Sweet Heat at Bayside(45)

"There was only one I wanted." She cradled his guitar. "You're really going to teach me to play?"         

     



 

"Yup. Then maybe you can play me those songs you wrote when you were a teenager."

Her eyes widened. "How do you know I wrote songs?"

"Do you really think you and Mira were quiet when you'd spend the night?  Two thirteen-year-old girls hunkered down around your notebooks  giggling about lyrics. And at night, when you thought no one could hear  you, you sang so loud, I bet the neighbors heard them."

"No way! And there were only three songs."

"Way, Supergirl, and I know there were only three, but you sang them  endlessly. I think my favorite line was ‘boyfriends with big muscles and  lots of brains.'"

She snort-laughed and covered her face. "I forgot about that!"

"I assume that was me, and if it wasn't, then lie to me, okay?"

"They were all about you," she gushed. "Because they were about the love  of my life, so even if I didn't know it then, you were always on my  mind."

He moved closer, angling himself so he could put his arms around her  from behind, and repositioned her hands. "Be loose. Get comfortable with  the instrument."

"If you say ‘make love to it,' I'm going to bite your neck."

"Oh, baby. Make love to it," he said in a raspy voice.

She turned and bit his neck, then sucked, leaving a tiny mark that she  knew would fade, but the groan it earned was one she'd not soon forget.  She tenderly kissed the red spot, then leaned against him and said, "How  did you know I needed this?"

"Because I love you, and when you care about someone, you usually know what they need."

"If only all life's answers were that easy."

"Maybe we can find whatever answers you're looking for in the music. Now, make love to the guitar."

She nudged him with her elbow. "Watch it, buster."

He taught her the basics, and later, when they were back at his place  and she was getting ready to leave, he set his guitar in the back seat  of her car.

"I can't take that to Boston. It's always been with you."

"I want you to learn on the same one I did. Besides, you're part of me  now, so in a sense, it's still with me." He brushed his lips over hers  and said, "Thank you for arranging for Boone to fly in and for fighting  traffic and coming home last night. I'll come see you next weekend so  you don't have to drive back again."

"I would love that. We can knock a few things off of our explore-Boston  list. Thank you for today. It was just what I needed. Now the week won't  seem so long. I'm going to practice the guitar, but you know I have no  music for my ridiculous thirteen-year-old-girl songs."

"Ah, but I do."

"What?" She was stunned. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. They're written by my ridiculous teenage-boy heart."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He held her tighter. "Because I can't reveal all my secrets to you at once."

"Yes, you can! If you wrote them back then, then we really are meant for each other."

"You doubted that?" He looked perplexed.

"No, not at all. But you know what this means. When you come up next weekend, we'll have to play your music to my songs."

"There's nothing I'd rather do." He nuzzled against her neck and said,  "Except maybe make my name come off your lips in the throes of passion."

She clung to his shirt, wishing they had another night together. "That  does not make me want to leave. I want to spend all my nights in your  arms."

"I'm far more selfish than you are. I want you in my arms at night, I  want to see your beautiful face every morning, and I want to monopolize  every minute of yours in between."





Chapter Nineteen




"DO YOU THINK it's possible to have a happiness hangover?" Serena asked  Chloe over the phone more than a week later. She leaned back in her  office chair Tuesday afternoon, looking out at the cloudless sky and  thinking about how busy last week was and how glad she was that Drake  had driven up for the weekend. He'd brought buckets of sand and a baby  pool, just as he'd mentioned the first weekend she'd moved to Boston.  They'd sat on the rooftop deck Saturday evening with their feet in the  sand, and later, they'd lain on the sand stargazing. It was heavenly.

"I think you mean an ecstasy hangover," Chloe corrected her. "You said  you didn't even leave the apartment Sunday until he left to come home."

"But we went out on Saturday," she reminded her. "We had breakfast in the café downstairs-"         

     



 

"After hours in bed, I'm sure," Chloe interrupted. "It's totally unfair that my baby sister gets more action than I do."

"Let me just enjoy this moment of achievement." Serena listened to  Chloe's heavy sigh. "Anyway, we spent most of Saturday out. Remember the  list I told you Drake made? We went to the Institute of Contemporary  Art and hung out at the bar the show Cheers was based on. That was cool.  And after lying out under the stars on the rooftop deck of my building,  we had Insomnia Cookies. It was a perfect weekend. So maybe it's a duo  hangover of happiness and ecstasy."

"Okay, before I choke on my jealousy, how's work these days? Any more confrontations with your boss?"

"Kinda sorta, but last week was amazing. The clients I told you about,  Seth and Jared, loved my team, of course, and our concepts, and  everything I showed them at the design center. I think they're my  favorite clients, although the Wilkinsons are close. They're the  home-library remodel project. The husband is hilarious, and the wife  rolls her eyes at him, then asks me to do whatever he wants anyway.  They're really cute together. It's like she just wants him to be happy."

She told Chloe about going out with Laura, Spencer, Chiara, Carolyn, and  Gavin for drinks and karaoke last night. She'd had a good time, but  with the exception of Gavin, it wasn't anything like going out with her  friends from home. The others were nice, but a little too buttoned-up  for her taste.

"That's a bummer," Chloe said. "But hopefully you'll meet other people."

"I do like the girl who runs Kane's Donuts, Abby Crew. She's divorced,  and she bought the doughnut shop on her own. I'm a little envious, to be  honest. She doesn't have to report to anyone."

"Oh geez, Serena. How many doughnuts are you eating that you know this woman's entire life story?"

"Probably too many, but it's more fun to eat doughnuts and talk to her  than eat dinner by myself. Besides, I like her. She's easy to talk to.  Oh my gosh. I almost forgot to tell you! Remember my first client? The  attorney, Muriel Younger? She decided she wants glass in her conference  rooms after all."

"The woman who wanted no creative input? She reminded me of the Devil Wears Prada boss."

"That's the one. Her assistant called last week to tell me. I was afraid  her architect, Drew Ryder, was going to chew me out for even suggesting  it, but he was really cool. I actually think we might use him for Seth  and Jared's project."

"Aaaand … ? The kinda sorta run-in with your boss?" Chloe pushed.

"It was nothing, really," she lied, because she didn't want to hear  Chloe tell her how she needed to take a step back and play the corporate  game, like Mira had. She was still having a hard time wrapping her head  around doing things in order to eke out billable hours when it seemed a  waste of her time.

Serena's office phone rang, and she said, "Chloe, I've got to take that."

"Okay, go. And, sis, don't get too big for your britches," Chloe said. "You need that job."

"I know. Gotta go. Love you." She ended the call and picked up her office phone. "Serena Mallery."

"Serena? This is Crystal Bernard returning your call."

"Yes, thank you." She flipped through her notebook and found the notes  on the client Suzanne had referred to her yesterday. "I've been trying  to reach you about remodeling your pool house. I've got some time  available later this week if you're free."

"Actually, we're in the Hamptons until late Friday night. We were hoping you could come by Saturday."

Uh oh. She didn't want to miss the tasting for Desiree's wedding and  going tubing with her friends Saturday afternoon. "I have a prior  appointment on Saturday, but I can do any day next week."

"That won't work," Crystal said sharply. "We'll be in town for only the  one day, Saturday. We're leaving Sunday morning for my niece's wedding,  and then we'll be gone for two weeks. We know exactly what we want, and  I'm sure it will take only a few minutes."

Nothing ever took only a few minutes, especially if Serena was going to  gather enough information to actually start working on the job. "Perhaps  it would be better to do this when you return in two weeks and aren't  pressed for time?"