Summer on Sunshine Bay, page 28
Lila’s cousins walked into the restaurant. “Wow! It looks amazing,” Willow said, coming to join them.
“Are you happy with it, Nonna?” Sage asked.
Her grandmother shrugged. “Sì, it’s all right.”
“Translated from Nonna-speak, that means she’s over the moon,” Sage said dryly.
“Bah, over the moon.” Their grandmother waved her hand, but Lila caught the flicker of a grin before it disappeared.
“Where’s Mom, Zia, and Jennifer?” Willow asked.
“I think Mom and Jennifer have gone to raid Zia’s studio, and she’s trying to stop them.”
Sage snorted. “No one can stop Zia Eva.”
Sage was right. The women returned ten minutes later with stacks of canvases, some framed, some not. Lila had known her aunt was talented, but as her mother and Jennifer began placing the canvases on the tables, she was stunned.
“Zia, these are amazing.”
“They’re okay.” Her aunt shrugged, her face flushed.
Lila’s father stood over one of the paintings, seemingly mesmerized. His hand hovered over the canvas as though he longed to touch it. Lila walked over to see what had captured his attention. It was a painting of her mother standing up to her hips in the ocean, draped in a diaphanous white sleeveless gown that teased the viewer with a hint of her voluptuous curves. Her arms were out, her head tipped back, her long, black hair swirling around her as storm clouds gathered above her and lightning crackled in the magenta sky, mirrored in the turbulent ocean waves. The painting was bold, alive with energy, just like Lila’s mother. Her aunt had painted Eva as Venus.
Her father noticed Lila standing beside him and lowered his hand self-consciously, moving to the next painting. He smiled. It was Lila and her cousins, playing in the sand when they were little, her mother, grandmother, and aunt watching from the window by the family table.
“Gia, how much for this one? I want it,” her father said.
Tears burned the backs of Lila’s eyes. He wanted to take a piece of them home with him. She glanced at her mother and caught her eye, silently begging her to put her father, and herself, out of their misery. Her mother gave a helpless shrug and then turned back to the canvases on the table.
Lila couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m going to get some air.”
“We’ll join you,” Sage said, nudging her sister and nodding at Lila.
The three of them were quiet as they walked down the stairs to the beach. There was a full moon laying a shimmering golden path out to sea and lighting up the night sky.
Lila sat in the cool sand, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I hate this,” she whispered. “I hate seeing them like this and not being able to do something.”
“You are doing something. You’re going to break the Rosetti curse,” Sage said.
Lila scoffed. “You don’t believe in the curse any more than I do. If anything, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“Maybe,” Sage acknowledged. “Or maybe they’ve just seen too many women hurt.”
“Did you see my parents? Have you seen Bruno and Nonna? How is what they’re going through now any better than what they think might happen? Why can’t they see that the risk is worth it? We all take risks every day.”
“They can’t help that they’re scared, Lila,” Willow said. “They’ve grown up living under the shadow of the Rosetti curse.”
“So did we,” Lila said. “And I’m willing to take the risk.”
“Are you, though?” Sage asked.
“What do you mean? I’m getting married.”
“I’m not trying to sabotage your wedding or disparage David,” Sage said. “But would you be marrying him if you weren’t having his baby? You don’t even have to answer me. I just want you to think about it.”
“It’s a moot point,” Lila said, unable to keep the defensive note from her voice.
“So, reading between the lines, you wouldn’t.”
Lila buried her face in her knees.
Sage rubbed her back. “I’m sorry. But as much as you’re worried about your parents and Bruno and Nonna, we’re worried about you.”
“Sage is right, babe. You look like you haven’t slept in a week, and you’re losing weight. I know weddings can be stressful, especially in our family, but to be honest, Jennifer and your mom and dad have basically taken care of everything, so I wonder why—”
“I didn’t want a big wedding. It’s not important to me. I just want to give my baby, our baby, a happy life.”
“But you’re not happy, Lila,” Sage said. “How can your baby be happy if you’re not?”
“I’m not happy because I’ve spent the last week watching my parents…” She trailed off and bowed her head. She’d just made Sage’s point. And in that moment, Lila knew that it wasn’t just her parents, her grandmother and Bruno, or even David’s issues with his father and brother that were responsible for her queasy stomach, for her not being able to sleep or for her not feeling like eating. It had been the same when David had asked her to set a wedding date—she knew she was making a mistake.
“Look, we know now how hard it was for you growing up and trying to keep the peace between your parents,” Sage said, “but it doesn’t mean that you and David would do the same to your child. I can almost guarantee that you wouldn’t, given your experience. Besides, David lives in Sunshine Bay. It’s completely different than if he lived in London like Zio James.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s too late. I’m getting married in less than forty-eight hours. I couldn’t do that to David.”
Her cousins shared a glance, and then Willow put an arm around her. “You’re going to be an amazing mom, whether you’re married or not. And you have us. We’ll always have your back.”
“What are you three plotting out here?” her mother asked as she came to join them.
Lila froze, terrified that her cousins would tell her mother that she was having doubts. She should’ve known better.
