Summer on Sunshine Bay, page 30
She didn’t complain, though. She was happy just to hang out with her family and friends, and at least she’d gotten to watch the Jingle Bell Run from the deck at La Dolce Vita. Besides, she was beyond uncomfortable at this stage of her pregnancy.
The door off the deck opened, bringing with it a gust of unwelcome frigid air, along with a welcome sight. It didn’t matter that she’d seen Luke mere hours earlier; her heart pitter-pattered against her ribs. If the baby hadn’t started kicking at that exact moment, Lila had no doubt the pitter-patter would have been joined by the same fluttery feeling in her stomach that she always got when the man she loved walked into a room or gave her a slow smile that was meant only for her. The same smile that crinkled the corners of his gorgeous gray eyes when he turned to see her sitting there.
He walked over, bending down to kiss her. His lips were cold, but his kiss was warm and sweet.
She smacked her lips together as he took the seat beside her. “Chocolate fudge?” Whenever Luke went out on a delivery, he came back with a care package of Christmas baked goods.
He smiled as he removed his Santa hat and jacket. “Yep. I saved the vanilla for you.”
She looked down at her stomach. “Thanks. So how did the deliveries go?” He’d been working flat out since October, trying to fulfill orders for paddleboards before Christmas.
“Great. Last delivery of the year. I’m all yours until after the holidays.”
“Mm, I like the sound of that.”
“Me too,” he said, blowing on his hands. Once he’d warmed them, he placed his palm on her stomach, grinning when the baby kicked. “What do you think? Is today the day?”
“She seems happy to stay right where she is. If she’s anything like my mother, she’ll want to make a grand entrance. She’ll probably wait until Christmas Eve.” She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.
“You’re tired. You wanna head upstairs? I left Admiral at your place.”
Lila had insisted that her father keep the beach house for himself and her mother, and Lila was living in the apartment she’d grown up in. She’d baby- and dog-proofed the apartment a couple of months earlier, even though she spent the majority of her time at Luke’s. They’d agreed to take their relationship slowly. Lila had a baby on the way and was working hard to make a success of her business. Between his businesses and taking care of the women in his family, Luke was busy too.
Surprisingly, Lila’s mother hadn’t made any changes at the beach house. Then again, her parents had been making up for lost time. Lila glanced to where they stood kissing under the sprig of mistletoe her father held over her mother’s head. Lila didn’t see the honeymoon phase ending anytime soon for those two.
She snuggled into Luke. “Maybe I’ll take a quick nap on you. I want to hang around until Santa makes his appearance and get some pictures and video.”
Luke wrapped his arms around her. “I’m happy to be your pillow, but just so you know, it might be a while before Santa makes his appearance. I heard suspicious noises coming from your grandmother’s apartment when I walked by.”
Bruno was playing Santa. He’d gone to put on his costume close to an hour ago. Of course, her grandmother had gone with him. The two had been inseparable since Bruno had made a surprise appearance—without Ana or a ring on his finger—at Carmen’s birthday two weeks before.
They’d learned that he hadn’t been able to go through with the wedding. It was the happiest Lila had seen her grandmother since Bruno had left in September. Those months without him in Sunshine Bay had been tough on everyone.
“Captain Luke! Captain Luke! Did you see Santa? He’s late, and we think he’s lost,” one of Heather’s twins said, running over to grab Luke by the hand. “Come on, let’s go look for him.”
His brother joined him, tugging on Luke’s other hand. “Yeah, Captain Luke, come on. You can find him.”
“Yeah. If anyone can find him, you can, Captain Luke,” Lila teased.
“Thanks a lot.” He leaned in and kissed her.
The twins made gagging noises.
“Talk to me when you’re sixteen,” Luke said, and stood up. As he walked off with the boys, Lila called her grandmother. The call went to voice mail. She tried Bruno next and got the same result. She spotted Sage texting on her phone near the bar and called her.
Her cousin frowned and brought her phone to her ear. “Why are you calling me? You’re like twenty feet away.”
“Your mother and mine ordered me to stay put with my feet up, and I don’t feel like walking to Nonna’s apartment.” She explained the situation with Santa and his little helper.
Sage sighed so loudly that Lila didn’t need the phone to hear her. “Fine,” her cousin said, disconnecting and pocketing her phone and heading for the door. As she opened it, she told Lila to order her a glass of wine. “On second thought, make it a bottle.”
Lila texted Willow, who was manning the bar. With a red-sequined Santa hat on her head, Willow arrived with a glass, a bottle of red wine, and a cup of hot chocolate on her tray. “Hot chocolate is courtesy of your hot boyfriend.” After depositing the contents of her tray on the table, she gently tapped Lila’s stomach. “Anytime now, baby. We’re all waiting to meet you.”
* * *
Lila’s water broke during Christmas Eve dinner at the beach house. Sage looked at her and said, “Did you wet your pants?”
For some reason the question sent Lila’s mother, her aunt, and her grandmother into peals of laughter, which quickly morphed into panic when Lila scowled at her cousin and said, “My water broke.”
Even Lila’s father, who was calm and collected in any situation, was as panicked as the rest of her family. Thankfully, Luke stepped in and took control. He called Dr. Alva and handed Lila the phone while he timed her contractions. Lila hadn’t realized she was in labor. The discomfort she’d been feeling for most of the afternoon had been in her back, not her stomach. She wanted to wait until the contractions were closer together, but Luke reminded her that they had at least an hour’s drive to the hospital in Hyannis Port.
