Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [50]
Deciding to change the subject, he asked, “So how is Rose Woods? She came across as one sharp woman when we met.”
Sage smiled, thankful for the switch to another topic now that they had cleared the air about a few things. “Rose is doing fine; however, she no longer works for Denmark. She’s in between jobs right now until she decides what she wants to do. I’ve invited her to fly out and spend time with me, but she detests cold weather.”
Gabe chuckled. “Yeah, it does take some getting used to. You seem to be doing okay with it.”
She grinned. “I’m a person who can adjust to any given situation, or at least try. Coming here was a promotion, and I did say I was mobile when I was hired. Besides, I needed the change.”
He nodded. “So did I. My mother was driving me bonkers.”
Sage lifted a brow. “How so?”
Gabe leaned back in his chair. “Playing matchmaker. For the longest time she had given up on Chris and me and thought we would never settle down and marry. Then Chris got reunited with Maxi and—”
“Reunited? Were they married before?”
Gabe shook his head, grinning. “No, Maxi and Chris have known each other since elementary school, and believe it or not, he had a crush on her even then. He loved her all through school, for twelve long years. And because he thought he would never be worthy of her affections, he left town after graduating from high school without telling her how he felt. They met up again on a ten-year class reunion cruise and discovered they loved each other.” He sighed. That tale was close enough, although things hadn’t been that simple. But there was no need to go into any details about it with her.
“Anyway,” he continued, “no sooner was the rice thrown over Chris’s head, than my mother gazed at me with a look in her eye that said, ‘You’re next.’ And since that time she hasn’t given me a moment’s rest from playing Cupid.”
Sage laughed. She remembered her father telling her once that his mother had been just as bad. She sobered quickly when she thought of her father.
“Now it’s my turn to ask what?”
Sage met Gabe’s curious gaze. “What’s what?”
“What made you stop laughing so abruptly.”
Sage sighed. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
A part of Gabe wanted to agree with her that he really didn’t want to know, but instead of saying that, he said, “I do trust you, Sage, since I have no reason not to, and you’re wrong. I do want to know. All of us have secrets.”
Gabe’s voice held a bit of tenderness, and Sage couldn’t help it when a feeling of deep appreciation washed over her. It had been so easy for him to say he trusted her. Would trusting someone, especially a man, ever come that easy to her again? “Do you, Gabe? Do you have secrets?”
A smile touched the corners of his mouth. “Yes, in fact I have a few. I’ve been waiting twenty years for my father to discover that I’m the one who at the age of twelve wasted two cans of his shaving cream on the dog next door. I thought the hairy mutt needed a shave. Unfortunately, he took a dip in another neighbor’s pool before I could go after him with the shears.”
Sage gasped, pretending she was shocked, absolutely mortified. A huge smile appeared on her face. “That’s awful, simply shameful. You’ll never get to heaven without first confessing that one to your father.”
Gabe chuckled. “Yes, I’m still losing sleep over how to break the news to him.”
Laughter flickered in Sage’s eyes. She had to admit that Gabe had a knack for making her laugh. She really enjoyed his company. Possibly too much, she thought. That prompted her to glance down at her watch.
He took her cue and said, “I guess it’s time for us to call it a night. Unless you think you can handle dessert.”
She shook her head, smiling. “There’s no way I can handle dessert. I’m stuffed. I never had a real taste for salmon until coming here. I didn’t know it could be prepared in so many different ways. Everything was delicious, and I wish you would let me contribute toward the tab.”
Gabe shook his head. “No, tonight was my treat.” He met her gaze, wondering why