“We were just telling Lila what a wonderful mother she’ll be,” Willow said.
Eva smiled. “Of course she will. She’s a Rosetti. We do mothering really well.”
They did. It was just too bad they weren’t as good at facing their fears and taking risks. Lila briefly closed her eyes. She had no business criticizing them when she was exactly the same way.
Her aunt and grandmother joined them, carrying glasses, a bottle of wine, and a bottle of water. Carmen nudged Willow aside to take her place beside Lila, handing her the bottle of water while her aunt poured everyone else a glass of wine.
Her grandmother raised her glass. “A toast to La Dolce Vita. It has given us a good life, and may it continue to do so.”
They all turned to look back at the restaurant that had been in their family for generations, standing solid and proud behind them despite the many storms it had weathered, and clinked glasses. “La Dolce Vita!”
Her grandmother lifted her glass again. “To you, to all of you. You are the biggest blessings, the greatest joys of my life. You are my heart.”
Lila’s mother and her aunt wiped their eyes, lifting their glasses to Carmen. “You’re the heart of this family, Ma.”
Lila and her cousins agreed, leaning in to hug their grandmother and tell her how much they loved her.
But Carmen wasn’t finished with her toasts. “And to David, the poor, brave boy. May God rest his soul.”
“Nonna!” “Ma!”
“What? My Romeo died two days before the wedding, and your great-aunt Sophia’s fiancé dropped dead at the altar.”
“That’s one way your problem gets solved,” Sage murmured behind Lila.
“Really, Sage?” Lila muttered at her cousin.
Willow stood up. “Okay, we’re a couple weeks late, but it’s time to welcome summer to Sunshine Bay the Rosetti way,” she said, and then ran to the deck. “I’ll get the towels.”
It was skinny-dipping time. A summer family tradition, and one Lila hadn’t taken part in, in several years. She stripped off her clothes, laughing with her family when Carmen fell in the sand trying to take off her pants, and their shrieks filled the warm, salt-kissed air when they waded into the chilly water of the bay together, and a thousand memories washed over her. All the joy, the laughter and tears, and the frustrations and fights that came with being a family of six strong women filled her up, banishing the fears. She knew what she had to do.
“Lila, where are you going?” her family called as she ran out of the water, toweling herself dry.
“To see David,” she said as she pulled on her clothes. “There’s something I have to do.”
The man at the front desk at Windemere, whom Lila thankfully knew from previous visits, handed her a key card to the manager’s suite. She got turned around several times before she found herself standing outside David’s room. Heart racing, nerves jumping, she turned away from the door. She couldn’t do this to him. But as she started to walk away, she thought about what had brought her here in the first place and lightly knocked on the door, sliding in the room key and opening the door. David was in bed, but he was a light sleeper, and his head lifted off the pillow as he patted for his glasses on the nightstand.
“It’s me,” she said, walking over to the bed. She slipped off her shoes and lay down beside him.
He put on his glasses, reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp. “What’s wrong? Are you all right? Is the baby—”
“I’m okay and so is the baby.” She linked her fingers with his and briefly closed her eyes before turning her head to look at him. “I can’t marry you.”
“What? Why? This isn’t because of Sam, is it? Because Lila, I’d never—”
She gently squeezed his fingers. “No, it’s… I guess in a way it is, but not for the reason you think.” She let go of his hand, rolling onto her side to face him. “When I walked into Surfside that day the staff threw you the shower, you looked happy, happier than I’ve seen you in a long time, and you laughed, really laughed. We—”
“It wasn’t easy working with my father, but—”
“Let me finish, okay?”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“We haven’t spent any time together other than when we’re working on plans for Windemere. Anytime I’ve asked you to do something with me, you’ve said you were too busy. But you went to the bar with Sam, and you went on the Fourth of July cruise with her, and you’re afraid of the ocean.”
“It’s not just me, Lila. You were busy too. Busy with your consulting business, busy with Luke.”
“I know, and I’m not casting blame or saying any of this to hurt you. I’m just trying to explain why it would be a mistake for us to get married.”
“Is this because of Luke?”
“No, not in the way you think, but maybe, like Sam, he’s a catalyst. I do love you, David. I’m just not in love with you, and I don’t think you’re in love with me.” She rested her hand on the side of his face. “We haven’t made love since we found out I was pregnant. You don’t kiss me anymore. You haven’t told me you loved me in weeks. We’ve grown apart.”
“But what about the baby? You went through it, Lila. Surely you don’t want our child to grow up like you did.”
“Of course I don’t. But we’re not my parents. I think part of their problem was that they were still in love with each other, and obviously my dad living in London made an already difficult situation worse. But that’s not something we have to worry about. We’re both living here, and we work well together.”
He gave her a sad smile. “You’re right, we’ve always made a great team. You’re right about everything else too. I just hate the thought of telling my mom. She’ll be devastated. She loves you. She loves your family too.”
“And I love her. But we’re still a family, David. You, me, the baby, and your mom. Nothing can change that. And my family has kind of adopted her.”
