Page 38 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

“No, let me finish. I thought I was doing the right thing when I threatened to file for custody of Lila. My only excuse was I was young and arrogant.”

“I think I said rich and entitled.”

“You did, and you were probably right.”

“I blamed you for ruining my career, for ruining my chance to make it big, to make something of myself, James. It took several years—I blame my stubbornness on my mother—before I realized that you were right. We were never going to make it big.”

“Don’t say that. Your voice is—”

“I know I can sing, but that’s not enough. We were just a cover band. None of us wrote music or played instruments. You acted out of love for Lila. You were worried about her well-being. But I was young and arrogant too. I couldn’t see past my dreams for my career that being on the road was no way to raise my…our daughter.”

“It wasn’t your fault that she fell. I shouldn’t have blamed you. It could’ve happened to anyone.”

“But it happened to Lila.” Lila had been three when she fell off the stage while Eva was rehearsing with the band. She’d broken her arm and gotten a concussion. They’d been playing in a pub outside London, and in her panic Eva had called James.

“I could’ve offered to pay for a nanny while you were on the road. I could’ve offered—”

She shook her head. “In the end it turned out for the best for Lila, for me, for my family. I was needed here. Lila had a good life here, far better than she would’ve had on the road. We had, have, a good life, James. I’m happy. I don’t regret anything. I forgave you a long time ago. I should’ve told you that.”

“I should’ve talked to you about it years ago. I should’ve told you how sorry I am for the way I acted, for the things that I said.”

“You’re forgiven.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and her lips landed on his mouth instead. She closed her eyes on a rush of emotion, at the familiar feel of his mouth beneath hers.

His lips were warm and firm, and then they softened. He deepened the kiss, his fingers sifting through her hair. She went up on her toes, unable to resist the taste of him, the feel of him. It had been so long.

He groaned deep in his throat and pulled back from her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”

“Don’t be silly. It was an accident.” She smiled and patted his cheek as if he hadn’t just rocked her world. “I’d better go help my mother.”

Chapter Twelve

Sorry we’re late,” David said when Lila opened the door to the beach house. “We were trying to lock in a convention for next September, and the meeting went longer than expected.” He smiled. “You look beautiful.”

She wore a white sweater over a white eyelet sundress and had taken more time with her hair and makeup than she usually did, but she didn’t smile or thank him for his compliment. She was upset that he’d ghosted her for the entire day.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for the last three hours. I told you we needed to talk.” She had to tell him about taking on Luke as a client before her mother or father did. She had no doubt her parents would mention it, especially with Luke and his family at the restaurant. “You never even responded to my invitation to meet my cousins and me at the creamery.”

“I thought you were joking. I told you last night that I had a full day of meetings ahead of me, Lila.”

He had, but he’d also been unhappy she was staying with her dad and even unhappier with how the meeting between their parents had gone, especially when Lila had shared her opinion of his father’s unacceptable behavior. Which had resulted in an argument over which of their fathers was at fault. So she’d taken David’s failure to respond as a sign that he was sulking, but maybe she was being unfair.

“I understand that this is a busy time for you,” she said as she locked the door, “but surely you could’ve taken five minutes during lunch to get back to me.”

He sighed. “I’m here now.”

A car horn blasted, and they both glanced at his father sitting behind the wheel of a white Lexus, motioning for them to hurry up.

“I wanted to talk to you in private, David.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

She sighed. “Other than there’s a fifty-fifty chance a fight will break out between our fathers tonight?” Toss the wild card that was her family into the mix, and Lila held out basically no hope the evening would be uneventful.

“I’ve talked to my father, and so has my mother,” David said out of the side of his mouth as they walked toward the car in the driveway. “He’s promised to be on his best behavior tonight. I assume you’ve warned your father to do the same.”

She nodded. She hadn’t. She didn’t think it was necessary. Gavin had clearly been the one at fault.

She glanced at the Lexus. They were less than six feet away. The timing wasn’t great, but she had to tell David. “What I wanted to tell you has nothing to do with the wedding or our parents. I’ve decided to open my own consultancy business, and I already have a client lined up. Two if you count La Dolce Vita.” She smiled.

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