See Jane Love by DEBBY CONRAD Page A

had him concerned. One was Sam DeVito, Gertie’s auto mechanic, and the other was Tyler Sherman, Gertie’s stockbroker. Sam seemed like a decent guy, which bothered Gabe. He was exactly the kind of guy Janie would be attracted to. He was hardworking, and he owned his own garage. Tyler was a different story. The man had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. And, Gabe knew he was the kind of guy who was used to getting any woman he wanted. Why was it that women were attracted to that type? Rich, successful, and a new babe on their arm every few months or so. He’d have his way with Janie, show her a good time and buy her a few niceties, and then he’d be on his way.
    Gabe swore silently, shaking his head.
    “Hi,” a male voice said from behind him. Gabe turned around to see Pierre, Gertie’s hairdresser, smiling at him. The man had thinning blond hair and wore it pulled back in a ponytail. “Isn’t Gertie’s potato salad to die for?” he asked, then pushed a forkful of it into his mouth and chewed.
    “Uh, huh,” Gabe agreed, cleaning the last of it from his plate.
    “You know I almost changed my mind about coming tonight. I don’t like crowds. I’m usually kind of shy at parties.” The man smiled and blushed. “But now I’m glad I came.”
    “Uh, huh.” Gabe tossed his empty plate into the plastic garbage can on the patio.
    “That’s a nice shiner you’ve got there. It adds to your macho appeal, but I bet it hurts like the devil.”
    “It’s not too bad today. Although, last night was another story,” Gabe said truthfully.
    “Are you seeing anyone?”
    The question surprised him. Gabe stared at the man, not quite sure he’d heard him correctly. Pierre was supposed to be trying to win Janie’s affections, not his. “Excuse me?”
    Pierre blushed again and smoothed a loose strand of hair into place. “What I mean is, I was wondering if you might like to grab a cup of cappuccino together sometime?”
    Not knowing how he should answer that question, Gabe asked, “Have you had any of Gertie’s brownies?”
    “No, not yet.”
    “Let me get you one,” Gabe offered and excused himself. But instead of heading for the buffet table, he made his way across the lawn toward Janie where another contender had already moved in on her. Eddie Sanchez, manager of the Burger Buddy. Eddie wasn’t much taller than Janie’s five-feet-two, had curly black hair, and wore enough gold chains and bracelets to open his own jewelry store. Since the man couldn’t seem to talk without using his hands, it was hard to understand him over the constant clatter of metal banging against metal.
    But what Gabe made out as he approached Eddie and Janie was, “I’ll give you free fries for a whole month if you go out with me Friday night.”
    “That’s really sweet, Eddie.” Janie said with a polite smile. “And I’ll think about it. But like I already told you, I think we should wait until after the kissing contest.”
    “Well, maybe the following Friday then?” Eddie asked with a look of desperation. “I don’t work on Friday nights.”
    “Let me think about it, and I’ll call you.”
    Gabe pushed his way between them. “Hey, Eddie, I need to talk to Janie alone for a minute. Do you mind?”
    Eddie shrugged. “It won’t do you any good, man.”
    “Well, at least let me try, huh?”
    Shrugging again, Eddie said, “Yeah sure, man.”
    “Hey, I promised Pierre I’d bring him a brownie. Would you mind taking him one? He’s on the patio,” he said with a nod.
    “Yeah, I guess I could do that,” Eddie said. Then, with a frown, he turned and headed for the buffet table.
    “You’re not seriously thinking about going out with any of these yahoos, are you?” Gabe asked, taking Janie by the arm and steering her away from the crowd. He didn’t stop until they reached the side of the four-plex.
    “Of course, I am. They all seem very nice, especially Pierre. He offered me free haircuts and pedicures for six