Serena's Choice - Coastal Romance Series

by Jennifer Ransom

  “Okay,” she said. “She hadn’t been to the beach in a while since she’d been spending every second of her day at Rossetti’s. “I guess I need to let Nonna know I’ll be in late.”

  “I’ve already told her,” Jeff said.

  “Oh. Well of course you have since you’re text buddies now.”

  “Does that bother you?” he asked.

  Serena realized she did feel a little jealous about Nonna’s relationship with Jeff, but then thought how ridiculous that was.

  “Of course not. I’m glad you and Nonna seem to have hit it off.” She smiled at him then.

  They finished their drinks and left Rossetti’s. Jeff led her to his car and they drove to the beach. Jeff took Serena’s hand and they walked along the shoreline with the full moon shining its light down on them. The tide brought the waves, over and over again. At one point, Jeff stopped and put his arms around Serena and kissed her. She kissed him back. She didn’t realize how lonely she was, how stressed out she had been, until that moment.

  “I miss you being in Atlanta,” Jeff said. Serena found that sort of hard to believe, given how noncommittal their relationship had always been. She didn’t even know if Jeff saw other people, but assumed that he did. “Bridgewater’s is different now. They’ve dropped the Steak Daniel. That was my favorite.”

  “They had to do that since they fired him,” she said.

  “That manager, what is his name? He told me how sorry he was for you to leave. He said he offered you the head chef job.”

  “That’s true, he did. But I had already committed to come back to Luna Bay and work at Rossetti’s by then.”

  “I know. Your grandmother told me,” he said.

  “How have you been, Jeff? How’s it going for you at the firm?”

  He stopped walking again and turned to her. “It’s crazy busy, like always. I work late almost every day. I’ve been thinking a lot about that. Wondering if this is really what I want my life to be. Working until insane hours of the night, going to clubs afterward just to try to kill the stress. Getting up in the morning to do it all again. I’ve really been giving it a lot of thought.”

  “Didn’t you go to law school to be a lawyer?” Serena asked. “I mean, I thought that’s what you wanted. To be a partner one day and all of that.”

  “I thought that’s what I wanted, but now I don’t think that’s what I want,” Jeff said.

  “What would you do if you didn’t do that?” Serena said.

  “I’m not sure,” he said.

  They walked a while longer, then headed back to the car. Once inside, Jeff leaned over and kissed Serena.

  “I wish we could go somewhere,” he said.

  “There’s nowhere to go but back to the cottage,” Serena said. And Jeff headed that way. They tiptoed into the cottage when they got there.

  “Nonna’s asleep, I’m sure,” Serena whispered. “I’ll get us some wine and we can sit outside.”

  They sat in the chairs on the porch and Serena poured glasses of wine. The lantern was turned down low so it only gave out a faint light. After a few minutes, Serena picked up an old quilt she had brought out and suggested they walk around the yard. The very back of the yard was lined with Leyland cypress trees, which provided a woodsy shelter. The trees were planted four deep and if you walked into the center, you could not be seen. You were in your own forest. She laid the quilt on the ground and they sat down. The cypress stood like soldiers, tall and majestic, around them. The full moon shone on the tops of the trees, but could not penetrate the closely planted cypress, the forest.

  Serena was hungry, but not for food. Jeff put his arm around her and nuzzled her neck. She turned and met his lips with hers. They teased each other with their tongues while they slipped out of their pants. Serena pushed Jeff back on the quilt and climbed on top of him. She had never done that before with him. She guided him into her and began to slowly rock her body. Back and forth. Back and forth. Jeff reached out to touch her as she rocked and she cried out in pleasure. She bent down to kiss him as he groaned.

  Afterward, Jeff put his jacket around Serena. It was a warm night for February but still had a chill. She lay beside him and stared up to the tops of the cypress.

  “Does Nonna know you’re here?” she asked him.

  “Yes. I went to the cottage first. She told me I should go to Rossetti’s to find you. She said she was tired and not to worry about getting in late.”

  Serena began to wonder if Nonna had an agenda about her and Jeff.

  Serena and Jeff lay on the quilt for a while before getting dressed and going inside to bed.

  “I’m sorry, Jeff, but I’ve got to work,” she told him the next morning over coffee and breakfast made by Nonna.

