Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,38

be you when I grow up.”

“As long as I can stay up late and learn how to make kick-ass wine,” Becca said and raised the glass Joey had just handed her.

“Deal.”

“Dish?” Gabriella asked, eager to know all and looking around in earnest. “Where’s the dish?”

Becca didn’t hesitate. Gabriella appreciated that. “Well, Lucinda from the Dark Room, that chocolate shop off Main, has a thing for Powell from the used car dealership.”

Gabriella squinted. “Oh, the guy with the baseball cap perched on his head? He’s an Otter, and thereby my mortal enemy.”

She and Joey made the muskrat face because it was required. Joey looked skyward. “That means Ryan is your mortal enemy, and I heard from the Biddies that you had dinner with Ryan and her mother last week. A detail you neglected to mention.” Joey looked overly mystified. “So strange.”

It was true. Gabriella hadn’t shared her evening with Ryan with her friends. She wasn’t exactly bent on keeping it a secret, but for a reason she didn’t understand yet, she wanted that night to be hers for a little while. But leave it to the Biddies to stay one step ahead of her. “How do they do it? We were in a residential neighborhood. How do they know so much of what goes on in this town? It’s insane.”

“Says the girl who just begged me for the dish.” Becca seemed to be enjoying all this from behind her glass.

Gabriella pointed at her. “I can own that, and I don’t begrudge a single Biddy her thirst for gossip. In fact, I’m impressed with their prowess. The difference is I don’t pass it around to anyone who will listen. I keep it here.” She touched her heart reverently.

“But you’re not denying it, then? Dinner with Ryan and her mom?” Madison asked the question in a way that had Gabriella’s radar pinging. She didn’t sound like herself. What was that about?

She answered honestly. “I did go over there to try her fabulous shrimp creole, and then we stuck around and played a card game. It was fun.” There. She’d just put it all out there. No need to hoard the Ryan details, confusion on her end or not.

“That’s great,” Joey said. “Joanna is the kindest. She was my fifth-grade math teacher, you know. Maddie’s, too. We used to get in trouble for talking.”

Gabriella laughed and would have loved to have known the two of them back then. Little Joey and tiny Madison, making plans for their eleven-year-old afternoon. Madison didn’t look as caught up in the nostalgia as Joey did. In fact, she didn’t seem to be listening to the conversation at all.

“You also had lunch with her,” Madison pointed out, yanking Gabriella back into the Ryan conversation.

“Yeah. She loved the food, and then we both went back to work.” She kept her tone light and unaffected. She left out the part where they flirted here and there in a playful manner.

“Oh. So it’s a thing now? You two?” Madison asked, squinting. Why did this feel like a tense conversation all of sudden? Was this an ex-girlfriend thing? If so, she had not seen this coming. Maddie wasn’t the jealous type, but her brows were drawn down and her lips pursed slightly. Gabriella knew her well enough to understand that something had her rattled, and she had a feeling it was her spending time with Ryan Jacks. Dammit. Weren’t things complicated enough? She and Madison had managed to avoid every traditional pitfall since their breakup.

“We are most definitely not a thing, but I like hanging out with her. We smack-talk softball and cover details about the restaurant.” She decided to go there. She leveled her gaze on Madison. “What? Does that upset you?”

“She’s bad news. Always has been,” Madison said automatically, clearly fired up and not doing that great a job at hiding it.

Joey held up a hand. “Okay, hold on. I wouldn’t go that far. Ryan likes to have fun. That’s all. But she’s kind.”

“Too much fun,” Madison countered. “She uses people and moves from one woman to the next like a round of Duck, Duck, Goose. I would just hate to see you get caught up with someone like that. You’re too smart to.”

Gabriella forced a smile and cradled her wine, absorbing the mild insult. “I’m not getting caught up.”

“Not what it looks like from here.” Madison shook her head, seemingly affected by this conversation more than called for. She stood. “I didn’t mention it before, but my head is killing