Behind Gabby’s chair, a young girl with tow-headed hair tied up into pigtails appeared, her light blue eyes narrowed on the cards in my hand.
“Lilly, come down.” Her mother glanced over the chair and I gave her a polite grin as she tugged the child back to her lap.
Gabby bounced from the movement of the seat behind her and turned back that way, smiling at the girl as her mom tried to get her to be seated. “Would she like to play with us?”
“Yes!” the girl said. “Please, Mommy.”
“No, let these nice people play their card game, sweetie.”
If I wasn’t mistaken, disappointment danced across Gabby’s eyes before she turned back to me. “One more hand, and this time, don’t cheat.”
This woman. “You are the sorest loser of all the losers I’ve ever met, Gabrielle Dubiak.”
“Isn’t it Taylor?” She winked.
Did that mean she was planning on taking my name?
We hadn’t talked about it. Hell, after last night and Gabby saying she still wasn’t certain where she’d end up and open her dream salon, I’d doubted she was starting to feel the same way as me.
Maybe she was just teasing, didn’t mean a thing by it, but before I could ask, two sets of shoes appeared in my line of sight next to the table where my head bent to shuffle the cards.
“Excuse me, I’m so sorry.” I glanced up as the woman, mom, rather, held the little girl gently with her hand on her shoulder. “But you two happen to be playing my daughter Lilly’s favorite game and she’s bored as the dickens. Is there any chance…”
“We’d love to have her join us,” Gabby said, and she patted the seat next to her.
The mom bit her bottom lip, glanced to her husband watching me with eagle-eyed precision. “You’re welcome to sit and join us too,” I offered her.
She glanced at the man I assumed was her husband, back to me and Gabby. “Um. Maybe in a bit? I have a hungry baby who needs to eat but if it’s really not too much trouble…”
“It’s not,” Gabby assured her. Lilly was already climbing into the seat next to her. “She’ll be safe here.”
Most of the seats on the ferry were lined like an airplane, but we’d sat in the center section with chairs in groups of four facing each other with the table between us. The ferry had a rather light load this morning and our row of seats was completely empty. The family, if they wanted, could easily join us with plenty of room to keep an eye on their daughter and us, but the mom must have been assured by Gabby because she kissed her daughter on the cheek and told her. “Dad and I and Landon are right behind you if you need anything, okay?”
“I won’t,” the little girl confidently declared and held out her hands waiting for her cards. “I’m good.”
The mom chuckled, brushed her hand over her daughter’s hair and returned to her seat as I redealt the cards.
“How old are you, Lilly?” I asked.
“Six.” She fumbled with the cards in her hand, trying to fan them out and peered at me over the top. “How old are you?”
Gabby hid a laugh behind her handful of cards.
“Twenty-six.”
“Not so old then,” the little girl muttered. “Mom says I’m old for my age. My teachers say I’m smart as a whip.” And then, to prove she’d been paying close attention to our earlier games, she glanced at Gabby. “If I beat you, are you going to call me a cheater, too?”
I burst out a laugh and threw my cards on the table.
This little girl was awesome.
Three games later, Lilly’s parents called her back to her seat to get some food. She’d won one of the games, and I doubted either of us had let her. Her teacher was right. She was whip-smart and I tried to recall my nieces and nephews and how they’d acted at her age, but I was certain none of them had this girl’s quick humor.
After she was gone and seated, I leaned my elbows on the table and made sure I was quiet and couldn’t be overheard as I asked Gabby, “Is there anyone you meet who doesn’t fall in love with you in moments?”
The truth of what I revealed came out unintended and yet there it was. Somehow, in a manner of moments or hours, I’d fallen in love with the woman across from me, like Andrea had on the hiking path. Like this little girl who behaved as if she’d known Gabby her entire life.
Gabby licked her lips as her eyes widened. “I’m a hairstylist and I like talking to people. It comes with the job.”
She could blow off what I’d essentially confessed. I’d allow it, but I wouldn’t let her diminish her gift with people.
“No.” I shook my head and shuffled the cards in my hand. “I think that’s purely you.”
“Enjoy your stay at Portsmouth, and please, if there’s anything you need from us, don’t hesitate to ask.”
The brunette, one hand on her swollen stomach looking like she was ready to have a baby at any minute handed us the registration to our campsite with a smile.
“Thank you, Haley,” Gabby said. “And from what we’ve seen, your resort here is absolutely gorgeous.”
Haley’s smile stretched across her cheeks. “Thank you. It’s been in my family for generations, so it’s always such a pleasure when people love it as much as I do.”
A guy entered from the back room, barely scanned his eyes over Gabby and me before going right to Haley and settled his hand at her back. “You were supposed to let me handle this.”
Her hand at her stomach reached up, fiddled with the metal choker she wore at her throat. I’d noticed it as soon as we checked in. The heavy thickness of her choker wasn’t just a choker, but declared ownership. “It’s one check-in, honey. I can handle it.” She grinned at us. “You’ll have to excuse my husband Jensen. He’s overprotective with our baby coming. Even if it’s our third.”
“That’s because you work yourself too hard and don’t listen,” he said. There was a playfulness to his tone, yet his eyes settled at her hands at her throat and that look turned to something deeper.
Next to me, Gabby cleared her throat. “Well, thank you, anyway, for everything.”
The man, Jensen, focused on me. “Need any help setting up the water or electricity hook-ups?”
“I think we’re good.” I’d done it enough in the last week to be an expert by now.
“If you change your mind, come find me.”
“Will do. Thanks again.”
“Enjoy your few days and if you need restaurant recommendations or any sightseeing brochures, grab some on your way out. Portsmouth has something for everyone.” Haley gestured to the stand near the door and we said our goodbyes.
Gabby had already grabbed the ones for sand dune sliding, the adventure we planned on doing tomorrow, but as soon as we stepped outside, her wide eyes, sparkling from the sun, peered at me with wonder.
“Did you see… that collar?”
“Collar? On Haley? Yeah, I saw that.”
“You know what this is?” she asked, and a blush hit her cheeks having nothing to do with the heat.
I settled my hand on her back and guided us through the parking lot. We’d settled the van there earlier and spent the afternoon walking the streets of Portsmouth. We’d ducked into a coffee shop first, wandered through a few small touristy type shops where Gabby purchased a coffee mug, something she’d done in every place we’d stopped or stayed. By now she had to have enough mugs to fill an entire cupboard. I’d stopped myself from trying to imagine waking up in my house, heading to my butler pantry and filling my own coffee with one of her mugs far too often to bother dreaming of it now.