She blinked over and over, her face blank as though her brain couldn’t quite decipher his words.
Well, fine. He’d try a different tactic. “I told you yesterday I mean to put myself out there where we’re concerned. I’m not screwing around—not about what I want from you, or about you getting to know the people I love. To my mind, the best way to demonstrate that is to show you straight out of the chute I mean what I say. So, if I can arrange it, are you up for it?”
“We-we’ve only been out once. You want me to meet your moms?”
He grinned at that. “Well, technically, we’ve been on two dates now. And unless my shifts get in the way, or you bar me from your kitchen between now and then, I figure we’ll have at least a few more under our belts by the time I can arrange something that works.” He skimmed his knuckles along her jaw. “But once I do, are you up for it?”
She sat up, putting way too much distance between them even as her gaze went distant.
He braced, schooling his expression to the unaffected mask reserved for the worst of traumas at work. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Gabe. It’s just an idea. One we can work up to when you’re ready.”
Her attention drifted to his torso, lingered on his Haven tags long enough it registered like a physical touch, then lifted to meet his steady stare. “I don’t need to work up to it. If you want me with you, I’m willing to try.”
Chapter Fourteen
Things were changing. For the life of her, Gabe couldn’t define when or how it’d started, but even putzing through her normal routines the past few days, her world was different. Riddled with a little less worry and structure, and sprinkled with a whole lot more hope and courage.
Like he had on Sunday, Zeke had joined her after his shifts at the hospital for dinner the past few nights and unwound with her in front of the television.
They’d kissed.
A lot.
Petted and teased each other until both of them were breathless and edgy, but nothing else. Now it was Wednesday, and things between them were stepping into a whole new realm.
She rubbed her sweaty palms on her hips and assessed her appearance in her dresser mirror. Of all the times for Danny to disappear, this had to be the worst. Granted, he was a guy and seldom gave more than one—or two—word responses when it came to her outfits, but having some kind of input before she came face-to-face with Zeke’s family—or more to the point, his moms—sure would have been nice.
And this is why most girls have friends they can call.
She shook the nasty self-criticism off and refocused on her image. Zeke had said to be herself, so she’d paired a simple navy blue tank with her favorite green and blue flannel and Levi’s. She’d ditched her boots, though. They might be comfortable and add an extra kick to her confidence when facing down strangers, but the one pair of sandals she’d splurged on last year seemed to help soften her otherwise tomboy appearance.
Three quick raps sounded on the front door, and her heart kicked an answering echo.
On her nightstand, the alarm clock showed 7:25 p.m.
Five minutes early, which she’d learned was the norm for Zeke. The one time he’d been late he’d actually called five minutes early to give her an updated time, then had beat his modified arrival estimate by ten minutes.
Not letting herself overthink the big surprise he’d promised any further, she hurried to the front door and opened it.
Three nights in a row she’d greeted him this same way and every single time the punch of seeing him on her front stoop knocked her dumbfounded. Like her, he’d donned jeans and paired them with a simple black T-shirt, but while her overall look said blue collar, his said cover model.
“Hey,” she managed.
His kissable lips curved in a slow, promising smile, and he prowled across the threshold, crowding close and wrapping her up at the waist. “Hey, gatinha.” He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her mouth and murmured, “You ready for your surprise?”
Not really. If she had her way, they’d skip wherever they were going and jump right to the kissing and groping. “Yeah,” she said instead. “Though you’re not helping the anxiety much keeping our destination a secret. Stressing about making a good impression on your moms is bad enough.”
He chuckled at that. “Makin’ a good impression on Sylvie and Ninette is the last thing you need to worry about. They’re gonna love you. And where we’re goin’ is right up your alley.” He stepped away and playfully swatted her butt. “Get your purse so we can lock up. Movie night waits for no one.”
“We’re going to a movie?” As options went, it meant minimized socializing for her, but seemed kind of awkward for a family thing.
“Oh, yeah. Movies done brotherhood style. Double feature and everything. Now get a move on.”
Ten minutes later he had her out the door and climbing into a black Escalade with windows tinted so dark any number of felonies could take place inside and no one would be the wiser. “I didn’t really take you for an SUV guy.”
In the driver’s seat, he buckled up while she eyeballed the spacious tan interior. “It’s not mine, it’s Beck’s. Or one of them anyway. He’s got five he keeps on hand for security details. Says he’d rather use his own rigs than trust someone else’s gear. Plus, Knox keeps tracking devices on all the vehicles in case anything goes south.”
The same fear that had bubbled up the night she’d visited the compound and learned of Danny’s involvement with Beckett’s business whispered up through her happy buzz, but she forced it down. Tonight wasn’t about Danny. Or fear. Or any other catastrophic idea her mind could come up with. It was about enjoying herself and savoring every second with Zeke—however long those seconds lasted.
On the horizon the sun made its final decent, and the crisp mid-April evening scent slipped through the open sunroof overhead. As usual for a Sunday evening, the weathered country road that led to the interstate was mostly void of traffic. “So where’s the theater?”
“Ft. Worth.”
At first she nodded an absent agreement—until the reality of their destination fully clicked. “We’re driving nearly an hour away for a movie?”
