Page 30 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

Lila told them about Gavin intimating that her mother was overweight.

“No wonder she didn’t react,” Sage said. “She has an amazing body, and she knows it. I’d give anything to have her boobs and her butt.”

Willow nodded. “Me too, but it was still a jerky thing to say.”

“Yeah, I thought Dad was going to lose it on him then. He gave him the look. You know the one I mean.” Lila did an impression of her father staring Gavin down.

Willow laughed. “Yeah, I remember when I got ‘the look.’”

“When? I don’t remember,” Lila said.

“Seriously? You don’t remember when he came to visit that summer before you started spending your vacations with him in London? You must’ve been eleven. He rented the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston, and Sage and I begged him to let us come too.”

They wouldn’t have had to beg too hard. Her father was a pushover where her cousins were concerned. “Okay, now I remember. And can you blame him? You cleaned out half the minibar and were sick as a dog.”

Willow made a face. “I still can’t look at hard liquor without feeling like I’m going to puke.”

“What about the time we all got ‘the look’?” Sage asked, shaking her head when they stared at her blankly. “The back-to-school beach party at Paradise Cove? We were past our curfew, and your dad came looking for us.”

Willow and Lila covered their eyes, groaning at the memory.

“We also got the lecture about boys, which was way worse than ‘the look,’” Lila said.

Sage laughed. “I think he was as embarrassed giving us that lecture as we were receiving it. His face turned scarlet.”

“He was ahead of his time, talking to us about consent, respecting our bodies, and figuring out our boundaries.” Willow sighed. “I love Zio James.”

This was not news to Lila. Both her cousins did. When they were in grade school and Father’s Day rolled around, Sage and Willow had made cards and crafts for Lila’s dad. It hadn’t bothered her. She loved sharing her father with her cousins.

“So what did your dad and David’s father nearly come to blows over, if not Zia?” Sage asked, biting into her cone.

Just watching her gave Lila brain freeze. “Where the events for our wedding will be held. Dad’s insisting that they should be equally divided between La Dolce Vita and Windemere, and David’s dad is insisting they be held exclusively at Windemere.”

“What do you and David want? It’s your wedding,” Sage said, looking as if she had brain freeze when she asked the question. All Rosetti women got that look on their faces when they talked about weddings. All of them except her, Lila supposed.

“I think it’s only fair that we host some of the events at La Dolce Vita, and let’s face it, the restaurant could use the exposure.”

“Yeah, even Mom, who you know is all about thoughts becoming things and putting out positive vibes, admitted she was worried,” Sage said.

“Nonna called Father Patrick,” Willow shared. “He was just getting there when Sage and I left to meet you.”

Lila lifted a hand to her throat. “For the last rites?”

“What?” Willow laughed. “No, to bless the restaurant.”

“Oh, good. Mom invited the Westfields for dinner at La Dolce Vita tonight, and she said she was going to tell Nonna about the wedding and David managing Windemere this morning.”

“Maybe she was waiting for Father Patrick to get there, because I can guarantee Nonna didn’t know when we left,” Sage said.

“You’re not going to work at Windemere, are you, Lila? Because that might send Nonna over the edge,” Willow said.

“No, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.” She’d been waiting for David to bring it up, but he hadn’t mentioned it.

She had a feeling Windemere didn’t have the budget. She was almost afraid to ask David about his salary. They’d made excellent money working for her father’s company, but it was a large chain of luxury hotels. She didn’t think Windemere could afford to pay nearly as well.

“I could put out feelers for you in Boston,” Sage said. “I’m sure one of the hotel chains would offer you a job in a heartbeat. Your dad must have tons of connections.”

“He does, and he offered to talk to a couple of people on my behalf, but that was before David agreed to take on the management position at Windemere. I’ve actually been giving some thought to setting up a consultancy business on my own.”

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