A few seconds later he responded with, You’re welcome.
I checked on Andrew sleeping in the bedroom I grew up in, now decorated with airplanes. I gave him a quick kiss and then went to my parents’ room, gently knocking on the door.
“Everything all right?” my mother asked sleepily.
“Yes. I’m sorry to wake you, but I got an offer to do an anniversary. The meeting is tomorrow in the Hamptons. Can Andrew stay with you?”
“Of course, honey,” my mother sat up against her headboard.
“So this Gallagher shindig is already paying off for you, eh?” my father said reaching over to turn on his bedside lamp.
We all squinted as the bright light lit up the area.
“Yes.”
“Is it Mr. Roarke?” my mother asked with a hopeful tone.
I tried not to roll my eyes. “Yes. His parents' thirtieth anniversary is coming up.”
“He must have been impressed with your work that he’s asking you. Or did Nikita pass it on?” my father asked.
Actually, I wasn’t sure. Maybe he approached Nikita first. “He asked me before I left tonight.”
“I know you’ll blow his socks off,” my father said.
“Get a ring before socks come off,” my mother said with a wink.
That time I did roll my eyes. “Thank you. Now go back to sleep.”
Back in my own apartment, I tried to sleep but it was hard when I was going to spend time with Devin alone at the beach house. It was easy to resist him so far, but I was no idiot. I was no match for my hormones that came alive when he was around. I had to hope that I’d done an effective job at dissuading him, because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to continue to resist him.
6
Devin
I was a glutton for punishment. That was the only way to explain my continued interest in Serena. She not only had no interest in me, but clearly thought I was defective in some way. And yet, after sending her off with my driver, at nearly two in the morning, made arrangements to head out to the Hamptons right then to prepare for her visit. Schmuck.
Was I wanting what I couldn’t have or simply challenged by her resistance? I hoped it was the latter, because that suggested there wasn’t a real connection. If it was the former, I was fucked. Who wanted to go through life unfulfilled missing what I wanted?
Had I felt unfulfilled without her the last five years, I wondered when I finally hit the sack at the beach house just before four in the morning. My work in Europe was exciting. I’d been good at it, too, which was wh
y I knew that I could not only take over from my father but also push the business further, to greater success.
But I supposed there was a part of me that was unfulfilled. Like I told Serena, I hadn’t lived like a monk, but I hadn’t connected with anyone like I had with her that short week we’d had. Of course, even if she’d come with me to Europe, there was no guarantee that we’d still be together or that I’d feel any more fulfilled. With all this rattling around in my brain, I finally fell asleep.
The next day, I was fatigued and yet excited about Serena’s visit. I was in real trouble.
I was filling a second cup of coffee when there was a knock on the door. I made my way to open it, checking my dress. Jeans. T-shirt under an open button-down. No shoes. Casual. Maybe seeing me in something other than a suit would make her more comfortable around me.
“Serena,” I said opening the door.
“Devin.”
At least she was using my first name. “I have coffee and some baked goods from the local French bakery. Want some?”
“I’d love coffee.”
I showed her through the house to the kitchen where I poured her a cup. “Want creamer or something.”