Page 34 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

“Don’t mind the mess,” he said, holding the passenger-side door open for her and reaching in to toss a jacket and clipboard into the back.

“You forgot something,” she teased, lifting her hip to retrieve a granola bar wrapper.

“You’re lucky it wasn’t a half-eaten burger.”

As they drove through town, they talked about people they both knew and what they were up to now. Lila didn’t want to ask, but she thought it would seem odd if she didn’t. “So, uh, how’s Adam?”

Luke glanced at her, lifting a hand off the steering wheel to rub his earlobe between his thumb and forefinger. “Yeah, I guess we should talk about what happened that night at Paradise Cove. We never did.”

She huffed a self-conscious laugh. “And I’m perfectly happy to keep it that way. It ranks as one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.”

He winced. “Sorry about that. I probably shouldn’t have hauled my brother off you. But you’d had quite a bit to drink, and I wasn’t sure you wanted to…well, you know.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m glad you stopped us. You were right. I’d had too much to drink, and I wasn’t ready to have sex. I actually didn’t want to, but…” His face got hard and a little bit scary, and she held up her hand. “Adam didn’t force me, Luke. He didn’t do anything wrong. I just didn’t know how to say no.” It had more to do with her friends than with Adam. They’d all started having sex, and she’d felt like the odd one out. She’d also been sad she was leaving for London the next week and, thanks to those same friends, worried that Adam would hook up with someone else over the summer.

“Don’t make excuses for him, Lila. Adam was a jerk back then.”

“Maybe a little bit of one,” she agreed. Three days after that night at Paradise Cove, Adam had wanted to pick up where they’d left off. When Lila said no, he’d broken up with her. “But who wasn’t, right?” Luke wasn’t. He’d never been a jerk.

“I can think of a few people who weren’t,” Luke said. “But to answer your earlier question, Adam’s good. He’s married with two little girls who are going to give him gray hair before he’s thirty-five.”

“Does he run the charter company with you?”

“No. He moved to the West Coast two years ago so his wife could be closer to her family.”

Luke didn’t give much away, but she sensed he’d been disappointed when Adam left town. He’d left Luke with the responsibility of running the charter business and dealing with their family on his own, which didn’t leave him a lot of time to devote to SUP Sunshine. And it was obvious that was where his passion lay.

“I really enjoyed myself today,” Lila said as they turned onto Ocean View Drive. “I’m looking forward to working with—” She broke off at the sight of her mother leaning against her grandmother’s car, talking to Lila’s father.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

“Nothing. It’s just that I didn’t expect to see my mother here.”

Her parents walked over as Luke pulled the truck into the driveway.

“I think they want to say hi. Do you mind?” Lila asked. She felt as if she’d been out on a first date and her parents were waiting to interrogate her.

“Not at all. I should probably apologize to your mom that we were at Windemere’s grand opening anyway.”

“You attempted to save my grandmother’s life. I’d say that earns you a pass.”

He didn’t get a chance to respond before Lila’s mother opened the passenger-side door. “Is everything okay?”

Honestly, it felt as if she were sixteen again. “I was hitchhiking, and Luke picked me up.”

“Lila Marie Rosetti, what have I told you—?”

“She’s teasing you, Eva,” Luke said. “Lila was with me.”

“And what was my darling daughter doing with you, Luke? Something fun, I hope.” Clearly, from her mother’s tone of voice, she hoped it was something fun and scandalous. Lila doubted she would have said the same thing to David. It was obvious her mother liked Luke a lot more than she did Lila’s fiancé. Then again, she’d known Luke forever.

“We were talking about Luke’s business, Mom,” Lila said as they got out of the pickup.

Luke rounded the truck and joined her, introducing himself to Lila’s father. “Lila’s agreed to take me on as a client.”

It wasn’t exactly how she’d wanted her parents to find out she was starting a consulting business, but at least she knew they’d be happy about it. David was another story.

Her parents weren’t happy, they were thrilled. After they’d hugged her and her mother had hugged Luke, congratulating them both, her father wanted to know all about SUP Sunshine.

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