Bayside Heat

by Melissa Foster

He glanced at the cabin to make sure the girls weren’t heading up and said, “I’ve been looking at places in Boston. Think you could manage the resort without me on-site during the week? And maybe some weekends?”

  “We can make anything work,” Dean reassured him.

  “I…uh…whatever it takes, man,” Rick said.

  Drake didn’t miss the hesitation in Rick’s voice, and he had a feeling he knew why. “I know I just sold you on moving back home, but what can I say, Rick? She’s my home. I didn’t realize that then, but I know it now.”

  “Right. Of course,” Rick said. “I’m not worried about me. Can you be happy here? You’ve never wanted to leave the Cape. You hated being away for college.”

  The girls’ voices floated up from the cabin, chatting excitedly about the Perpetual Bliss doughnut as Serena climbed the stairs in her crocheted bikini top and cutoffs. Their eyes locked, and her luscious lips spread into a mile-wide grin that reached into his chest and caressed his heart.

  “All I know is,” he said to Rick, “I can’t be happy without her.”

  THE BALMY AFTERNOON was perfectly breezy out on the water. They went tubing, whipping over the water at breakneck speeds, as carefree as summer afternoons were meant to be. They swam in the frigid sea, and Serena clung to Drake as he teased her about being shark bait and how one tug of her bikini string would make him a happy man. She baked in the sun with the girls, giggling about their men and talking about weddings and futures. The guys tossed teasing barbs, their hearty laughter filling the air. Hagen was back and forth, hanging with the girls as much as the guys. When Mira got too warm, they went into the cabin, where she put her feet up, and the girls took turns rubbing her shoulders and feeling the baby kick. Desiree talked about having babies with Rick, and Emery said she could wait on little ones. The day could only be more perfect if Chloe, Harper, and Violet were there. But the girls said Chloe had been called into work, and Harper’s screenplay had finally been optioned. She was preparing to leave for Los Angeles later that week, and she didn’t know when she’d be back. They were all very excited for her, and she promised to keep them updated on movie news. The timing was perfect, since Daphne would be on board at the resort.

  Everyone’s life was moving in new directions.

  Serena’s life had taken a new direction, too, as exciting as it was difficult.

  As the sun began to set, she sat on the deck with Emery, soaking it all in. Rick and Dean were fishing at the far end of the boat. Mira’s and Desiree’s voices floated up from the cabin, where they were busy cooking dinner. Matt was in the cabin, too, plucking away at his laptop, working on his next book. Serena looked across the deck at the man who had made today possible. Drake had Hagen slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, earning infectious little-boy giggles. He glanced over, and the jubilation in his eyes made her heart sing. Drake needed these people, their family, as much as she did. She might feel like she was in a constant state of overdrive, racing from one location or one client to the next. Trying to keep up with the demands of some annoying clients and others who brought sheer pleasure, while building a relationship with Drake and trying to maintain treasured friendships. But being on overdrive wasn’t so bad when she had the best friends, and the best man a girl could hope for.

  After dinner, they docked the boat and went for a walk along the harbor. Serena told them about the pub where she had gone out for drinks with Gavin last night and where they’d sang karaoke with their other friends from work.

  “Do we need to check out this Gavin dude?” Rick asked Drake.

  “Nah. I’ve met him. Seems like a good guy.” He kissed Serena and said, “Besides, my girl doesn’t cheat.”

  “She doesn’t have to. When you’re not around, you send her Chocolate Orgasms,” Emery said with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. She grabbed Dean’s hand and said, “I feel a need for one of those coming on.”

  “What’s a chocolate orgasm?” Hagen blinked wide eyes up at Matt.

  Mira looked at Emery and mouthed, Thanks!

  “I think Emery meant to say chocolate organism,” Matt answered. “She really wants a chocolate doughnut.”

  “Yes, organism,” Emery confirmed.

