Free Serena's Choice - Coastal Romance Series by Jennifer Ransom Page B

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.