Stranger in Town (Dundee, Idaho #5)(35)
Author: Brenda Novak

“Yeah, a blast,” she said.

If her tone fell a little flat, Ashleigh didn’t seem to notice. She was too busy gushing about Gabe. “I didn’t know he could be so friendly. He’s always been sort of…remote in the past, you know? But he’s actually very funny and nice and…well, I already knew he was one of the handsomest men alive.”

When she spotted the mirror, Ashleigh immediately pulled out a small cosmetics pouch and began dusting her cle**age with powdery glitter. “And he brought that gorgeous friend for you,” she added. “Wasn’t that sweet of him?”

Hannah started washing her hands. “You honestly think Gabe believes Race and I are a good match?”

“Of course.” Ashleigh blinked innocently back at her in the mirror. “Why else would he bring him along?”

To throw me out of my element, she thought. But she didn’t say that. “I don’t know,” she mumbled.

Predictably, Ashleigh didn’t press her. She was in too much of a hurry to get back to Gabe. “The food will be ready soon, so don’t take long,” she said and rushed out of the room.

Hannah slumped against the wall. The rest room smelled too strongly of deodorizer and was small enough to make her slightly claustrophobic, but a little discomfort was worth a few seconds alone. She wasn’t sure how much more of Race she could endure. Or was it the way Ashleigh and her friends fawned over Gabe that bothered her? She suspected, even if they didn’t, that he wasn’t particularly interested in them. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t end up taking one of them home with him for the night….

She felt depression set in at that thought, then stood up straight. Wait a second! That was what she wanted to have happen, remember? She was doing this for Gabe, to interest him in life again, to get him acting like himself, to see him dating and enjoying the company of others. So what if he took a girl home? So what if he forced her to put up with a man like Race for a few hours as penance for pressing him a little? She’d gotten him out of his cabin, hadn’t she? She could be the victor here, if only she didn’t lose heart and let him beat her at her own game.

Taking a deep breath, she marched out of the rest room—and nearly collided with a waitress delivering food to a nearby table. She jerked back to keep from knocking the poor woman’s tray to the ground, but her narrow heels slipped on the marble floor, and she gave a startled cry as she started to fall. She expected to hit the floor and embarrass herself in front of everyone, and would have if not for a strong pair of hands. Somehow Gabe was there at the right moment to pull her into his lap before the worst could happen.

The waitress shot her a condemning look, righted her tray and scooted past them, leaving Hannah clinging, for a moment, to the man who’d caught her.

“You’re okay,” Gabe murmured.

“Where’d you come from?” she asked.

“Race went to the bathroom right after you did. I was coming to tell you both that our food has arrived.”

They’d all had a glass of wine while waiting for dinner. She could smell a hint of it on Gabe’s breath. “You smell good,” she said, out of nowhere, then cursed herself for not guarding her tongue.

His eyes lowered to her lips, then dipped to the blouse he seemed to like so well, and she realized that she hadn’t come face to face with him like this since they were in high school. The kiss they’d shared twenty years ago flashed through her mind, raising her heart rate and tempting her to lean closer. It had been so long since she’d really kissed a man. She wanted one more taste of Gabe, one more good kiss to erase all the ones in between.

If they’d been alone, she might have gone for it. Where he was concerned, she didn’t have much to lose. And he owed her something after setting her up with Race. The little pep talk she’d given herself in the bathroom had left her feeling feisty again. But they were surrounded by people who’d turned to stare when she nearly fell.

“Thanks for catching me,” she said and quickly climbed out of his lap.

“Too bad Race wasn’t around to do the honors,” he drawled.

She knew he was teasing her, but she refused to acknowledge it. She was too embarrassed by the scene she’d created. Taking her seat as demurely as possible, she proceeded to push the pasta primavera she’d ordered around her plate while folks began to recognize Gabe. A man and two women approached him, asking for his autograph. Then his circle of admirers quickly grew.

Race returned from the bathroom a few minutes later and continued talking about himself while eating his steak and shrimp. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Gabe wasn’t at the table. But Ashleigh, Michelle and Jessica obviously missed the man they’d been drooling over all evening. They seemed to like Race well enough, but it was Gabe they wanted to be with.

They kept grumbling about the people who detained Gabe, but it was Hannah who finally got up to intervene. She could tell by the tension in Gabe’s shoulders that he wasn’t enjoying himself. The strangers were imposing on him, and they didn’t care that they were being rude. No wonder he insisted on keeping such a low profile.

“Excuse me, but I’m afraid Gabe’s food is getting cold. Would you mind giving him a chance to eat?” She spoke with a sweet, warm smile, but looked at each one pointedly.

“Oh, no, of course not…. Please, go ahead and eat,” they muttered.

Gabe took hold of his wheels. “I wouldn’t want to be accused of neglecting my friends. Have a nice evening,” he said and wheeled back to their table.

When she caught the expression on his face, Hannah feared she might have been too assertive. But she wasn’t about to let a bunch of insensitive people ruin his first night out. If that happened, maybe he wouldn’t accept another invitation.

“You don’t have to be so nice,” she whispered to him as she passed by on her way to her own seat. “You’ve got a right to eat, too.”

Ashleigh, Jessica and Michelle had watched the whole thing with their mouths hanging open. “Wow, Hannah,” Ashleigh said, recovering first. “Way to go.”

Hannah was fairly certain Gabe wasn’t impressed. He insisted on taking care of himself, didn’t like being helped. So why had she let her protectiveness motivate her to interfere where she probably wasn’t wanted? If she hadn’t already been in the habit of looking out for her boys, she probably wouldn’t have done anything.