Page 2 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

“Where are your mom and dad?” She couldn’t hear Jennifer excitedly calling their names. All she heard was the quiet conversations of the other passengers, the sound of a car engine idling close by, and the distant cries of seagulls.

“They’re, uh, meeting us at the restaurant. No, not yet.” He grabbed her hand, stopping her from removing the blindfold.

“David, this is ridiculous. I feel like an idiot.”

“You don’t look like an idiot. You look beautiful.” He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Not much longer now.”

At the nervous hitch in his voice, she whipped her head in his direction. Something was going on, and she had a feeling it wasn’t something she’d like. She lifted her left hand to lower the blindfold but David grabbed that one too, half dragging her after him.

She opened her mouth to give him crap, but then she heard his self-conscious laugh as he explained to someone that he had a special surprise for his bride-to-be, adding under his breath, “Smile, honey. I’m not sure they believe me. They look like they might call the cops.”

The last thing Lila wanted was to be the center of attention. Unlike her mother, she preferred to stay in the background. She forced a smile for their invisible audience, saying through clenched teeth, “Then take this blindfold off me.”

“Just give me… There’s the cab.” Picking up his pace, David towed her after him. She heard a car door open and felt a rush of cool air enveloping her—a welcome relief from the heat. His hand still encircling her wrists, David helped her inside the car and then got in beside her.

His grip loosened as he fastened her seat belt, and she pulled her hands free. She managed to get the blindfold off a second before he covered her eyes with his palm.

“David, if you don’t remove your hand this—”

“I just need one more minute.” He leaned forward, whispering something to the driver. When the car pulled away, David lifted his palm and peered in at her. “If I take my hand away, will you promise you’ll let me explain before you yell at me?”

“Why would I—”

“Please,” he said, a pleading note in his voice and in his eyes.

“Fine.” She prayed she was overreacting. How bad could it be?

He lowered his hand and then turned her to face him. She glanced out the window, and her gaze shot to his. “How could you?”

“I know you’re mad, honey. But just give me a chance to explain.”

“There’s nothing you can say that would explain why we’re in Sunshine Bay, David.” She turned to the driver. “Can you take me back to the airport, please?”

The man looked from her to David and then glanced in his rearview mirror. “Are you sure about that? The plane just took off, and there aren’t any outgoing flights scheduled until tomorrow morning.”

“It’s okay,” David told the driver. “Just take us to—”

“There’s nothing about this that’s okay, David.” Lila was furious and panicked at the same time. She took several slow, deep breaths in an effort to calm herself and the nausea rising up in her throat before addressing the driver. “Don’t take us to La Dolce Vita. Take us to…” She trailed off. Her cousin Willow had recently moved into a new place in Sunshine Bay, and she wasn’t sure of her address.

“We’re not going to La Dolce Vita, Lila. I wouldn’t do that to you. I know you need time to figure out a way to break the news that we’re getting married to your family.”

She didn’t miss the eye roll in David’s voice. No matter what he said, he wasn’t as understanding about her family’s aversion to marriage as he pretended to be. He’d laughed when she’d first told him about the Rosetti curse, and it had become a running joke with him. She hadn’t appreciated his making fun of her family’s superstition and had told him so. It didn’t matter that she didn’t believe in the Rosetti curse either. They were her family, and as much as they drove her crazy at times, she adored them.

“If we’re not going to the restaurant, where are we going?”

He raised a shoulder, and then, squeezing one eye shut, murmured, “Windemere.”

“Are you out of your mind? I’m not going to Windemere.” She crossed her arms and shook her head. “No way.”

He took her hand in his. “Just let me explain.”

She pulled her hand away and turned to face the window. “There’s nothing you can say that will change my mind, David.”

Familiar sights came into view as the taxi crawled along Main Street behind several people on bikes. The cobblestone sidewalks were crowded with tourists taking in the quaint houses and B and Bs, with their lush and colorful gardens, and the eclectic mix of galleries, shops, cafés, bakeries, and bars that lined the narrow three-mile street that led down to the harbor and Windemere. “It’s bad enough that you lied to me about where we were going. But to bring me to Windemere?”

All her family could talk about when she’d surprised her mother for her fiftieth birthday in April—sans David and her engagement ring—was Windemere and their fear that the high-end restaurant and inn would put their restaurant out of business. There were several eateries in Sunshine Bay, but La Dolce Vita had been the only fine dining establishment in town before Windemere’s arrival on the scene.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. I need you with me, and I knew you wouldn’t come if I told you the truth.” He tugged on her hand to get her to look at him. “My dad owns controlling interest in Windemere.”

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