When she was wheezing for breath between peals of laughter, he finally stopped and hauled her up.
“Declare me the victor,” he demanded.
“Never!”
She launched herself up the steps then turned around and did an imitation of Rocky, hands in the air as she danced back and forth.
“Little cheat,” he grumbled as he walked past her to the table where his mom waited.
“Damon always was a poor loser,” Jo said as she grinned at Serena. “He was always the most competitive child. Best at everything.”
“And who did I get that from, pray tell?” Damon said dryly.
“Your father, of course.”
Damon snorted and headed toward the door. “You ladies stay here. I’ll be back with bowls and silverware. Want me to bring out the gumbo, Mom?”
“Please,” she said. Then she turned to Serena. “Would you like wine or tea with your dinner?”
“I’ll have whatever you and Damon are having,” Serena said.
“In that case, it’ll be wine. It’s an indulgence of ours. Even during the two years he was gone, he’d call and I’d sit here on the deck and we’d share a glass of wine and talk on the phone.”
“It sounds like you’re very close,” Serena said.
“He’s my only child,” Jo said by way of explanation.
Damon came back out with bowls and spoons then went back in and returned a moment later with a steaming pot of gumbo.
“Get the rice if you don’t mind. It’s in the steamer. And snag the bottle of wine I have laid out,” Jo said as Damon set the pot down.
She and Serena sat and when Damon returned with the rice, Jo served up the gumbo. Though it was hot and muggy, the gumbo, usually more suited for the cold of winter, tasted delicious.
After dinner, they sat back with a glass of wine and watched the lightning bugs pop over the water. In the distance crickets chirped and frogs croaked. The tree locusts added to the cacophony, but it was soothing to Serena. After so long hearing only the sounds of the city, she was lulled by the tranquility here.
“So how long have you two been together and how did you meet?” Jo asked, breaking the silence.
Serena stiffened and sent Damon a panicked glance. He took her hand under the table and squeezed reassuringly.
“We were introduced by a mutual friend. We’ve only been seeing each other a short time, but I’m hoping to convince her to keep me around for a while.”
Jo smiled. “Smooth-talking bastard, just like your father. And they expect you to fall at their feet for their efforts,” she said to Serena.
Serena laughed, her discomfort passing. “I expect they do. And I’ll admit, it does turn my head. As I’ve told him before, he’s no stranger to pretty words.”
“Lord no. I swear all the Roche men have the lion’s share of charm and charisma. Sometimes you just have to call bullshit, though.” She winked at Serena as she said the last.
Serena chuckled as Damon rolled his eyes.
“If I have charm, it sure as hell never worked on you,” Damon said to Jo. “And it damn sure never got me out of trouble.”
Jo grinned. “You have your father to blame for that. By the time you came along, I was well acquainted with the Roche silver tongue and had built an immunity.”
She turned to Serena. “What about you, Serena? Where are you from and what do your folks do?”
Damon looked curiously at her as well, and she realized that they’d never really talked about her. Or him for that matter, until the trip over. They’d been too busy talking with other parts of their anatomy.
She flushed slightly and looked away from Damon. “I was born and raised in Houston. My dad is retired from an oil company, and my mom still teaches school. I’m an only child as well.”
“Ah, then you and Damon are both likely spoiled rotten,” Jo said.
“I don’t deny it,” Damon said as he sipped at his wine.
“Good damn thing. I’d hate to be sitting close to you when that lightning bolt descends.”
Serena laughed again, enjoying the easy rapport between mother and son. It made her miss her own parents, though it hadn’t been that long since she’d last visited. It was easy to get caught up in work, become too busy to pick up the phone or stop in to say hello. After witnessing Damon and Jo’s grief over losing Damon’s father, she was going to make it a priority to see her folks as soon as she got back. Life was short. Damon’s father’s sudden passing was certainly a testament to that.
“My mom is great,” Serena said, suddenly compelled to talk about her own parents. “I probably was spoiled, but she raised me to be independent. To think and do for myself. She was one of nine children, and the only one to graduate high school. She put herself through college and got her teaching degree. I was always so proud of her. She doesn’t take any shit from anyone.”
“Sounds like my kind of lady,” Jo said.
“I think you’d get along well,” Serena said with a smile.
“And what do you do?” Jo asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“This isn’t an interrogation, Mom,” Damon said mildly.
“No, it’s okay,” Serena said. For a long time she had felt discomfort over explaining her business to other people. But the happiness she brought her clients quickly removed any unease she felt over the legitimacy of Fantasy Incorporated.
“I own my own business. I fulfill fantasies,” she said.
Jo blinked in surprise. “What kind of fantasies?”
“Mom,” Damon said in warning.
“Not the kind you’re thinking,” Serena said as she hid her smile. Not unless having her own sexual fantasy fulfilled counted.
“I create scenarios for people. A fantasy situation. For instance, one of my last clients had a dream of being a chef in a top restaurant in Houston. He didn’t know how to go about it, wanted me to arrange the details, so I did.”
“Oh, how fun! So it’s like a play day almost,” Jo said.
“Well, I suppose you could call it that. It’s a chance to do something you might not otherwise get to do. My most recent client wanted to be a princess of her own cruise ship.”
Serena’s face tightened, and she regretted bringing Michelle up.
“I think that’s wonderful, Serena. And how creative! I’ve never heard of another business like it.”
“Thank you. I enjoy it.”
Jo reached for her plate, but Damon stood and motioned her away.
“You ladies sit tight, and I’ll put away the dishes.”
“You raised a good man,” Serena said with a sigh as he disappeared inside.
“Yeah, well, just don’t let him think you know that,” Jo muttered. “Because then they get impossible to live with.”
Serena chuckled and leaned back in her chair, inhaling the night air. She glanced up at the sky, which was clear and dotted with the first stars. And she wished. Wished for the impossible. She wished for the fantasy to never end.
CHAPTER 26
Damon stood at the sink, looking out the window at his mom and Serena smiling and laughing like old friends. He wasn’t sure why he’d chosen now to return home or why he’d asked Serena to come. It had just seemed right. Now that he was here, he was glad he’d come. He should have never stayed away, no matter how much it hurt. His mom had been hurting too, and she’d needed him.
His mom’s questions about Serena pressed home just how little he knew about her. Yes, he’d run a background check. He knew cursory details, but he didn’t know any of the stuff that mattered. What made her tick. What she dreamed. What made her happy and what made her sad.