Page 14 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
“You didn’t—” Her eyes flicked uneasily up to his. “I appreciate you helping me pack and bringing all that stuff.”
Great.Now he’d made her uncomfortable. “Serena…” He wanted to tell her how he felt, why he’d almost kissed her, but that would only make her more uneasy. Instead, he motioned to the mess at their feet, trying to find safe, stable ground, and said, “Want help cleaning up?”
She shook her head. “It’s late. I’m fine.”
He wasn’t an idiot, and she was anything butfine, but he knew she needed himgone.
He hiked his thumb over his shoulder, silently cursing himself, and said, “I’ll take off. See you tomorrow at the office?”
“Yeah. Um, I have some stuff to take care of for the music store in the morning, remember? But I’ll be back in the afternoon. We have interviews scheduled.”
Back to freaking business.
Was it really better that way?
Chapter Four
RICK’S AND DRAKE’S voices escalated behind Drake’s office door Thursday afternoon. Serena cringed. She had been training Harper for the past few hours, and the guys had been in there nearly as long. For the umpteenth time, Dean’s calm, stern voice rang out with, “Cut the bull,” before their conversation became muffled once again.
“Is it always like this?” Harper asked in a hushed whisper.
“No,” Serena reassured her. “They don’t always see eye to eye, but they rarely raise their voices. It’s just a really tense time with my leaving so quickly.”
Between interviews, coordinating the layout for the music store, and packing, Serena had little time to breathe, and it seemed the more people she interviewed, the tenser things became. Drake had been running hot and cold since she’d gotten there today, either giving her clipped responses or being overly playful, and she knew it was because of last night. She hadn’t slept a wink. Had stayed up all night vacillating between wanting to call and give Drake a hard time for doing exactly what he’d done to her back in ninth grade and being too embarrassed to see straight. Had he told Dean and Rick about theiralmostkiss? Was that why they were fighting? Or worse, what if hehadn’tbeen thinking about kissing her last night, and she’d freaked out for no reason? What if he’d been leaning down only to whisper something?Oh gosh. She could see him doing that so clearly, making fun of her falling into his arms like a bad rom-com movie.
“I’m sorry,” Serena said. “They really are great guys to work with. I wish we’d done this earlier in the week, when tempers weren’t so high.”
“No. It’s fine. I work in film, remember?” Harper said confidently. She was a lot like Desiree, a beautiful blonde with a sweet demeanor. But just like Desiree, Harper was strong and could stand up for herself. She was also an earthy, hippie girl who never got flustered, which meant she’d do just fine working with the guys.
Serena felt a streak of unexpected jealousy. She wasreallybeing replaced. As much as she wanted to go to Boston, it made her feel a little like a torn-out page in a notebook. She’d served her purpose, but no one was irreplaceable.
“In film, everything escalates,” Harper said. “People raise their voices at the littlest things. I’m used to it.” She looked down at her notes and said, “What else should I know?”
They’d already covered the office organization, client relations, contracts, and emergency contacts, including plumbers, electricians, and others.
Serena leaned closer and lowered her voice, even though she knew the guys couldn’t hear beyond their own battles. “Dean is the peacemaker. If they’re all three in the office and Rick and Drake get into it, just glance at Dean, and he’ll settle them down. But when he’s not here, it’s best to let them hash it out, unless they’re out here, in your space. When that happens, step between them. It’s a visual reminder that they’re not alone and there’s a female in their presence. They’ll usually calm down like scolded children or take it behind closed doors.”
Harper laughed. “Men are so funny. It’s like they think it’s fine to be Neanderthals when they’re alone, but if a woman is around they want us to think they’re cool, when really we just want them not to kill each other.”
Serena thought about that. “When I was in college I worked at a clothing store, and my boss would yell at anyone, anytime, anywhere. He was shameless.”
“That would stink.”
“It did, but these guys aren’t like that. If they’re arguing, you know it’s about something that’s really important to them. Don’t get concerned or take it personally if they storm out of the office. That usually means they can’t control their emotions, so they go outside and end up running a few miles while they yell at each other. They typically come back in better moods. Sweaty, but smiling.”
“Maybe I should try that instead of yoga. Did you hear that Emery is going to start a couples yoga class?”
“Why does everything happen when I move away? I would love to see her get the guys out there. Actually, I’ve seen Dean and Emery do yoga together, but they make it look sexy and romantic.”
They talked about exercise for another few minutes before circling back to Harper’s new duties. Serena’s thoughts lingered on the idea of doing yoga with Drake, his big hands guiding her, keeping her steady as they exchanged energy. But she quickly pushed those thoughts away. They were all wrong, especially today.
After Harper was all set to start working Saturday and had left the office, Serena got busy with the music store designs. Rick and Dean stormed out of Drake’s office, startling her. Dean blew past and walked directly out the front door. Rick paced like a hungry tiger beside her desk. Serena glanced into Drake’s office and saw him standing with his back to her, arms crossed, staring out the window. Was he thinking about last night, too? Wondering why she’d turned into a fumbling dork around him?
“He’s in a rotten mood,” Rick said.
Tell me about it.“You all survived. That’s a good sign.”
“For now.” Rick stopped pacing, his face a mask of irritation. He had the same dark hair as Drake, though he wore his short. They both had dark eyes, like their father, but until Desiree had come into Rick’s life, his eyes had always seemed tortured. Rick had been only fourteen when they’d lost their father, and while she knew Drake and Mira had long ago dealt with their grief, Rick had bottled it up until he’d wanted a shot at a future with Desiree. Desiree and Drake had finally helped him through his grief, and he’d been a different man ever since.
