Serena's Choice - Coastal Romance Series (9 page)

So, in early May, Serena decided
to relax a little. She still had a vision about things to do, such as
opening the upstairs to private parties and getting a catering
business going, but things were good for now. She needed a rest.

Nonna went home after lunch every
day as usual, and Serena took over for the rest of the day and night.
After dinner most nights, she settled at the bar and listened to Joe.
On Fridays and Saturdays, she listened to whatever band she had
hired. Brittany and her boyfriend had been helpful in bringing local
musicians to Rossetti’s. The young couple would often join her at
the bar, and then, before the night was out, Brittany and Trey were
on the dance floor. Serena watched them as they danced and more than
once recalled the night she and Jeff had danced in that very same
spot. Brittany wouldn’t leave her at the bar alone for very long.
She and Serena had formed a bond, and Brittany seemed to feel
responsible for Serena’s after-hours enjoyment. Even if Serena
waved her away and told Brittany not to worry about her, Brittany
worried anyway.

The after-dinner crowd became
regulars. Serena could count on seeing certain people most nights.
Mr. Salina, an older man who had grown up in Luna Bay, came several
nights a week. He had lost his wife of forty-eight years a couple of
years before. His children lived out of the state of Florida, so he
was basically alone.

“
My daughter wants me to move
to Indianapolis to be near her and her kids,” Mr. Salina told her
one night at the bar. “I love her and my grandkids, but I can’t
see myself living in Indianapolis. Do you know how cold it gets
there? I just can’t do it. I grew up here and I plan to die here,”
he said. Serena held up her wine glass when he said that and they
toasted. “To Luna Bay,” he said.

Just in the past week, a man that
Serena had never seen before started coming to Rossetti’s. He would
have dinner, then stay for the band and drinks after dinner. He was
clean-shaven, but wore his sandy-colored hair pulled back in a short
ponytail. Serena had never talked to him. She had no idea who he was
or what he did for a living. Couldn’t be too many choices in Luna
Bay. After a few nights of seeing him there, Serena asked Sandy who
the man was. She tried to act casual when she asked, because she was
very attracted to the man but didn’t want anyone to know that.

“
Oh, that’s Steven Calloway,”
Sandy said. “He’s working with one of those marine organizations.
I can’t remember the name of it. I think he might be a marine
biologist or something like that.”

“
Hmmm,” Serena said. “That
sounds interesting.” She supposed she could go introduce herself to
him. She was, after all, one of the owners of Rossetti’s. It was
her business to know who the customers were. But she felt too shy to
do that, so she just noticed him when he was there.

Serena was sitting at the bar one
night in May, nursing a Cosmopolitan that Sandy had made for her,
when someone sat down on the stool next to her. She turned and was
shocked to see Tony, her high school boyfriend. He looked a little
different, but not much. He was beefier. It looked like he might be
working out or something.

“
Tony!” Serena said.

“
Hey, Serena,” he said. Sandy
put a beer in front of Tony, who began to drink it down thirstily. He
put his mug down on the bar. “Sorry, it’s been a long day on the
boat,” he said.

“
Are you working on a shrimp
boat?” Serena asked. It’s what so many boys did after graduation
in the area. They all had relatives working on the boats, and if they
weren’t going to college, it was a natural thing to do. Serena’s
own family had a long history of working on shrimp boats.

“
Yeah,” he said, taking
another long draw on his beer. “I’ve been doing that all this
time you’ve been gone. Like I was when you left.”

Tony sounded a little bitter.
Serena didn’t know what to say to that. What was there to say? She
couldn’t even think of a single question to ask Tony about working
on the boat. She sipped her Cosmopolitan. Tony motioned to Sandy for
a refill, and Sandy brought him a fresh mug of draft.

“
I know your mother died. I’m
sorry. She was a pretty lady.”

Serena wasn’t sure how she felt
about Tony talking about her mother like that. It was true, Adrianna
was a pretty lady. She was a beautiful lady. But she didn’t want to
hear Tony say that as if it was the only thing that mattered about
her mother.

“
Yes,” she said. “She was
pretty, and she was a great mother, too. I miss her a lot.”

Tony looked at her then and his
face, that had been edgy looking ever since he sat down, seemed to
soften. “I’m sure you do,” he said before throwing back his
draft.

“
Things seem to be different
around here,” he said, sweeping his arm around the restaurant. “I
hear people talking about it. How the food is better and it’s more
fun here at night. I decided to check it out for myself.”

“
I’m happy you did. It’s
really good to see you,” Serena said, not really meaning it and
hoping that Tony would leave. But he didn’t leave. He ordered
another beer. Serena was about to tell him that she had to get back
home to check on Nonna. She would use anything she could find at this
point.

Tony turned to look at her. “I
can’t believe it!” he said. “They’re playing our song.”

Serena listened to the music for
the first time since Tony had sat down. It was Train’s “Drops of
Jupiter.” It was a great song, and she’d love to just sit there
and listen to it without having to deal with Tony.

Tony took a deep swig from his
beer, then got off the barstool and grabbed her hand. He took her—she
felt dragged—to the dance floor where he began to move them around.
He pulled her close, way too close.

“
Remember when we used to have
sex to this song?” he said close to her ear. His mouth was wet on
her ear; his voice was husky but aggravating. She did remember being
with him while they listened to the song, but she didn’t remember
it with any particular fondness.

She pulled away from him to get
some breathing room, but he kept pulling her close as he danced with
her. Serena decided it would be over soon, and then she would leave.

“
You broke my heart,” Tony
said in her ear. “Do you know that you broke my heart?”

“
Tony, I need to get home. I’m
going to have to go now,” she said.

“
Oh, come on. You can dance our
song with me.”