  “I want a chocolate doughnut, too, but I want the one named after Drake and Serena.” Hagen took Matt’s hand, his brows furrowed in concentration. “Dad, I think we need to take Auntie Emery to the aquarium with us next time so you can teach her about organisms. Doesn’t she know they have to be alive?”

  Matt beamed proudly. “You’re right, buddy. I think a group field trip to Woods Hole is in order.”

  “It’s okay,” Dean said. “I’ll give Em an intense science lesson and teach her everything she needs to know about organisms.”

  “You can borrow Daddy’s book!” Hagen offered, earning laughter all around.

  Since it was too late for doughnuts, they promised Hagen some for breakfast. Before returning to the boat, they escorted Matt, Mira, and Hagen to Serena’s apartment. Everyone admired her view and her chic furnishings, and Hagen couldn’t stop talking about how cool it was that her bedroom walls didn’t reach the ceiling. But Serena’s mind was on anything but furniture and walls. This was the first time her friends had been inside her new apartment. It was crowded, but that made it feel a little more right. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed seeing her friends flop on her couch and poke around in her kitchen. She had a feeling she’d think about those everyday things a little more often now.

  “We should probably let them get settled in,” Rick said as he set a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “See you at breakfast tomorrow.”

  As everyone said their goodbyes, Mira leaned closer to Serena and whispered, “I’d bet chocolate organisms are about as close as any of us are going to get to the real thing tonight.” She grabbed Serena’s hand and pulled her in for a hug. “Drake’s a whole different man. It’s good to see you two so happy.”

  “It’s nice to be this happy,” Serena said. “Have fun with your boys.”

  “I have a feeling we’ll have a wiggly little boy between us all night. But trust me, sometimes that’s just as nice as loving my man. Family,” she said dreamily. “You know it’s always been everything to me.”

  Serena glanced at Drake standing by the door hugging Hagen goodbye. “I know. For all of us, I think.”

  She hated thinking about saying goodbye tomorrow. The other night she’d confided in Gavin the things she couldn’t confide in these friends or in Drake. She knew they’d try to fix her issues or push her to come back home, and she needed time to figure out what she really wanted without that pressure. She’d told Gavin her concerns about working with people she didn’t like, missing the casualness of business on the Cape, and hating the hours after she said good night to Drake each evening, when she was alone in her apartment, feeling the distance between them like a villain in the dark. Gavin had all the same business concerns, but it seemed his other concerns, though different, were even bigger than hers. He’d lived in Boston for years and had yet to find close-knit friends who made him want to put down roots. Serena didn’t want to be that person five years from now, feeling empty inside and wondering if she’d made the right choice.

  As Drake set Hagen on his feet and reached for her, she went willingly into his strong, loving arms. Gavin was seeking his path, and she was clearly, and unexpectedly, still seeking hers. But she knew one thing for sure: She could handle figuring out her complicated life as long as Drake and her friends were in it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “AREN’T GOODBYES SUPPOSED to get easier?” Serena asked as she hugged everyone for the millionth time Sunday afternoon.

  “Only if you don’t like the people you’re leaving,” Matt said as he squeezed her against him. “This was fun. I’m glad Drake didn’t mind bringing us along.”

  “I’d never rip my girl off from seeing everyone.” Drake pulled Serena into his arms and kissed her.

  He looked about
as sleepy as Serena felt. They hadn’t slept much last night. They’d lain beneath the stars talking and kissing, waiting for everyone else to fall asleep so they could finally, blissfully, make sweet, passionate love. Keeping quiet wasn’t easy, especially when Drake knew every single pleasure point on her body and always seemed to discover more. Luckily, he was a master at silencing her with delicious kisses that made her body melt and her head spin.

  “I love you guys,” Serena said as she and Drake made their way to the dock with her work clothes and heels packed away in her messenger bag.

  “Where are you going, Uncle Drake?” Hagen asked.

  “I’m just going to walk Serena up to her apartment. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Take your time,” Dean said. “We’re in no hurry.”

