Chapter 15
Misty went on her break at work. She had no sooner put her feet up than she heard some kind of commotion from the lobby.What now?Of course, another robbery popped into her head, but she couldn’t imagine it. Not so soon after the other one—especially with all the news coverage and the fact that they hadn’t gotten the big prize they were going after.
Misty carefully peeked around the corner to see what was going on. To her surprise, one of her coworkers was arguing with Adam…loudly.
“She’s on break. She can go outside if she wants to.”
“People can’t just walk into the bank and expect my tellers to drop what they’re doing…or not doing…and walk outside.”
“Adam? Do you hear yourself?”
Misty figured it had to be about her since she was the only one on break. She didn’t usually stick her nose in, but it seemed to be where she belonged. So she entered the teller area and asked, “What’s going on?”
When she looked over at Adam, she saw Gabe standing behind him, holding a bouquet of flowers.
Her jaw dropped. “Gabe?”
“Hey, Misty. I was hoping to talk to you for just a minute and show you something outside.”
“Well, how fortunate. I just happen to be on my coffee break.” She glared at Adam and smiled at her coworker, Betsy, who was trying to defend her.
As she entered the lobby area, Adam stomped off to his office. Gabe handed her the flowers. Some red roses, some white lilies, and some other floral that she couldn’t identify, but they made pretty purple splashes among the rest. She took a deep whiff.
“They’re beautiful. Thank you. What’s the occasion?”
He extended his hand. “You’ll see.”
Taking a couple of moments to step outside was not unheard of. One of her coworkers smoked and regularly took his breaks outside, so she didn’t know why Adam was having such a fit.
She took Gabe’s hand and walked confidently to the front doors. Outside, she caught sight of Engine 22 with a huge banner all across its side.
It read,Marry me, Misty!
“Oh my God!”
Gabe’s captain was hanging out the shotgun window, smiling. “Hurry up and give him an answer, Misty. We have work to do.”
She stuck her hand over her heart and took a step back, repeating, “Oh my God.”
“You don’t have to answer right now,” Gabe said. “I just want you to know that I’m not doing the right thing.” He gave her a rare silly grin.
She laughed, more from relief than amusement.
Gabe stepped closer, leaned down, and gave her a deep, toe-curling kiss. One that caused passersby to stop and applaud. It must’ve looked like she’d said yes. She wouldn’t embarrass Gabe by contradicting them, but he must know there was a lot to consider.
When he finally pulled away, she placed her hand over his heart. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I still have a lot to think about, but I appreciate the gesture.”
He swept her hair behind her ear and whispered back, “Take your time. I can do this as often as I need to until you believe me. Well, not with the truck. I was lucky to finagle that once.”
“What are you going to tell the guys?”
He shrugged and gave her a cocky smile. “I won’t say anything, except what a lucky girl you are. They’ll expect something like that.”
She cupped his cheek. “It would be true.”
A quick peck later and Gabe was jogging back to the truck, jumping into the driver’s seat. She inhaled the fragrant flowers as she walked back inside.Who knew Gabe could do something so romantic?Would that change Parker’s mind? That thought put an immediate damper on the elation she’d experienced only a moment before. Tough. It was her decision. Her brother didn’t have to like it.
She wandered back inside.Now, what am I going to tell my coworkers?
