Stoppingthe vehicle along the sidewalk he gave her a silent stare, knowing hissunglasses hid his eyes.
"Youhave no money." He felt the need to remind her of that glaring detail.
Witha caustic smirk, she tilted her head slightly, causing some of her brown curlsto fall off her shoulder. This was the first time he had ever seen the browncurls down and loose.
"It'snot for me genius, I was actually going to look for you." She shielded hereyes from the bright sun while Bishop sniffed at her knee. "Some of thesesales will have some really great pieces for absolute deals. Besides your houseneeds it, it's practically empty."
Lookingaway from her to control his smirk, he remembered passing a bright pink sign atthe end of the block mentioning a sale nearby. Gabriel would have never guessedthe prim and prissy Salene was a bargain hunter, Amber sure is hell was not. Ifthe item was not name-brand and gift wrapped she was not interested.
Leaningover he unlatched and pushed open the door. "Get in."
Bishoptook the command in one leap as he pulled her into the truck with the snap ofthe leash. Grumbling about the dog's betrayal Salene reluctantly settled intothe passenger seat beside him while Bishop sat in the middle.
Oneestate sale and two garage sales later Salene revealed herself to be a hagglingdemon. Where Gabriel was totally satisfied with the prices, Salene scoffed andrebuffed with the familiar air of haughty chilliness. Gabriel watched in purerapture as she turned that slick tongue onto two attendants, politely arguingthe price down like a seasoned trial lawyer. And if he was not damned if thosebastards did not comply and take it with a smile. With narrowed eyes behind hisshades, Gabriel watched as Salene unknowingly entranced an old geezer with herskintight outfit and in minutes had the guy loading up Gabriel's truck.
Withthe bed of his truck filled to the brim, Gabriel looked over to see Salenepositively humming to life with satisfaction.
"Howmuch was that, about four hundred, five hundred?" She questionedrhetorically with no real desire for his input as she beamed over her bargainhunt. "We got so many good things today at an absolute steal. Good jobteam." Holding out her hand for Bishop he gave her his paw, which shepromptly returned his affection in vigorous scratches behind the ears.
"SoI take it you have done this before?" He gave her a curious glance as hedrove towards the house.
"Ohyeah, my mom was a master at this growing up. That is how she cut the cost forsix children." Stealing another look from the road Gabriel caught hersmiling as she stared out the window obviously remembering the past.
"Jesus,six kids?" Damn that was a lot of people in one house, Gabriel could noteven fathom it since he grew up as an only child rattling around his house byhimself practically.
Shelet out that husky laugh that sent his blood pumping.
"Yupthree boys and three girls crammed in a three-bedroom bungalow in Florida. Mymom did not have a job, she had enough work taking care of us. My dad workedfor the state, so his pay was meager at best considering six kids."
Lettingout a whistle of shock he turned onto the street. "Yeah I fucking believethat."
"Whatabout you, do you have any siblings?" Her tone was careful almostdelicate.
"No,it was just me growing up." There was a couple of beats of silence,Gabriel was aware that his stoic response changed the mood in the vehicle.
"Ohdon't worry," Salene turned towards him and gave him an evil smile."I will wish that you are blessed with a house full of girls in yourfuture."
Atthis he could not help but laugh out loud, this would be the second time shehas brought up the idea of him having daughters in his future. Gabriel neverreally thought about what kind of children he would have in the future he justknew that he wanted some eventually.
Pullinginto the driveway, he carefully rolled the truck behind the house and in frontof his garage door.
"Iam going to get some cleaning supplies," she chirped happily behind him asthey walked into the house. "I want to clean and polish all of it first. It’sgoing to look so good once we get it inside."
Walkingto his room, he changed out of his work slacks and button down shirt. Throwingon some basketball shorts, he realized he was out of T-shirts. Annoyed hewalked to the laundry room.
"Salene!"He bellowed as he opened the laundry room door. The woman was supposed to betaking care of shit like this.
Steppinginto the laundry room Gabriel flipped on the light.
Welldamn.
Allthe clothes were washed and folded neatly sitting in about three baskets.
"Whatis it?" He heard her voice coming around the corner.
Turningaround they came face-to-face in the doorway, the light brown eyes quicklyscanned his naked torso before averting away. Grabbing one of the foldedT-shirts Gabriel slowly slipped it over his head never taking his eyes off theslight rosy color of her cheeks. He was quite aware how good he looked, he didnot spend hours in the gym daily for nothing. It was more than gratifying to knowthat his hard work was not wasted even on his most ardent of enemies. Actuallythe fact that it was Salene blushing and turning away felt like even more of avictory.
"Whatdid you want Breslin?" She mumbled as she continued to look away.
