She said it blithely, as if the man’s irresponsible behavior was no big deal, but Wade detected the hint of hurt in her eyes.
“The man’s a fool,” he declared with feeling. “You know that, don’t you?”
“There’s a growing consensus about that,” she admitted.
His gaze narrowed. He might as well ferret out the whole truth here and now. There’d been mention of a boyfriend back in August, but when the man had never shown his face, Wade had been as skeptical about the relationship as her sisters clearly were. They’d been pretty outspoken on the subject, though usually out of Gabi’s hearing. While he’d worked on custom cabinetry, he’d kept one ear tuned to their conversations, especially whenever Gabi’s name came up. Okay, sure, there were rules about eavesdropping, but come on, this was Gabi and he was just a little bit infatuated with her. Was he supposed to tell them to lower the volume a notch?
“Were you in love with him?” he asked, keeping his tone neutral and his gaze on her face.
He saw the surprise in her eyes before she slid into the booth opposite him.
“You know you’re the first person to ask me that.”
“Seems like an obvious question to me,” he said. “Or did your family know better all along?”
She smiled at that. “I think they did. Samantha said she knew he was a jerk when he wasn’t here helping out after the storm. I’m not sure why I was still making excuses for him then. I imagine on some level I knew he would never really fit in.”
Wade nodded. “So, what’s your plan? Before you try to deny having one, remember that the word around here is that you started making plans in grade school and never lost the habit.”
She chuckled. “Actually, it was high school, but point taken. Amazingly, though, I’m still figuring things out. I got hit with too many unexpected changes all at once. A baby, the discovery that my significant other is a jerk, losing my job.”
Wade whistled. “You lost your job, too? Talk about a trifecta, and not the winning kind.”
“My boss wasn’t impressed with my moral character.”
Thus that weariness he’d noticed, he concluded. Wade was surprised she looked as good as she did with that many blows all landing at once. He suspected she’d come to Sand Castle Bay to spend time with the family and heal, but this might be his one and only opportunity to show her that not all men were idiots.
“You know what you need?” he declared, impulsively seizing a moment that might never come his way again.
“Aside from a plan?” she asked wryly.
“That’ll come,” he said with confidence. “You need dinner and a movie. It’ll take your mind off everything. How about tomorrow night? I’ll pick you up at six, unless you’d like to go for an early bird special. I remember when Kayla...” He tripped over the mention of his wife’s name, shifted gears. “When Lou was pregnant,” he corrected hurriedly, “all she wanted to do was sleep.”
“Lou? Your wife?”
He laughed at the disapproving expression that accompanied her question. “Not all of us are jerks, sweetheart,” he said, glad he’d not opened the whole sad tale about his wife. “Don’t you remember Louise, my big sister? She has five kids now, all of them little hellions, which if you ask me is exactly what she deserves for all the grief she gave me when we were kids.”
Her expression brightened. “Of course I remember Louise. Five kids? Wow! I thought she planned to be a lawyer.”
“She did and she is. The two of you are a lot alike, both driven. Not much gets in the way of what you want. I’ll have to get the two of you together. She can tell you what to expect when your baby turns your life upside down.”
“This baby’s already accomplished that,” Gabi reminded him.
“So, about dinner? Will six o’clock work?” he pressed, determined not to let this opportunity slip away. In his opinion, Gabi not only needed family right now, she needed a friendly, impartial ear. He could provide that.
A frown settled on her face. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Wade,” she said. “My life’s just too unsettled.”
“And you think if you stay home tomorrow night and concentrate real hard, you’ll figure everything out?” he asked skeptically.
“No, but—”
“Okay, then. I’ll see you at six,” he said, sliding out of the booth and dropping a casual kiss on her forehead. “Don’t even think about standing me up. I have allies.”
He could tell by her resigned expression that she knew exactly who those allies were. Maybe if she hadn’t taken so many hits recently, she’d have fought him harder. As it was, she merely sighed.
“See you at six,” she said, then glowered at him. “I want my own bucket of popcorn.”
He grinned. “Of course you do.”
He couldn’t seem to stop smiling as he paid Cora Jane, who’d remained suspiciously out of sight during his entire exchange with Gabi.
As she handed him his change, she threw in a piece of advice free of charge. “You hurt that girl and there will be no place around here for you to hide,” she said. It was a pretty fierce warning from a woman who stood five foot two in her sneakers.
“Got it,” he told her somberly, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “No worries.”
“If I didn’t believe that, you wouldn’t have spent five seconds alone with her just now,” she said, proving that her avoidance of his table had been deliberate. “Not when she’s this vulnerable.”
“You want to come along tomorrow night to chaperone?” he asked, only half in jest.
“Don’t think I wouldn’t do just that, Wade Johnson, if I didn’t think you’re going to be exactly what she needs. Don’t prove me wrong.”
“Understood.”
Even more than Cora Jane probably realized. He’d seen for himself just how fragile Gabi was. Seeing her