  “Yes, definitely. Take however long you need,” Emery encouraged them.

  “Bye!” Hagen waved wildly, until Mira managed to divert his attention.

  Serena tried to stave off her sadness as they left their friends behind and made their way to her apartment building.

  Drake kissed her shoulder. “How’s my sun-kissed girl?”

  “My world feels perfect when I’m with you,” she said honestly. “And even more so when we’re with our friends. I needed the visit so much. I missed being out on the water and acting like fools with everyone.”

  “Water is to you what music is to me. It’d been so long since you were out on the boat, I figured you needed to fill that well again before heading into another work week.”

  Music filtered into her ears from across the street, and she remembered their first afternoon in Boston, when Drake had borrowed a guitar and sang to her. She’d thought that was the happiest day of her life, but every weekend they were together was even better.

  They headed up to her apartment. As they stepped inside the apartment that had been filled with so much life last night, sorrow shrouded her. Why did it always hit so hard when they were close to their final goodbyes?

  Drake gathered her in his arms, and she buried her face in his chest.

  “Don’t be sad, Supergirl.” He stroked his hand down her back and kissed the top of her head.

  “I don’t even know why I get sad.” She tilted her face up and said, “We just had an amazing time. I should be on cloud nine, and I am, but I hate the distance between us during the week.”

  “Five days and I’ll be back. You can count on that. You don’t have to fight the traffic. Hell, I’ll come up during the week if you want me to.”

  Her phone rang, but she didn’t want to move out of his arms. When it rang again, he reached into her pocket and pulled it out.

  “It’s Justine, babe.”

  “Justine?” She’d left her a message a few days ago and wondered why she hadn’t heard back. “I’ll just be a sec. Don’t leave, okay?”

  He scoffed. “I’m not going anywhere until I see you smile.”

  She pressed the phone to her ear, feeling better already. “Hi, Jus. How are you?”

  “I don’t know. Freaking out a little.”

  “Why? What’s going on? Is Ginny okay?” Ginny was her baby girl.

  “Yes, she’s adorable. It’s business stuff. I need a favor.”

  Serena followed Drake into the living room and sat beside him on the couch. Drake slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “Sure. Whatever you need.”

  “I know you’re tied up with your new job, but you know that client you referred from P-town? Donovan? He owns Swank?”

  “Yes. I really liked him.”

  “I wonder if you can take on his project. I’m days away from firming up the sale of Shift, and Donovan had nothing but horrible things to say about the new buyers. He refuses to work with them, and—”

  “Whoa! Hold on.” Serena shot to her feet, her heart racing. “New buyers? You’re selling Shift? What happened?”

  “Nothing happened. Greg and I have been talking about it since Ginny was born. I want more time with her, Serena. I don’t want to be a part-time mom.”

  “But how did I not know this?” She looked at Drake and said, “Did you know Justine was selling Shift?”

  Drake shook his head.

  “Who are you talking to?” Justine asked.

  “Drake,” Serena said. “Sorry. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “We got an offer from this guy who owns a few small interior design shops in Plymouth and New Bedford. We’ve been negotiating for two weeks, and we’re close to finalizing. I should have papers to review Tuesday morning. I had planned on handing Donovan over to the new buyers, but I obviously can’t do that. If you’re too busy, it’s okay. I can figure something else out.”

  “I’m never too busy for you. But…” She had so many questions, she didn’t know where to start. “How much are you asking for Shift?”

  “Not much. Fifty thousand. It’s the equivalent of the profit I earn in one year of part-time work. At least it’s something, and it’ll allow me to have time with Ginny.”

  “I wish you had told me. I could have thought about scraping the money together or something.” Her thoughts whirled with possibilities.

  “I’m sorry. By the time we decided to do it, you had started your new job, and I didn’t want to mess that up for you. I can take Donovan’s job to someone else if you want. It’s just that I trust you, and you referred him to me.”

