Page 13 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

Willow adjusted her boobs in her bikini top. “The station put in a new management team. I’ve been demoted to weather girl.”

Willow had worked part-time at the local TV station while completing her master’s in television at Boston University. She’d accepted a position on the late-night news desk when she’d completed her degree, with the goal of using it as a stepping stone. She’d been there for five years.

Sage appeared on the screen just as Willow was explaining how her new boss had tried to frame the demotion as a promotion.

“What he’s doing is exploiting you,” Sage said, wrinkling her nose at her sister. “You can’t seriously be going on air in that. It barely covers anything.”

Willow leaned off-screen and reappeared with an inflatable duck ring. She fitted it around her waist. The bright-yellow duck, wearing oversize black shades, covered most of her upper body. “Meet Super Duck.”

Sage raised an eyebrow. “Super Duck doesn’t do a very good job of protecting yourassets, but the employment lawyer at my firm would. So would you please call her? You have her number.”

Sage was the Gloria Allred of Boston, which meant that even if she didn’t totally buy into the idea of the Rosetti curse, the women she represented in high-profile divorces had ensured that she was a misogamist. Lila hadn’t worried about running into her cousin when she and David arrived in Boston. Not only was it a city of over four million people, Sage was a workaholic who basically lived at her office. From the desk and shelves of books behind her, it appeared Sage was there now.

“Zach has me covered. My cameraman,” Willow said in response to her sister’s pursed lips.

Sage wore her shoulder-length auburn hair scraped from her oval face in an unflattering bun. It was in keeping with the persona her cousin tried to present to the world in an effort to distract from her looks, including by wearing clothes that hid her figure. But she couldn’t hide her voluptuous lips, which had earned her the nickname Hot Lips in high school.

“The guy you dated last month?” Sage asked her sister.

Willow was a serial dater. Unlike Lila, and possibly Sage, she believed in the Rosetti curse.

“Yeah, and he’s got me covered. Zach won’t film below Super Duck.” When Sage opened her mouth, no doubt wanting to interrogate Zach and ensure that this was the case, Willow waved her hand. “Enough about me. Lila called. And no offense, babe, but you look like crap. What’s going on?”

“I’m, uh, invoking the Cousins Pact. I need you guys, like as soon as you can get here.”

“Here where?” Sage asked, bringing the screen closer to her face.

“Sage, how many times have I told you to get your eyes checked? You can’t see close-up,” Willow said. “And if Lila’s invoking the Cousins Pact, she must be in Sunshine Bay.” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you hiding in the restaurant’s supply closet?”

“Yeah, just not the restaurant you think.” Lila swallowed. “I’m at Windemere.”

Before her cousins could ask what she was doing at the competition’s grand opening, Lila blurted everything out—everything except about the baby and that Luke Hollingsworth had had a crush on her when they were growing up.

They stared at her, and then Willow swore. Her cousin had the face of an angel and the mouth of a longshoreman.

“Lila, you have to get out of there before anyone sees you,” Sage said as she got up from her desk. “Willow, calm down and stop swearing.”

“Calm down? Is that what you’re going to say to Zia, Mom, and Nonna, Sage? Because if it is, I can guarantee they won’t hear you above the wailing. Do you remember what happened the last time Lila invoked the Cousins Pact?”

None of them were likely to forget. Lila had invoked the Cousins Pact when she broke the news that she was going to college in London. The difference between then and now was that her cousins had been completely supportive of that plan.

“Of course I do, which is why Lila’s leaving Windemere before anyone can see her and hiding out at your place until we can get there and come up with a plan,” Sage said while texting.

Willow opened her mouth, and then her section of the screen went dark and the wordpauseappeared. Looking relieved when she reappeared, Willow nodded. “Yeah, okay, that works.”

Lila had a sneaking suspicion that Sage had texted Willow. And if the determined expression on Sage’s face and the mollified one on Willow’s was any indication, her cousins already had a plan—persuade Lila to dump David.

Lila had known she’d have to convince Sage and Willow that she was happy and in love and wanted nothing more than to marry David. She had a list of prompts on her phone for exactly this moment, but things had devolved since she’d made her list, and she had a feeling it would take more time than she had to convince them she was happy. At any moment, someone could discover her in the storage room. There was also another problem.

“Ruth Hollingsworth is here with her family, and I’m pretty sure her grandson saw me.”

She couldn’t tell them about meeting Luke in the men’s restroom. Given that her teenage self couldn’t seem to let go of the idea that Luke had once had a crush on her, she’d probably blush, and then, to avoid their probing questions, she’d confess she’d thrown up and had a mini-meltdown.

The last thing she needed was for her cousins to know she was upset and ticked at David…except how could they not know after what she’d just told them? It might take more than a few hours to convince Sage and Willow that she and David were a perfect match.

“Pretty sure? The guy knew the second you arrived at a party. He only had eyes for you. And trust me, I’d know this because I wanted those gorgeous eyes on me.” Willow fanned herself. “That man is seriously hot.”

“I wasn’t talking about Adam,” Lila said, referring to Luke’s younger brother, whom she’d dated in high school. “I was talking about Luke.”

---