Page 93 of Bayside Heat
The crowd chanted, “Serena and Drake! Serena and Drake!”
The air rushed from Drake’s lungs.
“Go on, man.” Rick nudged him in the direction of the stage, videoing once again.
Drake’s head spun as he crossed the stage.
Boone was a formidable guy, and as he embraced Drake, he said, “Congrats, man. I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you. Thank you for coming.”
Boone put a hand on Trish’s back and said, “This is my wife, Trish, and our little man, J.R.”
Trish opened her arms, giving Drake a warm hug. She was tall and slim, with long dark hair, and dressed in jeans and a pretty blouse, there was not a bit of pretentiousness about her. Their little boy reached for Drake and clung to his shirt. He had a fake tattoo of a heart with Mom written across it on his tiny arm.
“I guess you get to hold J.R.,” Trish said as she handed him the little boy. “Serena said you were amazing with children.”
A collective aww rose from the crowd.
“Where is Serena?” Trish asked. “I was looking forward to meeting her. We’ve been talking about this event for months.”
Months? Serena had set this up for him before they’d even come together as a couple? Drake’s heart broke even more for her to have missed it.
“She got held up in Boston, but she wishes she could be here.” The baby reached up and touched Drake’s cheek with his soft little hand. Drake glanced in the direction where he’d left Rick and was glad to see him standing by the stage, still videoing.
Boone handed Drake the mic and said, “Sell your business, man. Now’s your time.”
As Drake looked out over the crowd, holding the baby in his arms, he spotted friends, neighbors, and too many strangers to count. He had no idea what he was supposed to say in a moment like this, but when he lifted the mic, his words came easily. “Thank you all for coming out for the grand opening and to hear Boone play. Unfortunately, you’ve missed out on meeting one hell of a special woman. My girlfriend, Serena, got tied up in Boston, but she’s the one who pulled this incredible event together and made it possible for you to see this legendary musician.”
Cheers and shouts ensued.
“I hope you enjoy the show,” Drake said, and handed the mic back to Boone. “Thank you for coming out today. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.” He stepped away.
Boone grabbed Drake’s arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Trish took the baby from Drake and said, “Have fun!”
She hurried off the stage as another guy handed Drake a Fender Stratocaster guitar and a pick and set up a mic. Drake shot a look at Rick, who was grinning like a fool, just like he was. He mouthed, Holy shit. This is really happening!
“I think you know this one,” Boone said as he grabbed his guitar. He put the mic on the stand, and the pianist began playing “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Adrenaline pumped through Drake’s veins as his fingers hit the strings, and for the next few minutes he played like he’d never played before—and every single note, every single breath he took was for Serena.
SERENA SCHMOOZED, SMILED, and said all the right things at KHB’s Client Appreciation Day, but the entire time she’d thought about nothing other than wanting to see Drake’s face when he opened the front doors of the store to customers for the very first time and the moment Boone showed up and Drake finally met his idol. He’d told her he wouldn’t text during her work event, and he hadn’t. She hoped that for once in his life he was enjoying the day and not worrying about her. She had dozens of messages from the girls with pictures of the opening. It looked just as fantastic as she’d hoped it would. They were lifesavers, helping out at the spur of the moment. Rick had sent a link to a video he had uploaded to YouTube of Drake hearing the news about Boone, meeting him, and playing onstage. She’d shed tears of happiness while watching, and she’d noticed that the video already had more than eleven thousand views. Trish had told her that one tweet from her and Boone would make the news of the event go viral. She must have tweeted about the video, too. Serena was sad not to have met Trish and Boone in person, but Trish had left her a message saying they were sorry they’d missed each other and they’d like to plan a trip in the fall and catch up, when there weren’t as many tourists around.