  “Don’t give it to anyone else. I hardly have time to breathe right now, and I could only work on it on the weekends and in the evenings. Although lately I’ve had to work for KHB some weekends. But I’ll make it work.”

  They talked for a few more minutes, but Serena couldn’t process much beyond the questions swimming in her mind. She sank down to the couch beside Drake after she ended the call, still in shock. “She’s selling Shift. I can’t believe it. She wants to spend more time with Ginny.”

  Drake put a hand on her leg and said, “And…?”

  She closed her eyes for a beat, feeling all tangled up inside. “I don’t know. I’m sort of wishing I had known. What if I wanted to buy it?”

  “Would you? You’ve always said you wanted to work in a large company. Isn’t Shift small-time compared to where you are now?”

  She groaned and stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know what I want, or how I could even entertain the possibility. She’s asking fifty thousand, and she’s close to finalizing a deal. I’d have to get a loan for some of the money.”

  “I’ll give you the money if that’s what you want to do with your career.”

  “No.” She pushed to her feet and said, “I’m not my mother. What we have is too good to mix business with pleasure.”

  “Serena, don’t be stubborn.” He went to her. “If this is what you really want, you can have it all. I’ll lend you the money—not give it to you—if you’d like. But just make sure you’re not thinking about buying it because of me.”

  She paced, then flopped back down on the couch. “I don’t know what I want. I love so many things about my job. But I also really resent some aspects of it. And I hate being away from you and our friends.” She jumped up again, too jittery to sit still, and paced the floor. “But I’m not going backward, and I’m not making a career decision based on us.”

  “Hey, I’m not asking you to,” Drake said sharply.

  Her heart sank. “I didn’t mean that. I didn’t even mean to say it.”

  “But you thought it.” He wrapped his arms around her, his expression softening.

  She couldn’t deny it, because she had thought it. Viscerally.

  “Serena, you could never be your mother. All I meant was I know you’re not going to make any rash decisions based on us, which is why you need to know what I’ve been thinking about. I’ve looked into apartments in the area. I even talked to the owner of the vintage guitar store that’s going out of business about buying him out. But after doing some due diligence, I realized it’s not a smart investment, so I’m not going to do it. But you need to know th
at I am more than willing to move here to be with you if this is where you want to stay. There’s absolutely no pressure for you to come back to the Cape. You won’t be without me for long if you stay in Boston. It’s just a matter of choosing a place to live.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “You would do that for me?”

  “Of course. For us. I love you. I know how hard it is to go back and forth, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The more well-known you become in the industry, the more in demand your time will become. I want to make things easier for you, not harder. And selfishly, I want every second of the time you’re willing to share in between building your career and making a name for yourself.”

  “This would be so much easier if I were more like my mother,” she said as she blinked tears away. “Then I could just be happy working as a waitress somewhere until you came to rescue me.”

  He cocked a grin. “You have a hard time with one boss. Imagine having to cater to every Tom, Dick, and Harriet that came into a restaurant. I have a feeling you’d last about a day before someone griped about you getting an order wrong and you told them to either get in the kitchen and cook their own fucking food or gave them a diatribe about the trials and tribulations of life as a waitress and demanded an apology on behalf of all waitresses everywhere.”

  She tipped her head back, marveling at how well he knew her. She was so confused. Was Shift even worth thinking about? Was she being impetuous, blinded by how much she missed Drake and her friends?

  “I can’t even think right now,” she confessed, and pressed her entire body against his, wishing she could stay in the safety of his arms forever. “It’s all too much. People contemplate these types of life decisions for months, and I’d have to decide right away. I don’t even know if I can get a loan, and she’s signing papers Tuesday.”

  “You can probably ask her to delay for a week.”

  “I can’t do that to her. She has a bird in the hand, and she’s done so much for me. All she wants is time with her daughter. I would never chance ruining the offer she has on a whim. Maybe I shouldn’t even think about it. It’s crazy, right?”