Page 91 of Bayside Heat
Brandy sidled up to him with a plate of food. She was a vibrant, big-boned redhead with a mass of corkscrew curls that were currently trying to escape from their tether at the base of her neck. “Hey, handsome. Serena said I was supposed to make sure you ate and didn’t spend all day taking care of everyone else and stressing out.”
“I can’t eat. Look at this turnout, Brandy. Have you ever seen anything like it?”
“Not for a retail opening. You know, Serena should be an event planner. I might have to pick her brain.” She nudged the plate into his hands and said, “Eat the sandwich. You need to stockpile energy for the next time you see her.”
He smiled, imagining Serena telling her to say that. “She knows how to get me to eat.”
“Actually, she didn’t say that,” Brandy said with a mischievous grin. “But you’re male and, you know, that makes you pretty easy to figure out.”
He sighed and bit into the sandwich. “Mm. This is fantastic.”
“Roast beef with horseradish, tomato, watercress, arugula—all the things you love.”
“Thank you. I appreciate all that you’re doing today. Do we have enough food?”
She peered in the direction of the catering tent. “We do. It’s two now and you’re closing down at six thirty, right?”
“That’s the plan, but I honestly can’t see us kicking people out. I don’t mind paying more to keep from running out of food.”
“We won’t run out,” she said as Rick joined them. “Serena expected this big of a crowd. I’ve got to get back to the tent. Rick, make sure he finishes that sandwich, will you?”
“Kick-ass turnout, bro,” Rick said as she walked away. “How are you holding up?”
“I have no idea,” Drake said honestly. “I think I’m in a state of shock. I wish Serena were here to see it all. She must not have told me everything she did for advertising, because we’ve never had a turnout like this.”
“She loves you, Drake. You know that, right? She said as much in the card she left me when she moved.”
“She left you a card, too?”
“She left one for me and one for Dean,” Rick said. “I figured she left you one, too. She thanked us for being good bosses and said she appreciated everything we did for her. But in mine, she also said not to let you get so wrapped up in life that you forget your first love—music.”
Drake shook his head. “Like I could ever forget that?”
“That’s the point, man. I was thinking about why she’d tell me that, and then it dawned on me. Remember when we first opened the resort, how busy we all were with the renovations and all the paperwork and bullshit that went into getting it off the ground?”
“Man, that was a crazy time.” There had been months of digging through paperwork, hiring contractors, meeting with attorneys and insurance professionals to make sure they understood the ins and outs of the business and liabilities. Serena had been with them in the trenches. In fact, she’d been the one to suggest meeting with insurance reps to find out what they didn’t know.
“Then you remember how she used to traipse up to your apartment and grab your guitar in the middle of all the crap we were dealing with.”
The memory brought a wide grin and a wave of longing. “I remember. We’d be bitching about how exhausted we were or about whatever mess we were dealing with, and she’d hand me the damn guitar, sit on her ass, cross her arms like the stubborn, beautiful woman she is, and say she wasn’t going to move until I played.”
“Exactly,” Rick said. “She knows you. She wanted me to watch out for the most important part of you. And even though she’s not here, she’s still doing it.” He pointed to the back road, where a line of police cars was escorting a black Suburban.
“Holy shit. What’s going on?” Drake pushed his way through the mass of people toward the commotion, but the crowd moved with them, shouting and cheering. Drake grabbed Rick’s arm. “What’s happening, Rick? This is my opening. I’ve got to know what’s going on.”