It took them almost three hours. Luke blamed the weather. It started snowing the moment he backed her father’s Range Rover out of the driveway. Lila blamed her parents, who yelled at Luke anytime the speedometer veered close to forty miles an hour. Lila suggested he drop them off at the nearest gas station, but Luke merely smiled. Her parents were lucky she had such an easygoing boyfriend.
She was lucky too. She didn’t how she would’ve gotten through her six-hour labor without his calming presence. He’d calmed David down too. She’d realized just how much David had appreciated Luke being there when their daughter had arrived an hour earlier. David had hugged Luke before he’d hugged her. She smiled at the memory as her family, including Jennifer and Sam, cooed over the baby. Despite it being three in the morning on Christmas Day, they’d all stayed at the hospital.
“Keep it down or the nurse will kick us out,” Sage warned, standing guard by the door.
Everyone was arguing about whom the baby looked like. All Lila cared about was that she’d arrived safely and she was healthy. But with her perfect little face, thick head of dark hair, and powerful set of lungs, Lila had a feeling she might turn out to be Eva’s mini-me.
“Um, hello, would you mind if I hold my baby now?” Lila asked, waving to get their attention.
They ignored her as each of the women assured the others that she could make the baby stop crying. “Sorry, ladies. Mommy wants her daughter,” Luke said, deftly scooping the baby out of Carmen’s arms and into his. He cradled her close, lowering his mouth to whisper in her ear. She immediately stopped crying.
“What did you say to her?” Lila asked as he laid her daughter in her arms.
He sat on the chair beside the bed and smiled. “I’ll tell you later.”
Dr. Alva poked her head into the room. “Everyone out, except Mommy, Daddy, and their partners.”
There were more laughter and happy tears as everyone kissed Lila and the baby goodbye. David and Sam stood to leave twenty minutes later. They were hosting Sam’s family for brunch at Windemere. David kissed Lila’s cheek and the baby’s. “Get some rest. I’ll be back later this afternoon.” Then he turned to hug Luke. “Thanks for everything, man. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I’m pretty sure Lila could have,” Luke said.
David laughed. “Of course she could have. She’s a Rosetti.”
Sam hugged Lila. “I’ll see you and the baby when you get home. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks. I will.”
As the door closed behind them, Lila patted the bed. “There’s room if you want to join us.”
Luke carefully stretched out beside her, putting an arm around her and the baby and drawing her close. “You should get some rest.”
“I will. I just want to spend some quiet time with you and the baby, and I want to know what you said to get her to stop crying.”
He stroked the baby’s cheek. “I told her I loved her mommy.” He lifted his gaze to Lila’s. “And that when her mommy was ready, I was going to ask her to marry me, and if she said yes, I would be the best stepfather a little girl could ask for, and I’d love her like she was my own.”
Lila smiled at him through her tears. “Yes.”
“Yes, you’ll marry me?”
“Yes to all of it. To marrying you, to you being the best stepfather she could ask for, and to you loving her as your own. I love you, Luke Hollingsworth.”
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About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Debbie Mason writes romantic fiction with humor and heart. The first book in her Christmas, Colorado series, The Trouble with Christmas, was the inspiration for the Hallmark movie Welcome to Christmas. When Debbie isn’t writing or reading, she enjoys cooking for her family, cuddling with her granddaughters and granddog, and walking in the woods with her husband.
Also by Debbie Mason
The Highland Falls series
Summer on Honeysuckle Ridge
Christmas on Reindeer Road
Falling in Love on Willow Creek
“A Wedding on Honeysuckle Ridge” (short story)
The Inn on Mirror Lake
At Home on Marigold Lane
The Harmony Harbor series
Mistletoe Cottage
“Christmas with an Angel” (short story)
Starlight Bridge
Primrose Lane
Sugarplum Way
Driftwood Cove
Sandpiper Shore
The Corner of Holly and Ivy
Barefoot Beach
Christmas in Harmony Harbor
The Christmas, Colorado, series
The Trouble with Christmas
Christmas in July
It Happened at Christmas
Wedding Bells in Christmas
Snowbound at Christmas
Kiss Me in Christmas
Happy Ever After in Christmas
“Marry Me at Christmas” (short story)
Miracle at Christmas (novella)
One Night in Christmas (novella)
Praise for Debbie Mason
“I’ve never met a Debbie Mason story that I didn’t enjoy.”
—KeeperBookshelf.com
“I’m telling you right now, if you haven’t yet read a book by Debbie Mason, you don’t know what you’re missing.”
—RomancingtheReaders.blogspot.com
“Mason always makes me smile and touches my heart in the most unexpected and wonderful ways.”
—HerdingCats-BurningSoup.com
“Wow, do these books bring the feels. Deep emotion, heart-tugging romance, and a touch of suspense make them hard to put down.”
—TheRomanceDish.com
“I always count the days until the next book!”
—TheManyFacesofRomance.blogspot.com
“Debbie Mason writes in a thrilling and entertaining way. Her stories are captivating and filled with controlled chaos, true love, mysteries, amazing characters, eccentricities, plotting and friendship.”
—WithLoveForBooks.com
“Debbie Mason never disappoints me.”
—FictionFangirls.net
“It’s not just romance. It’s grief and mourning, guilt and truth, second chances and revelations.”
—WrittenLoveReviews.blogspot.com
“Debbie Mason writes romance like none other.”
—FreshFiction.com
“Mason takes her romances to a whole new level.”
—CarriesBookReviews.com
“The Harmony Harbor series is heartfelt and delightful!”
—RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times best-selling author
“Christmas, Colorado, will get you in the spirit for love all year long.”
—Jill Shalvis, New York Times best-selling author
Debbie Mason, Summer on Sunshine Bay