  “I know. It’s okay. Elena and I are going to spend the day together.”

  Serena looked at her grandmother, who had a smug smile on her face.

  “I’ll come to Rossetti’s tonight. Don’t you have some music group playing there?”

  “How did you know that?” Serena asked.

  “I saw it on Facebook,” Jeff said. He and Elena laughed then. Was her grandmother on Facebook now?

  “Okay. That’s good. We’ll see each other tonight then,” she said.

  Serena worked all day. She worked hard. And when the dinner crowd was finally gone, the after-hours people started streaming in. Serena had hired a duo who sang blues and popular songs, a good combination. She sat at the bar and ordered a martini from Sandy while the couple set up. A few minutes later, Jeff joined her and ordered a martini for himself.

  “You’ve done a good job with this place,” he said.

  “Thanks. It’s been a lot of hard work. A lot. I hope it pays off.”

  “Looks like it is paying off,” Jeff said. “You’ve got a full house here.”

  The duo started singing and she and Jeff didn’t talk anymore because it was loud. People started dancing in the area that Serena had created, a larger area than before. Jeff got down from his stool and held his hand out to Serena. “Let’s dance,” he said.

  She took his hand and moved to the dance floor. The duo sang “Angel Eyes” by Jeff Healey. It was a very slow song, and Jeff put his hand at the small of her back and he moved her slowly around the floor. He leaned down to kiss her at one point. Serena felt in that moment that she could fall in love with Jeff—this new Jeff—but she knew that was very dangerous. She really didn’t fully trust him. Until recently, he had never shown any personal interest in her. The last thing she needed was to get involved with Jeff only to have him lose interest in her.

  They danced several songs together before leaving Rossetti’s and returning to the cottage. Again, Serena got the quilt and again they went out to the cypress trees. This time, Serena brought the wine bottle and plastic cups. Again, they made love in the cypress forest. It was good, but Serena was not going to plan her life around it. Jeff had his life in Atlanta and she had hers in Luna Bay. The two really did not mesh together.

  Sunday morning, the only day that Rossetti’s was closed, Nonna made a big breakfast of pancakes and sausage and fried eggs. Nonna and Serena and Jeff sat around the kitchen table, eating and drinking coffee. Jeff paid a lot of attention to Nonna. Her grandmother laughed and seemed to be flirting with Jeff! This was weird. But Nonna was just happy. She liked Jeff a lot, that was obvious.

  After breakfast, Jeff packed his bag and Serena followed him to his car.

  “It was good to see you, Serena,” he said.

  “You too,” she said, casually.

  “I love your grandmother. Seeing her makes me feel like home.”

  Serena laughed. “It is home for me,” she said. “I’m lucky to have her.”

  “Very lucky,” he said before leaning down to kiss her.

  “I hope to see you soon,” he said. She waved as he drove down the driveway and into the road. He stuck his hand out of the window and waved back. And then it was time for Serena to get back to her regular life, witho
ut Jeff in it.

  ********************

  February turned into March and Serena had the vegetable beds turned over by the gardening crew. They replenished the soil with compost and natural fertilizers. One day in late March, she and Brittany went to a nursery in Mary Esther and bought eggplant and basil plants and peppers. Serena searched the seed counter and got basil seed. “We’ll sprinkle the basil seed among the plants and before long, it’ll be a sea of basil,” she said. She also bought zucchini seeds.

  By late April, they were starting to snip the herbs and the tomato plants were covered in tiny green tomatoes. Some customers came into to Rossetti’s and asked if they could have their photo taken with Nonna Elena, which is what she had become known as on Facebook and the website. Nonna was reticent at first about that, but she finally gave in. Serena had a couple of pergolas built near the garden and tables and chairs were set up for alfresco dining. Everything was going better than Serena could have dreamed. Was it perfect? Of course not. She had to fire Davey, one of their best waiters, when Jimmy discovered he was giving food away free to his friends. Brittany had stepped in then to wait tables and Serena was so grateful to her. But she needed to concentrate on the bread making, so Serena herself waited tables for a few nights until they could replace Davey. That was the cost of doing business with a restaurant. You did what you had to do. There were days when they ran out of key ingredients and had to take certain items off of the menu. It wasn’t perfect, but it was going all right.

  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?”
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  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.”