Sweet Heat at Bayside(32)

He plucked the envelope from her fingers and tore it open. After reading  it, he handed the letter to her. "I think the Girl Squad is after me  and Vi's a Peeping Tom."

She read the note as she ate her muffin.

Drake,

Deliver Serena, sated and happy to Summer House at 11:30 for a wedding  dress fitting hen party followed by lunch in P-town a trip to the  sexy-toy shop.

We'll return her to the music shop at 2:30, and then she's yours for  more frickery until 7:30, when we meet at the Bookstore Restaurant to  get sloshed before enjoying the concert across from Mayo Beach.

Do not deter from these instructions or you'll be sorry. except for much needed frickery.

Love, Bayside Girl Squad

PS: You two horndogs might want to go inside tonight. The noises coming  from your deck could drive a lonely woman crazy. Just sayin'.

Serena nearly spit out her muffin. "Oh my gosh! Do you think Violet really heard us?"

"Do you doubt it?" He snagged an apple and bit into it, chuckling as he chewed.

"Drake! This isn't funny. What if other people, paying resort customers, heard us?"

He hauled her against him and pressed his lips to hers. "Then I'd say they got their money's worth."

"Forget your deck. From now on, we're sleeping at my place." At least there they'd have privacy.

"Until your lease runs out."

She rolled her eyes as she pushed to her feet. "I have to go home and get clean underwear before I meet the girls."

"Let's go." He stood up and grabbed his keys. "And let's bring some of  your clothes over, so if we do stay here, you're not stuck going  pantiless around other guys."         

     



 

"You're coming? Don't you have to work?"

"I'm taking a few hours off with my girlfriend," he said, surprising  her. Drake hardly ever took time off. "Unless you'd rather go alone?"

She went up on her toes and kissed his lips. "Heck no. I'm alone every night in Boston. That's more than enough."

"Good. Now let's talk about your shopping list."

"Shopping list?"

"For the toy-shop detour."

Oh my …



SERENA AND THE girls weaved around tourists streaming in and out of an  array of galleries, eclectic shops, and restaurants on their way to the  boutique for Desiree to try on her wedding dress.

"So, you'll just see each other on the weekends?" Emery asked. She and  Chloe badgered Serena for the scoop on her and Drake as they hurried  along Commercial Street in Provincetown.

Serena and Drake had started out as such close friends, it felt like  they'd been a couple for much longer than they had. It was a little  jarring for her to realize this was the first weekend her friends would  see them acting like a couple. That made her acutely aware of everything  she said and of the immensity of her feelings toward him.

"Yes. Did I tell you about my teammates?" Serena kept trying to change  the subject to work, the inn, yoga, anything other than her and Drake,  but they kept circling back to them.

"Stop with work already," Chloe said. "We want details about your love  life, which I might remind you, you haven't had in a very long time."

"No sexy details, please," Mira said as she tried to keep pace with one  hand beneath her belly, as if she could make it lighter. "My son nearly  got an eyeful this morning."

"He did not!" Serena insisted. "We were just lying there, and we were totally covered up."

"On a mattress on his deck," Emery pointed out.

"How do you know?" Serena glared at Mira.

Mira held her hands up. "Don't look at me. Thank goodness we weren't out catching fireflies in the middle of the night."

"Mira didn't spill the beans," Emery said. "I have eyes. I was on my way  to the inn to teach my early class this morning and I saw something on  his deck. A closer look showed me two pairs of feet tangled up in  sheets."

Desiree gasped. "Seriously? Right there above the office? I thought I was risqué being naughty in the crow's nest at the inn."

"You're still learning how to spell risqué, sis," Violet said as they  maneuvered around a family sitting on the front steps of a bakery,  eating delicious-looking pastries.

"Serena, you and Drake were naked on his deck?" Chloe went wide-eyed. "And this is the first I'm hearing of it?"

"We weren't naked!" she lied. "At least not this morning when Mira saw  us." Geez, this was embarrassing. How could she joke about sex so easily  when it was other people's love lives under the microscope?