“It’s only an hour drive with traffic. This late, it’ll be forty-five tops.”
“But why? Dallas has plenty of places to go. Shoot, Rockwall has plenty of places to go.”
“Not like where we’re going. Though I heard a new place is going up in Lewisville.”
She stilled, a whole host of suspicions welling up in seconds.
Zeke glanced at her and grinned. “Relax, gatinha. You’ll love it. I promise.”
The rest of the trip went fairly easy, Zeke’s adeptness at casual conversation steering her thoughts further away from their destination even as the SUV ate up I-30. It wasn’t until he’d navigated them just north of Ft. Worth’s downtown and beside the river that his big secret clicked. The sight of the three huge screens, each angled different directions and reaching toward the darkening night sky, drew an immediate smile. “We’re going to a drive-in?”
“Is there a better way to watch a movie?”
She barely managed not to press her nose against the passenger window as they neared the entrance. “I have no idea. I’ve never been to one before.”
“Never?”
She shook her head, fascinated by how the big screens looked close up. Unlike the ones in movie theaters, these were a lot less smooth and made up of huge white sections bolted together. When they reached the little hut where people paid for admission, a slightly overweight but jolly-looking man took one look at Zeke and smiled huge. “And the last of the Haven clan comes straggling in!” He shook Zeke’s hand like the two of them met up for beers on a regular basis and waved him through the gate without taking so much as a single dollar. “Your crew’s alrea
dy set up. Screen three. Previews start in about twenty minutes, so you’ve got time to get you and your girl settled in.”
“Appreciate it, man.”
“You bet.” The clerk ducked down enough to catch Gabe’s gaze through the window. “Have a good time, little lady.”
Gabe had barely given the man a hesitant wave before Zeke was through the gate and headed toward the parking area on the far left.
“I take it this isn’t an uncommon event for your family?” she asked.
Zeke scanned the arced rows fanning out from the huge wall that served as the screen, locked his sights on a cluster of cars congregated dead center, and chuckled. “Gatinha, anything considered uncommon by most is practically a given in our family.” He turned down one row and cast her a quick wink. “You ask me, that’s the best part.”
Ahead on their same row, two other black Escalades to match their own, a black Silverado with a whole lot of chrome and a silver Chevy dually were backed into their spots. Centered in the row in front of them was a swank new white Mercedes sedan and a pretty Shelby Cobra painted an indigo blue to rival her truck. Several people meandered between the vehicles and lawn chairs set up for optimum viewing, and situated in the middle of it all were two long folding tables laden with food.
“I should have brought something,” she muttered.
Zeke pulled just past the cluster of cars, moved the gearshift to Reverse, and twisted so he could back the SUV into the slot on the far end. “Brought something for what?”
“For the food. It’s bad manners to show up for something like this without food.”
Frowning, Zeke put the car in Park and gave her his full attention. “You remember the spread we had at Trevor’s house on our first date?”
Boy, did she. And she’d done her best to put the hurt on a good chunk of it. Especially the sweets. “Yeah.”
“So, you get from the quantity of food Sylvie made for just two people, she loves to cook. As in she could give you and your triple lasagna sessions a run for your money. In fact, odds are good she’ll have us loaded up with a care package before the first movie is over.” He punched the auto-tailgate opener overhead, opened his car door, then paused and grinned at her over his shoulder. “And about those manners. Anything based on respect you’ll find we appreciate. But doing anything because someone with a stick up their ass said it shall be so, doesn’t hold much sway in this group.”
With that, he hopped to the ground and shut his door behind him, the warning beep-beep-beep of the back hitch as it lifted filling the otherwise quiet. Her own door popped open all of ten seconds later, and Zeke held out his hand to help her down. “Come on, gatinha. Gotta get you fed and settled before the previews start.”
She could do this. It was just a movie, after all, and she’d already met the brothers once. Granted, she’d been a little snippy the last go-round, but she could do better this time. Easy peasy, right?
She wiped her sweaty palm on her jeans, took Zeke’s steady hand, and stepped out on the running board. As spring nights went, this one was perfect, a barely there breeze dancing across her fear-dampened skin in a calm, cooling touch. They were still at least thirty more minutes from full sunset, but the sky had deepened to a dark enough blue the stars winked with promise.
Knox, Beckett, Trevor and Jace all turned from where they surrounded one of the two tables and paused in filling their plates long enough to give her a once-over and easy smiles.
“‘Bout time you got here,” Jace said. “Though from the company you’re keeping I’d say the wait was worth it.”
“Hey, you’re not the only one who gets to show off a pretty girl.” Instead of heading over to join the rest of them, Zeke routed to the back end of their SUV, slid out two folding sport chairs, and started setting one up. She’d barely had a chance to gawk at the thick camping bedroll, blankets and huge mound of pillows setup inside when Zeke glanced back at the guys and said, “Speaking of pretty girls, where’s Viv?”
Viv poked her head up from the far side of the black Silverado’s truck bed, waved and offered a warm smile. “I’m on drink duty.” She ducked down out of sight for all of two seconds, popped back up, then strolled into full view carting four longnecks. “We’ve got beer, sweet tea, wine and water. What’s your poison?”
