Page 62 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

“No, but I know that she doesn’t. She said he’s her best friend and that he’ll make a wonderful father.”

“I’m sure he will.”

She threw up her hands in exasperation. “How are you not upset about our daughter marrying a man she doesn’t love just because she’s having his baby?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Grace was my best friend, and we had a great marriage.”

She twisted her fingers in the sheet, holding it closer to her chest, shifting away from him. “Yes, but Grace wasn’t only your best friend, you loved her.”

He looked away, his chest expanding on a long, inhaled breath before he said, “Grace was in love with Seamus, my parents’ driver. She discovered the day before the funeral that she was pregnant.”

Eva stared at him, stunned. Everything she’d believed about his marriage wasn’t true. She hadn’t known the man’s name at the time, but she’d been aware that the Sinclairs’ driver had also died in the accident. Thinking back, it better explained how Grace had acted at the funeral. At times she’d been almost zombielike, clearly in shock, but then she’d rouse herself for James. He’d been solicitous of her, protective. Eva remembered seeing them sitting together in the front pew, James’s arm around her, their golden heads bent together.

As she sat alone, several pews from the back, a twinge of jealousy had twisted in Eva’s chest. It was why she hadn’t been completely shocked when James had told her he’d married Grace. “Sheena?” Eva asked past the wedge of emotion stuck in her throat.

He nodded. “She isn’t my biological daughter. No one knows but you. There was no reason for us to tell anyone.”

“Is that why you married Grace?”

“We were both grieving, and we were there for each other. We’d always been close. Losing Seamus and my parents at the same time brought us that much closer.” He glanced at her, holding her gaze. “I loved you, but you either didn’t want or couldn’t make a commitment. I wanted more from you than you were willing or able to give, and I understood that. It didn’t mean it wasn’t hard knowing that, by marrying Grace, I was closing the door on us. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was walk into the hospital room that night, seeing you with Lila, knowing what might’ve been.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to be sorry.” He smoothed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away a tear. “Grace and I were happy. We had a good marriage. And you got the life you wanted. You’ve been happy too, haven’t you?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice. She was caught up in the memories and was afraid she’d reveal things that were better left unsaid. She’d never let herself think too long or too hard on what might’ve been. The family curse had been her saving grace.

“What are we going to do about Lila?”

“We just talked about this, Eva. She’ll either marry David or she won’t. She’s a smart woman who knows her own mind. She just needs to know that we’ll support her whatever she decides. And Eva, I’m almost one hundred percent certain she’ll go through with the wedding. And if she does, you will support her, right?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I can’t, not knowing what I do now. You and Grace had a good marriage, James, but David isn’t like you. And Lila has a baby to think about.”

“And she wants to marry the baby’s father.”

“Which is a stupid reason to get married. And for a smart man, you obviously aren’t thinking straight if you can’t see that.”

“It’s hard to think straight with you naked in my bed.” He scooped her into his arms, rolling her on top of him. “I’d rather make out with you than talk about our daughter.” He kissed her, murmuring against her lips, “And this will be a first for me. I’ve never made out with a hot grandma before.”

Eva’s eyes jerked to his. “We’re going to be grandparents.”

James laughed, and then he kissed her, obliterating thoughts of anyone but him, them, on a flood of sensation and passion.

Chapter Eighteen

What was it with her and bathrooms? Lila wondered as she leaned toward the mirror, wiping mascara from under her bloodshot eyes with a wet paper towel. She’d had another meltdown. Only this time, instead of sharing her deepest, darkest secret with Luke—a man she trusted—she’d told her cousins, the sisters of her heart, and she didn’t trust them as far as she could throw them. Not when it came to this.

She glanced at Sage and Willow in the bathroom mirror. Now that they’d stopped celebrating her baby news, they were having a whispered conversation behind her. And Lila knew exactly what they were whispering about.

“I’d marry David whether I was pregnant or not, so if you think this changes anything, you’re wrong.” Lila lowered her eyes from Sage’s penetrating stare and squeezed the water from the paper towel.

She didn’t trust her cousin not to see through the lie. If Lila hadn’t been pregnant, she wasn’t sure she would’ve agreed to marry David. At least not right now. There’d been a reason she’d been putting off setting a wedding date. She hadn’t been ready to get married, and it had nothing to do with David. That wasn’t exactly true either. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him, which was a ridiculous reason to accept his proposal. But they’d been together for almost three years, and he’d made a persuasive argument for why getting married was a good idea. An excellent one, actually.

They weren’t getting any younger, and they both wanted children one day. They’d invested three years in their relationship. They trusted each other. They were compatible. They wanted the same things in life. They knew each other really…

She tossed the paper towel in the wastebasket. At least she’d thought they knew each other until she’d played that stupid shower game.

“This is a first,” she said, turning to face her cousins. “Do you have nothing else to say?”

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