Blackstone Ranger Charmer - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,20

problem, but it was getting Damon to agree. He did say to “do what you need to do” to win Temperance over. “All right, I’ll work on it.” He’d worry about getting Damon to agree and stop Anna Victoria from stringing him up by his balls later.

“Awesome.” Anders turned back to his locker and sprayed himself with deodorant. “I’ll run some ideas by you later. You won’t regret this.”

Somehow, Gabriel doubted it. But at least he got what he wanted. As he strode out of the locker room, he took his phone out and typed a message to Temperance.

Pick you up at six? Smiley face.

He knew not to expect a reply right away, but his stomach flip-flopped when he saw the dots pulsing on the screen indicating that she was typing back a message.

Tonight? That’s a little soon.

He frowned. If only she knew how excruciating slow the whole dating thing seemed to him, especially when he wanted her to be his yesterday.

Why not? Do you like Indian or French? If she had come up with all those pie flavors, that would mean she was a foodie, so he hoped he scored points by offering up exotic options.

There’s a French restaurant here in Blackstone?!?

Yeah, he typed back. A braserie opened in South Blackstone a couple days ago.

*brasserie, she corrected. Sorry.

He laughed aloud. Baby, you can correct me all you want. So, yes?

When dots didn’t appear right away, Gabriel felt his lungs constrict. However, when the reply popped up, he found he could breathe again.

Yes.

“Hallelujah!” He raised a fist in the air and jumped for joy. His inner lion, too, roared in triumph.

“Whoa, Russel,” Anders commented as he exited the locker room. “Let me guess, your sister said you could buy another Porsche this year?”

Normally he would have told Anders to fuck off, but instead, he laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll see you at five, Stevens,” he said. “Oh, and by the way, I’m supposed to be on trash duty this week. Good luck with that.”

Anders’s face turned from smug to irate. “What the fuck? Trash duty? You didn’t say anything about trash duty!”

Gabriel merely whistled as he walked away so he could start his shift.

“I want strippers at this party, Russel,” Anders screamed at him. “The good kind.”

But he ignored his friend’s tirade, as he was walking on cloud nine in anticipation of his date with his mate.

The hours seemed to stretch into days as Gabriel went through his shift, despite the fact that he didn’t even have to finish the entire twelve hours. By four thirty he was changing into his street clothes and driving down the mountain. He avoided both Damon and Anders, but he figured he’d sort out the whole bachelor party thing later; after all, he was about to embark on the most important date of his life.

After swinging by the florist where he picked up another bouquet, he drove straight to Temperance’s house. It was just about six when he walked up and knocked on the door.

A bead of sweat formed on his forehead, and doubt crept into his mind. What if she’s changed her mind? Or she didn’t want—

The door opened. “Hey.” As Temperance looked up at him, a shy smile on her face, all that doubt quickly dispelled.

“Hi,” he greeted back. “These are for you.”

“Oh.” Temperance took the flowers from his hands. “Thank you.”

God, she looked so beautiful. She wore a simple navy blouse and white skirt, while her long dark curls hung down one shoulder. Her hazel eyes seemed to glow, but when he caught her gaze, she quickly turned her right side away from him.

A flicker of annoyance pecked at him at the gesture. He longed to make her see that those scars didn’t matter to him, but he didn’t know how to do that exactly. But for now, maybe it was better to just not mention them at all.

“They’re mums, I think,” he said. “The flowers, I mean.”

“They’re gorgeous. Can I bring them along, or should I put them inside?”

“Just bring them, they’ll be okay for a few hours.” Truth was, he didn’t want to wait a second longer. “I made reservations.”

“Oh, okay.” Stepping out of the house, she quickly locked the door. “And are we taking your car?”

“Yeah.” He offered his arm. “My chariot awaits, my lady.”

A pretty blush bloomed on her cheek as she looped her arm through his. This close, he finally got a whiff of her sweet, feminine scent, and it was enough to