Page 36 of Fearless Encounter

“I realize that Meg is on your mind, no matter how I try to distract you,” Gabriel said. “It would help to know more about her. What can you tell me about how you met and your friendship? Understanding her better may provide clues.”

“We’ve been friends since high school.” Once Brooke began, details about Meg and her friendship flooded out. “She stood up for me once, when it really mattered. I was shy in school, but Meg was outgoing. There was a group of boys that started bullying me. And it threatened to get physical.”

“What did Meg do?”

Brooke smiled. “She was into coding, even back then. The short story is that the boys were cheating on exams, too lazy to study. And Meg knew it.”

“How did she know?”

“It seems so simple now,” Brooke said. “But at that age, it was different. The boys thought they were so clever because they used a code to trade answers back and forth.”

Gabriel appeared interested.

“Meg spotted that. I wouldn’t have known what I was looking at, even if I had read one of their notes.” She took the last sip of her wine. “But they got caught, because Meg intercepted enough of their notes to provide evidence of their dishonesty.”

Brooke thought back to the event. She had admired Meg, as she still did. “Anyway, the boys weren’t as smart as they thought. The code they used was a grid code, and it was no problem for Meg to break it. She showed me later how it worked.”

“So, it was a grid with letters A-E along the left-hand side and the numbers 1-5 on the top?” Gabriel smiled. “The code that kids use?”

“Yes, the grid is filled with the letters of the alphabet. A sentence is written by giving the coordinates,” Brooke said. “Meg showed me how to do it. At the time, I thought it was so cool. Remember, I was only fourteen.”

Gabriel chuckled. “The bully’s unbreakable code.”

“With evidence in hand, Meg turned them in to the principal,” Brooke said. “Then she went to their ringleader and poked a finger at him—told him to leave me alone or she would cause themrealtrouble.”

“I’m guessing your days of being bullied ended.”

“I was safe from then on, at least from those boys,” Brooke said. “We’ve been friends ever since.”

*****

Gabriel enjoyed listening to Brooke. He wanted to know more to help with the case, but he also wanted to knowherbetter.During dinner, she told him more about Meg, but also about her family and how she got started in pastry. He was intrigued. Brooke was an interesting person, enjoyable to be with, and lovely.

Watching her, Gabriel realized—and not for the first time—that he was attracted to her. He glanced at her lips as she spoke, remembering the sensual kisses from the night before. It seemed so long since he’d sought intimacy. After losing Margot, he hadn’t opened his heart—until he met Brooke.

“Now you seem to be the one lost in thought,” Brooke said, with a smile.

“Quite the opposite.” Gabriel touched her hand. “I’m listening to every word. I like getting to know you.” He could swear that she blushed. “I was thinking about doing something after dinner…instead of just going home.”

“I’d like that.” Brooke looked into his eyes, then glanced away. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’m open to suggestions,” he said. “A movie, maybe?”

“That sounds great.”

Gabriel took her to the movie playing at the theater down the street. He didn’t really care what was playing, as long as it was okay with her. All he really wanted to do was sit with her in the dark and hold hands. And that was exactly what he did. Brooke didn’t object. She leaned against his shoulder and squeezed his hand a few times.

On the way home, Gabriel put his hand on her knee and was rewarded with a smile. He felt close to Brooke and wanted to be alone. Dare he hope for true intimacy, or should he? But he was smitten. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. The loss of hiswife had been devastating, and she would always be in his heart. But he was ready for love, and hoped that Brooke was too.

At his house, Gabriel took her hand to walk her inside. In the semidarkness, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. Brooke responded, igniting passion between them. Digging his hands into her hair, Gabriel pressed deeper into the kiss. His tongue dipped into her hot mouth, and he groaned with pleasure. Brooke arched against him.

Thankfully, they had the entire night to be together. Gabriel felt the soft curve of her hips, and she put her palms against his chest.

In his pocket, the phone vibrated, and he cursed silently. He should ignore it, but what if it was Abe? It could be urgent.

Brooke gave him a coy smile and lowered her hands, so Gabriel answered the call. “Abe, it’s late. What’s up?” He barely heard the words but got the idea quickly. “We’ll meet you there.”

“What happened?” she asked.