I promised your brother I’d be there for you if you needed anything. But he also asked me to keep it quiet.”
“Why?”
“He knows you want to rely on yourself. I admire you for wanting to be independent. For the record, I thought the secrecy thing was a terrible idea. I couldn’t think of a way to casually bump into you so you wouldn’t know I was keeping tabs on you. I should have realized you wouldn’t fall for it.”
It was time to change the subject. Quickly. “You know, Noah suggested I invite you to Sunday dinner at our parents’ house.”
“Noah, huh?”
“Well, yeah. He mentioned it while we were down in the vault. But I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t agree with him.”
“So apparently, you’re asking me?”
This felt like a trap. He had the feeling there was some kind of right answer, something he wasn’t saying, but what exactly could it be? “Yeah, I think it’s a good idea. You could catch up with the rest of the family, and they’d love to see you.”
“Just them? Not you?”
Okay. He knew where this was going. “Sure. Me too.”
She let out a long sigh.
“Misty—”
She held up one hand to stop him from saying any more. “Fine.”
Uh-oh. He got the “fine” response. That usually meant somethingwasn’tfine. He didn’t understand woman-speak very well, but that one he knew. It was probably best to sidestep the trap at this point.
“So, would you like to come?”
She looked at him with a smirk and raised an eyebrow. He thought about what he had just said.Oh, shit… Is she coming on to me? Little Misty?
“I’d love to come.”
“When?”