"Trust me. You would have heard last night had you been within a five-hundred-foot radius." Violet flashed a satisfied smirk.

"We won't make that mistake again," Serena said under her breath as they  walked by a crowd that had gathered around three young musicians.

"I should hope not," Desiree said. "What if someone saw you?"

"Someone did," Violet said, earning another harsh glare from Serena.

"Oh my gosh," Desiree said. "That's so embarrassing."

"It's not so different from everyone knowing about your sex life," Emery pointed out.

Embarrassment flushed Desiree's cheeks. She motioned ahead of them to an  alley sandwiched between Puzzle Me This, an elaborate game store that  was painted in vibrant shades of purple and pink, and Coconuts, a  cedar-sided sunglass store. "Swank, the boutique where I bought the  dress, is right down that alley."

Serena was glad for the change in subject.

"We should stop and see Sky afterward," Violet suggested. "I could use a new tat."

Sky Lacroux-Bass owned Inky Skies, a tattoo parlor on the other side of the game store.

"You need another tattoo like I need more yoga clothes," Emery said.

"I would like to stop into the flower shop and talk to Lizzie," Desiree  said. "And if there's time, Brandy, too." Lizzie Barber owned P-town  Petals and was handling the flowers for Desiree and Rick's wedding. "I  know we have to be back in time for Serena to meet Drake, so if we run  out of time, it's okay."

"Anything else, Queen Bee?" Violet asked as they turned down the alley.         

     



 

"Oh gosh. Do I sound like that?" Desiree looked frantically from one  friend to the next. "I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to thank  Lizzie for answering all my questions this past week and to confirm the  tasting session date with Brandy. The tasting is set for the weekend  after Drake's grand opening. You guys are all still planning on coming,  right?"

They all answered at once as they approached the boutique, assuring her  she didn't sound stuck-up and that they wouldn't miss the tasting. The  boutique was located in a narrow, two-story house that had seen better  days. Remnants of teal scuffed the wooden siding. The windows were  shrouded behind big leafy plants, and a pink diamond-shaped sign hung  over the door with SWANK! painted in vibrant yellow.

An adorable blond guy sat on the steps, reading. His hair was several  shades of blond, cut military-short on the sides, longer on top, and  brushed back from his face in a puffy, trendy style. His white dress  shirt was unbuttoned four buttons deep. The sleeves were rolled up to  just below his elbows. He wore a stylish pair of navy shorts with white  polka dots.

He looked up as they approached and said, "There's my beautiful princess bride!"

He set the book down and pushed to his feet, whipping off his dark  sunglasses and revealing soft, friendly blue eyes. Several colorful  beaded bracelets adorned his wrist, and a single leather anklet set off  his muscular, tanned legs. He slid his feet into a pair of flip-flops  and pulled Desiree into an overzealous embrace, air-kissing both cheeks.

"Hi, Donovan," Desiree said.

"I see you brought your entourage this time, and not your prince." He  lowered his voice and said, "They're gorgeous, but Ricky's better eye  candy for me."

They all chuckled.

"Bet Ricky loves that," Violet said snarkily as they made their way inside.

"I'm all eyes, not hands-on, sweetheart," Donovan said. "You must be  Violet, the motorcycle-riding, badgirl sister I've heard so much about."  He raked his eyes down Violet's black T-shirt and cutoffs to her biker  boots. "Mm-mm. Woman, you have got it all going on. I have been  searching for the perfect dress for you ever since Desiree told me about  you."

"This should be interesting," Emery whispered to Serena.

As Donovan went behind the antique dresser he used as a counter, Serena  took in the mayhem that was Swank. Several chandeliers and lanterns  dangled from exposed joists in the ceiling. Teal and yellow walls looked  as though the color had been drained from them, like aged fruit, and  dresses were displayed hanging from simple hooks. Antique dressers were  placed haphazardly, draped with scarves, mismatched lamps, and other  accessories. Funky racks held dresses, skirts, and blouses of all styles  and colors, with seemingly no organization.