His eyes glistened behind his glasses, and she hugged him. “I do love you, you know. I just think two parents who are happy and fulfilled is the best gift we can give our child.”
They talked for another twenty minutes, and then David glanced at his phone. “It’s getting late, and you’re tired. I’ll take you home.”
“Do you mind if I just sleep here?”
“Not at all,” he said, then grinned. “As long as you don’t hog the covers.”
She smiled, slipping off her engagement ring and putting it on the nightstand. They were going to be all right.
Lila woke up to the alarm on David’s phone going off at six a.m. “Why don’t you just stay here and sleep,” he said as he shut off the alarm and got out of bed.
“Can’t.” She leaped out of bed, making it to the bathroom before him. She used the toilet and then called through the closed door as she washed her hands. “Do you have an extra toothbrush?”
“In my shaving kit.”
She brushed her teeth, ran her fingers through her hair, and then ran out of the bathroom to the door. “Don’t cancel the wedding.”
“But I thought we weren’t getting married.”
She almost laughed at the disappointed look on his face. “We’re not, but I have a plan. I’ll fill you in later. Can you and your mom meet me at La Dolce Vita at ten? If my plan doesn’t work, we’ll figure out how we’re going to deal with everything then.”
“Yeah, sure. We’ll be there.”
She opened the door. “And David, you should rehire Sam.”
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and gave her a self-conscious smile. “I, uh, didn’t fire her.”
She smiled. “I’ll see you later.”
“Lila.”
She stuck her head back inside the room. “Yeah?”
“I like Luke. He seems like a great guy.”
“He is, but that’s not why—”
He shrugged. “I know.”
Lila was heading past the dining room when she spotted Sam setting out water glasses on a table. Sam noticed her at the same time and gave her a weak smile, looking as disappointed as David had a few minutes before.
Lila ran over. “We canceled the wedding.”
Sam looked stricken. “Lila, I promise, we didn’t do anything. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Trust me, it didn’t have anything to do with you.” She hugged her. “I’ve gotta go. And Sam,” she said as she ran for the door, “be good to him or I’ll kick your culo.”
Lila smiled as Sam’s laughter followed her out the door. She ran down to the beach. As she was running past the pier, a familiar deep voice yelled, “Admiral!”
Lila turned in time to brace herself before Admiral jumped up and put his paws on her shoulders.
Luke jogged over. “I don’t know what it is with you and my dog.” He fit his fingers under Admiral’s collar and dragged him off her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great. David and I canceled our wedding.”
His gray gaze roamed her face. “It didn’t have anything to do with what I said to you when I dropped you off at the beach house that night, did it? I wouldn’t want—”
She felt a small twinge of disappointment at his reaction but ignored it and shook her head. “No. We realized we were getting married for the wrong reason. It’s a lot of pressure to put on a baby to keep their parents’ marriage together, don’t you think?”
“I do.” He gave her a smile that she’d been waiting a long time to see. “So, any chance you want to take a walk with me on the beach tonight?”
“I’d love to.”
He stepped closer. “How about a bike ride to the dunes on Sunday?”
She smiled and nodded. “It’s a date.”
“Yeah, it is. One of many, I hope,” he said, sliding his hands down her arms to her waist.
“Me too.” She rose up on her toes to kiss him. She’d meant for it to be only a quick kiss, but Luke had other ideas, and then she did too. She’d always wondered what it would be like to kiss Luke Hollingsworth—a real kiss, not like the one they’d shared on the bridge—and he blew her expectations out of the water. She might’ve kept kissing him if Admiral hadn’t stuck his nose between them and given them his goofy dog grin.
“I’d better go,” Luke said, gently shoving Admiral off them. “I’ve got a fishing charter at seven.”
“Yeah, and I have a wedding to arrange.” She told him about her plan.
“Good luck,” he said, and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. Which ended up with the same result as when she’d tried giving him one. This time it wasn’t Admiral who ended their kiss, it was a woman yelling, “Bear!”
Luke grinned. “Sounds like my passengers have arrived.”
Lila laughed and patted his chest. “Have fun.”
“You too.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed her knuckles across his lips. His eyes met hers. “Go now before I kiss you again.”
“I could be convinced to give you one more kiss, you know.”
“Lila,” he growled.
“Luke,” she mimicked him, and then took off with a wave, happier than she’d been in a very long time.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Eva opened the door to her daughter. “Lila, what’s wrong?” It was seven in the morning. “Come in.” She ushered her inside.
Lila looked around her apartment. “What’s going on? Why are you taking down your wallpaper? And when did you start taking down your wallpaper? It didn’t look like this the other night I was here.”
“I’m not sleeping. The menopause, you know. So I decided I might as well do something productive with my time.”
“Like redecorating your apartment in the middle of the night?”
“My wallpaper’s as old as what was up in the restaurant. And after seeing the state it was in…” She shuddered. “But surely you didn’t come to talk about my redecorating plans. Is everything all right? David’s okay?”
“He didn’t die, if that’s what you mean.” Lila smiled and walked back into Eva’s bedroom. “Is there a reason all your bedding is on the floor?”