“
No, I really do need to go, “
Serena said, trying to extricate herself from his grasp. He pulled
her even tighter. He started kissing her neck and she pulled back
sharply.

“
Hey,” a man said. She and
Tony both turned to him. “I’m sorry I was late tonight. You ready
to go?”

It was the marine biologist and
Serena could not follow what he was saying. But then in an instant
she got it. He was rescuing her.

“
Yes, I’m ready,” she said.
Tony looked at her with confusion. “Who’s this guy?” he said as
he held her tight.

“
I’m her date tonight,” the
marine biologist said. “We’ve got plans. Thanks for keeping her
occupied until I could get here. I got held up.”

He held out his hand to Serena
and she gratefully took it. She looked back at Tony and said, “It
was good to see you, Tony.” And then she walked away, still holding
the man’s hand. He led her to his table and she sat down opposite
from him.

“
Thank you,” she said.

“
I could tell things were
getting a little out of hand,” he said.

“
Yes,” Serena said. “A
little bit. He’s an old friend that I haven’t seen in a long
while. I think he misunderstood when he saw me again.”

“
Can I get you a drink? I know
you own the place and can get any drink you want, but you look like
you could use a drink.”

“
Yes, thank you. I definitely
could use a drink.”

Out of the corner of her eye,
Serena watched Tony leave the dance floor and head to the door. He
looked back at her once, then left without another word.

Sandy came over to their table,
bringing another Cosmopolitan. He sat it down with a cocktail napkin
in front of Serena.

“
Thanks, Sandy,” Serena said.
He looked at her hard to make sure she was all right before going
back to the bar.

“
My name is Steven Calloway,”
the man said, holding out his hand.

“
Serena Miller,” she said,
taking his hand. Then she burst out laughing.

Steven laughed along with her. “I
don’t usually do things like that,” he said. “But it looked
like you needed some help.”

“
I guess I did,” she said,
taking a sip of her drink.

“
Who was that guy?”

“
Somebody I used to know a long
time ago. Before I left Luna Bay.”

“
When did you leave?”

“
I left in 2006. I went to
culinary school in New York.”

“
Where have you been since
then?” he asked.

“
I was working at a restaurant
in Atlanta,” she said. “But then my mother died and I ended up
coming back to the family business.”

“
I’m glad you did,” he said
looking at her with warm brown eyes.

She looked down shyly at her
drink, then looked up at him and said, “Thanks.”

She asked him why he was in Luna
Bay. He told her that he was an oceanographer for Gulf Coast Marine
Labs. He had a house on the beach, paid for by the company. He had
been there for about a month.

“
I’ve seen you in here
before,” Serena said, then blushed.

“
I’ve seen you, too,” he
said. He laughed and she laughed too.

“
I think we need to have a
dance. You can’t let that dance with that jerk be your last dance
tonight,” he said.

He stood and took her hand. She
glanced briefly at the bar and saw Sandy looking at her. He looked
concerned. Poor Sandy had already witnessed one bad dance. Serena
nodded her head at Sandy to let him know that it was okay and
followed Steven to the dance floor. The light from the flickering
candles reflected off of the Tuscan gold walls as they danced.
Serena’s wavy brown hair flew behind her as Steven turned her. He
caught her and they laughed. Serena had not laughed in so long she
had forgotten what it felt like to feel light and carefree. To laugh.
This must be what her mother felt like, her mother who had been so
full of life. Adrianna, who had danced Serena around the room when
she was small. Adrianna who had danced at Rossetti’s after hours. A
memory of her mother at an outdoor party filled Serena’s mind. Her
mother, wearing a white halter dress, her dark hair flowing behind
her as she danced with her latest boyfriend. Adrianna, whose dance on
earth was over.

After a couple of dances Serena
and Steven returned to the table.

“
Would you like to take a
walk?” Steven asked. “You can tell Sandy where you’re going.”

Serena’s face was still flushed
from the dancing. Her eyes sparkled. She felt pretty and flirty.

“
Yes. I’ll let Sandy know.”
She walked over to the bar and told Sandy she was taking a walk with
Steven. “I don’t want you to be worried,” she said.

“
He’s okay,” Sandy said.
“I’ve talked to him a few times. It’s that other guy that was
in here that had me worried.”

“
Hopefully, he won’t show up
again,” Serena said.

She and Steven walked down to the
bay. The moon’s light sparkled on the water. Steven took her hand
and held it as they walked. He talked about his work, the Gulf
waters, the creatures in the ocean. He had grown up on the coast of
South Carolina and he always knew that the ocean would be his career.
Even as a young boy, he knew that.

“
The shore on South Carolina is
different from the Gulf,” he said. “The sand is yellow and the
ocean is blue. Here, the ocean is turquoise and the sands are white
like sugar. I like it. I feel a little disloyal to say that I like it
better than my old seaside stomping grounds.”

“
I love it here, too,” Serena
said. “I sort of wish I’d never left it.”

“
Why did you leave it? I know
you went to culinary school, but why?”

“
Since I’ve come back home,
I’m beginning to realize that I was fulfilling someone else’s
dream by leaving. My mother and grandmother wanted me to have an
option in my life. They thought that was the best way—to send me to
culinary school. Of course, at the time, my mother was going to
inherit Rossetti’s. When she died, everything changed.”

“
I’m sorry,” he said. “I
know what it’s like to lose a parent. My father died three years
ago and I thought I’d never get over it.”

He stopped walking then and put
his hands on her arms before leaning down to kiss her. She put her
arms around his neck and he pulled her close. She wanted him, right
there beside the bay. She wanted him as the moon shone down on them
and the water lapped at the bay’s shore. She wanted to open herself
to him in a way she had never been with any man before.