Page 29 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

“Of course not. Why would I be?”

“You’re the mother of the bride.”

“Pft.” She waved her hand. “As Lila will tell you, I’m not…I’m clueless when it comes to weddings.”

“I’d be happy to help you. We still have so much to do.”

“We do?” Eva and Lila asked at the same time.

“Oh yes, we have to shop for the wedding dress, pick the color scheme, and flower arrangements.” She came over to kneel beside Eva. “These were just ideas I had. I thought this would be the perfect style of dress for Lila. And I thought this cantaloupe color would show beautifully against the sand and water.”

“We should probably talk about what the plans for the weekend are and which events will be held at Windemere and which will be held at La Dolce Vita,” James said.

Eva didn’t know what came over her, but she had a sudden urge to lean over and kiss him.

“There’s nothing to talk about. We’re holding everything at Windemere,” David’s father said.

“Gavin,” Jennifer gasped.

“What? Windemere is a wedding venue. Can you say the same about La Dolce Vita, Eva? From what I’ve heard—”

“It’s our daughter’s wedding, and if she wants the entire weekend held at La Dolce Vita, then that’s where it will be held,” James said in a voice that offered no compromise. He was clearly in his CEO mode.

As the two fathers argued, their voices rising, Eva struggled not to laugh. And James had been worried about her making a scene. Eva glanced at Lila and David, who were sinking lower in their chairs, and sighed.

“Be quiet, both of you. Lila and David are the ones getting married. They’ll decide where the events for their wedding will take place without any interference from us.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Lila said with a grateful smile. “David and I will talk about it, but I’d like to hold a couple of the events at La Dolce Vita.”

“Lila, I don’t think—” David began, looking from his father to his bride-to-be.

Lila crossed her arms. “You don’t think what, David?”

Eva ducked her head, hiding her smile. It looked as if the wedding might be off without any help from her. She reached for a cannoli. Life was sweet indeed.

Chapter Ten

Come on, live a little, Lila. Vanilla ice cream is boring,” Willow said as they placed their orders at Sunshine Bay Creamery the next day. “Take a taste of mine.”

Lila made a face at her cousin’s offer of her bubble gum ice cream cone. “Vanilla is not boring. It’s a classic,” Lila said, thanking the teenager behind the counter when she handed her the cone.

“Boring,” Sage said. “I’ll have three scoops of Boston cream pie, thanks.”

Willow and Lila shared a glance. Sage was a one-scoop woman. She must’ve caught their silent exchange because she said, “Don’t ask,” and took the cone from the server, paying for their order.

“So how did meet-the-parents go?” Willow asked, acknowledging several customers in line with a smile as they walked out of the creamery.

They took a seat at one of the tables on the patio, a sherbet-colored striped umbrella shielding them from the sun. Thankfully, the heat wave had broken, and it was seventy-two degrees, the sweet smell of the yellow flowering bushes that bordered the patio and the sidewalk on Main Street wafting past them on a gorgeous ocean breeze.

“Yeah, give us the scoop. Did Zia Eva behave herself?” Sage asked.

“Mom was amazing. David’s mother adored her. She was all Jennifer could talk about when I joined them for dinner at Windemere last night. It was Dad who was the problem.”

“Zio James? No way. I don’t believe you,” Willow said, and Sage agreed. Lila’s cousins thought her father walked on water.

“I’m serious. If it wasn’t for Mom, I swear Dad and David’s father would’ve gotten into a fistfight. Honestly, though, at one point, I wanted to punch Gavin myself. He was a jerk to Mom. I still can’t believe she let it go.” It was why Lila hadn’t said anything to David’s father. She’d been sure her mother would eviscerate him with her sharp wit and her even sharper tongue.

Sage stopped eating her ice cream cone. “What did he do?” she asked in a voice Lila was familiar with. It was the same voice she’d used whenever Lila or Willow told her someone had been mean to them at school.

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