“Beer for me,” Zeke said reaching for the second chair to set it up. “Gabe, what do you want?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but what came out was more of a strangled whisper than actual words. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Water’s fine.”
You have no business being here.
You don’t fit in.
They’ll look at you, judge you and laugh.
Zeke’s touch registered at the small of her back, and Trevor’s voice cut through her thoughts. “You okay, darlin’?”
She blinked the world back into focus. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I said I hope you’re hungry. Sylvie and Ninette took finger foods to the extreme tonight.”
Well, she had been. Now she wasn’t sure if food was a good idea. At least not until she figured out how close the bathrooms were in case her stomach revolted.
The same nasty sentiments circled around for another lap, but this time she shook them off. Maybe it was Zeke behind her, or the burgeoning hope she’d nursed the past few days, but she focused on relaxing her shoulders and forced a smile. “If she’s got dessert, I’m starting there. I got too full before I could enjoy those last time around.”
Zeke wrapped his arm around her waist, tucking her close to his side, and gave an encouraging squeeze. A silent atta girl and I’ve got your back all rolled into one. He guided her toward the table. “Rule of thumb—Sylvie always has dessert.”
“God, that’s the truth.” Vivienne handed Gabe a bottle of water fresh out of the cooler and a Bohemia Weiss to Zeke. “It’s like a bakery at Haven ninety percent of the time. I’m surprised I haven’t had to buy a whole new wardrobe since moving out there.”
Walking behind her as she spoke, Jace chuckled, palmed Vivienne’s ass without the least bit of concern for anyone watching, and squeezed. “Sugar, as long as I’m breathing, you workin’ off Sylvie’s desserts is the last problem you gotta worry about.”
The guys barked a chorus of hoots and hollers.
Vivienne swatted his hand playfully, but the look she paired it with said she planned to hold him to his word.
So simple. Easy. The same comfortable camaraderie Gabe had with Danny when no one else was around. She grabbed a plate and let the guys’ idle chatter settle against her frayed nerves. The spread really was impressive. Far more than anything she’d ever try carting to a drive-in. Meatballs coated with what looked like the cranberry sauce she used for New Year’s Day snacks, three different cheeses and twice as many crackers, sliders and potato skins that made TGI Fridays’ offerings look wimpy. Over on the other table were cheesecake cups topped with caramel, chocolate cake balls, bite-size peanut butter and chocolate squares, and simple chocolate chip cookies.
A chipper, feminine, albeit thickly accented voice, sounded over her shoulder. “Now, there’s a lass with a mind like my own.”
Gabe hugged her empty plate against her chest and spun.
Not even a full arm span away stood an older woman with vivid auburn hair to her shoulders and a smile bright enough to light up the whole parking lot. In each hand, she held huge tubs of popcorn glistening with enough butter on top to guarantee a clogged artery. “I’m Sylvie McKee. Axel’s mother. You must be Gabrielle.”
Even without the introduction or the accent to guide her, Gabrielle would have figured out which son was hers with one look at Sylvie’s eyes. Like Axel’s, they were a deep forest green, except hers twinkled as though she knew an exciting secret.
At the far end of the table, Zeke filled his plate. En
ough distance to let her stand on her own, but close enough she knew he’d be there if she needed him.
She let out a slow breath and refocused on Sylvie. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, lass.” She leaned in and dropped her voice in a conspiratorial manner. “It’s not very often we have family night away from Haven, but if it means we get ta meet our boys’ ladies sooner rather than later, I may have ta vote we change up the venue more often.”
The odd statement threw Gabe for loop, but before she could puzzle over what it meant, Sylvie placed her popcorn tubs strategically with all the other hearty food, then guided her over to the dessert table. “Now, if ye’d rather start with dessert, ye’ll get no beef from me, but save the cookies for after the first show. We’ve got ice cream in the cooler and I plan ta make sandwiches out of them.”
Oh, yeah. This was definitely a lady she needed to get to know. And even better, being with Sylvie didn’t send her anxiety through the roof. It was more like chatting with Mrs. Wallaby over morning coffee than coercing her tongue to form polite conversation.
With the same focus as a mom prepping dinner for a five-year-old, Sylvie started loading up Gabe’s plate with one of everything. “Zeke tells me you’re quite a cook yourself.”
“He did?”
Leaning against the dropped tailgate of the silver dually, Zeke popped a meatball in his mouth and nodded his head at something one of his brothers said, but his eyes were on her. Watchful and considerate even as a soft smile played across his face.
“Och, lass. The boy’s over the moon w’ ye. Kept me on the phone for a full twenty minutes extolling your lasagna and askin’ me ta bring more cupcakes for tonight. I told him ye deserved somethin’ new for our movie night, but if ye get a hankerin’ for them, I’ll whip them up next time around.” She pointed at two strawberries she’d plunked to one side of Gabe’s plate. “Try those. Cream cheese frosting on the inside. It’s like ye’ve died and gone ta heaven.”
Wild & Sweet (The Haven Brotherhood) Page 16
