Page 46 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

Chapter Fourteen

Feeling better, sweetheart?” Lila’s father asked as they drove back to the beach house.

She tipped her head back, enjoying the feel of the wind whipping through her hair. “Yeah, sorry about the meltdown at Wedding Bells. I was feeling a little overwhelmed.”

“Understandable. It’s not the wedding you’d envisioned.” He glanced at her. “Are you sure you want to go through with it, Lila?”

“With the marriage?” She was surprised he’d ask. It was a question she would have expected from her mother, not her father.

“I meant the big wedding, but if you’re having doubts…”

Her doubts had morphed into a near panic attack as she’d stood on the dais. She’d been seconds away from pulling aRunaway Bridewhen her mother had arrived. It was weird that her mother had been the one who’d calmed her down. Not so weird, she supposed; she’d always been able to talk to her mom about anything. Eva would kiss her hurts when she was little and make her feel better, and as Lila got older, she’d help her make sense of things. Unless it had to do with her father.

“I’m not having doubts, Dad. Not about getting married.” For all that David was acting like a jerk lately, she knew that underneath all the raging insecurity and his need to please his father was the man who’d been her best friend for the past three years. A kind, loyal, dependable man who, like Lila, would do anything to ensure his child’s happiness.

“But you are having doubts about the wedding?”

“Too many to count.” She closed her eyes, letting the sun shine on her face. “There’s just so much to do. Not to mention all the family drama. I wish I could blink my eyes, and I’d be standing on the beach saying, ‘I do.’ Then it would all be over, and we could get on with our lives.”

“We got the family dinner out of the way, so that should cut down on the drama for a few weeks at least.”

“You’re forgetting the family dinner at Windemere next Sunday.” Gavin had insisted that they sample the wedding menu and check out the space where the dinner and reception would be held.

Her mother had graciously conceded the dinner and reception should be held at Windemere—no doubt because their family restaurant didn’t have the space to hold the now four hundred guests who were apparently attending the weekend-long wedding—while Gavin hadungraciously conceded that they could host the lunch for the guests arriving Friday afternoon and the rehearsal dinner Friday evening at La Dolce Vita, as long as the restaurant’s face-lift was completed by then.

The prewedding lunch on Saturday, and Sunday’s morning-after brunch, had been a bone of contention until her father had suggested they leave it up to the wedding guests to decide where they wanted to eat, and Gavin—his wife and his son elbowing him from either side—had agreed to place menus from La Dolce Vita in the wedding guests’ rooms.

“Right, but now that we’ve got the meals mostly ironed out, the family drama should be minimal.”

Lila snorted. “Did you forget that Mom will be there?”

He laughed. “You have to admit that your mother has been uncharacteristically sweet and gracious.”

“I know. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?” She glanced at her father. “You and Mom have been getting along, which is equally mind-boggling.” And worrying. She hadn’t missed their sidelong glances at the dinner with the Westfields.

Her dad shrugged. “We’re older and wiser, and you’re an adult. We both want the same thing, for you to be happy.”

If only they’d gotten along this well when she was younger. But she couldn’t shake the feeling there was more going on between them. “You’re not interested in Mom, like in a romantic way, are you?”

“No,” he said slowly, “but would it bother you if I was?”

He so did want to date her! And while the past week had been one disaster after another, combined they’d barely rank as a Category 1 hurricane. Her parents getting together? Easily a Category 5.

“Ah, yeah, you know what Mom is like, Dad. There’s a reason she’s known as the Heartbreaker of Sunshine Bay. She doesn’t do relationships. And you’re vulnerable. You’re just getting over losing Grace.”

“Look, your mom and I are adults. We’ve known each other a long time. You don’t have to worry about me.” He glanced at her. “I thought you’d be glad we’re friends.”

As long as they stayed just friends and not friends with benefits, she supposed she could deal with it. Although that wasn’t something she’d say to her father. “Of course I am. I don’t think I could handle it if you guys were fighting too.”

“You and David still on the outs?” her father asked as he pulled the Ferrari into the driveway.

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“Would it be easier if you stayed at Windemere?”

“Are you kicking me out of the beach house?”

“No, I love having you stay with me. It’s just that you and David aren’t getting any time on your own.”

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