Page 120 of Bayside Heat
“Just in time for me to leave for a meeting,” Gavin said as Serena stepped into their office and set her things on her desk.
“I’m sensing a pattern here. You left when I arrived yesterday, too.”
“Two ships passing in the night, I guess,” Gavin said as he gathered his things and pushed to his feet in his jeans and dress shirt. For the most part he’d ditched his classy suits, and he fit right in on the Cape and with her friends.
“You taking off soon?” he asked.
“About a half hour or so. I have some things to get ready for tomorrow. Good luck with the meeting. Who is it with?”
“Small retailer in Brewster. I’ll fill you in at breakfast tomorrow. Rick promised to up his game. I’m hoping for those custard tarts Desiree made last week.”
She smiled to herself as he left the office. They’d had some bumps and bruises at first, figuring out how to approach certain aspects of marketing and introducing Justine’s clients to their new firm, but they’d worked through them and had continued to work well together. They were learning when to give each other space and when to stock up on cookies.
She sent a quick text to Drake. Miss you. Home in forty mins or so. She added a kissing emoji and then set to work preparing for her meeting with Seth and Jared tomorrow. She couldn’t retain them as clients for the project they’d commissioned to KHB, but after she’d quit, Jared had contacted her about a restaurant they were opening in Provincetown. She was thrilled to be working with them again and couldn’t wait to get started. She’d been working closely with Donovan for the redesign of Swank, but he was a tough man to please. They’d finally nailed down a concept last week and were ready to move forward.
Half an hour later she packed up her things and headed home. Her days were busy, and sometimes she had to work on the weekends, but her nights were filled with the man she adored and the friends she loved. Life was better than it had ever been, and as she drove down the dusty road toward her rented cottage, she didn’t regret spending her savings on her future.
She and Drake had moved into the cottage after Violet had caught them not sleeping on his balcony again. He’d given up his apartment to Daphne, who was working out well at the resort. She had been staying with her sister. Serena’s decision to move back to the Cape had affected Drake and the others more than she could have ever imagined. After much discussion about dreams and the importance of spending quality time with friends and family, the guys had decided to hire Everett Adler to run the resort office on weekends. Everett was a middle school music teacher who was already teaching a few music classes at Bayside Music and Arts. He was young, divorced, and working out fabulously.
Serena parked beside Drake’s truck in front of the cottage. The sky-blue shutters and wildflowers used to bring the sense of relief that only being home could provide. But that had changed over the last few months. As she stepped from the car, she knew it didn’t matter where she lived, as long as she was with Drake. He had become her grounding force, her comfort zone. He had become home.
An envelope was taped to the front door. She plucked it off and pulled out the card. The top half of the card read You’re my favorite thing to do, with a red heart scribbled next to it. The bottom half of the card showed a picture of a man and woman from their bare thighs down. The woman had on red high heels, a red thong hanging around her ankles. The man wore socks, and a pair of black briefs were puddled around his feet.
She opened the card and read Drake’s familiar handwriting. Meet me at the beach. He’d drawn another heart and had written Superman + Supergirl inside it.
God, she loved him.
She ran inside and stripped naked as fast as she could. Then she slipped on the slinky, backless white halter dress she’d bought a few summers ago and had never had the guts to wear. The neckline plunged loosely to her navel, and two slits ran up the sides all the way to her waist. Perfect.
She slipped on a pair of flip-flops and rushed out the front door. She ran all the way to the woods and hurried down the path toward the beach. As she stepped free from the woods, she kicked off her flip-flops, the warm sand slipping between her toes. Drake was gazing out over the water, his back facing her. The sun glowed against the night sky, highlighting his masculine silhouette and spreading ribbons of orange and gold over the dark water. Her heart beat faster as she stepped closer, taking in the flames of the bonfire casting shadows over the seashells he’d laid out in the shape of a heart.
