Page 80 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
“I love you, Drake Savage,” she said as she pressed her lips to his. “You are my perpetual bliss.”
“Guess what, Serena? We’re sleeping in a hotel tonight!” Hagen said excitedly, pulling them from their reverie. “But you’re sleeping on the boat with Uncle Drake and everyone else. I wanted to sleep on the boat, but Mommy said it’s too uncomfortable for her with her baby belly. But that’s okay. I love hotels, too. We’re going to order room service.”
Serena and Mira shared a laugh. Mira patted her belly and said, “I need my creature comforts.”
“We’re sleeping on theboat? All of us?” Serena bounced on her toes. “Mira, you guys can stay in my place if you want. I don’t have room service, but there are stores on the ground floor of my building, including BJ’s ice cream.” She waggled her brows at Hagen. “And Insomnia Cookies delivers all night!”
Hagen’s eyes brightened. “Ilovecookies! Please, Mom? Please can we stay at Auntie Serena’s and get cookies?”
As Mira bent to talk to Hagen, Serena leaned closer to Drake and said, “This is the best day ever!”
“You seem to say that a lot.” And he couldn’t love hearing it more.
She wrapped her arms around Drake’s neck and said, “Must be because you make me so happy.”
“Look at them. Where is Vi when we need her?” Mira grabbed Serena’s hand and lowered her voice. “Before you two get all handsy in front of my boy, let’s get you changed into a bathing suit.”
“Oh yeah,that’llhelp,” Dean said sarcastically, making all the guys laugh.
“Where is Vi, by the way?” Serena asked.
“At the inn,” Desiree answered. “She said she’d never survive overnight on a boat full of lovebirds.”
“What did she really say?” Serena asked Mira.
Mira glanced at Hagen and said, “Pretty much that, but a little more descriptive and inclusive of the F-bomb.”
“Aw, Mom cussed!” Hagen said.
Serena and the girls went belowdecks so she could change into her bathing suit, and Drake drove the boat out into the harbor.
“Look at me, Superman!” Hagen hollered into the wind. He was sitting on his knees on a cushion, eyes closed, the wind blowing his hair away from his face and plastering his shirt against his little chest.
He reminded Drake of Rick as a kid, always wanting everyone to see what he was doing. “This is pretty cool, huh, buddy?”
“I love it!” Hagen grinned into the wind.
“No morefakegirlfriend for you,” Dean said as he sidled up to him with Rick and Matt.
“Darn right.”No more fake anything.
He’d been thinking a lot these last few weeks about what he wanted, and at the top of that list was a life with Serena. Everything else could fall into placearoundthat.
“You know, I had concerns about this whole long-distance relationship thing,” Matt admitted. “But you two make it look easy.”
“It’s anythingbuteasy,” Drake admitted. “Every night apart feels like a frigging week, but don’t tellherthat.” He glared at each of them in warning.
“Dude, we’d never do anything to make things harder for you guys,” Rick said. “How can you fix that? She’s pretty set in this job.”
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’smy home. I didn’t realize that then, but I know it now.”
“Right. Of course,” Rick said. “I’m not worried about me. Canyoube happy here? You’ve never wanted to leave the Cape. You hated being away for college.”
