Gabe knew Daveigh too well -- actually, he knew himself too well -- to actually get himself dressed and ready to go by the time she arrived at his hotel. They’d already made plans for her to get there early, and it wouldn’t have made sense for him to be put together so that they could wait another hour for dinner. Of course, it also wouldn’t have been practical considering what they both knew would happen once she arrived. Being the older of the two, Gabe should have been the one to put his foot down, to tell her no, that prior to dinner with her sister was not the time for any frisky business, but he had learned long ago that where Daveigh was concerned, it was impossible for him to voice any kind of opposition. He just went with the flow and was thankful that they both managed to keep track of the time so that they weren’t late. The fact that they were actually early, which was not often the case, gave him pause to wonder what it was keeping the other couple from arriving at the restaurant before them. But he swiped those thoughts from his mind. It wasn’t any of his business, and he had this nervous sick feeling that Harper would know what he had been thinking the moment her eyes landed on him.
You can do this. People like you. Harper will like you too. It didn’t matter how many times Daveigh assured him that her sister would like him, Gabe still had to repeat the mantra over and over in his mind. Though he would be open for his girlfriend to disagree, he felt that Harper would be a harder sell than Daveigh’s father. “Are you trying to remind me, or yourself,” he asked with raised eyebrow and a grin that matched hers. He squeezed her hand in return to show that he understood how important this double date was. “Trust me, I will do what it takes to fly under the radar. She might be tempted to maim me, but what protective sibling wouldn’t be?” The look she gave caused him to take a steadying breath. He could do this. He could do this.
Just as he was reassuring himself for the thousandth time, his eyes caught sight of a flash of red hair. “I think this is her, is this her?” As he asked, he raised a hand to signal the woman, and the man next to her, of the table he and Daveigh were seated at. He’d already waved it back and forth once before he realized that the hostess would guide them over to their table, without the need for his frantic waving. It was painfully obvious that he didn’t often dine in such fancy restaurants.