“Yes,” Emma answered before Penny could speak. “We came here yesterday from Miami.” Her eyes never left the cupcakes Lila was choosing. “We’re here for the whole summer and staying at Bay View Beach House, the one right at the end of Bay View Drive.”
Penny gave Emma a small look that said you might want to dial that back, sweetheart, but Emma was clearly past dialing back.
“Bay View Beach House,” Lila said. “Oh, that’s a beautiful house.”
“It is,” Emma agreed.
“My boss’s daughter, Linda, and her grandchildren are staying just down the road from there,” Lila informed them. “They’re also here for the summer.”
Emma’s whole face lit up. “Are you talking about Sophia and Jake with their friend Toby?”
“You know them?” Lila’s brows rose in surprise.
“We met them this morning on the beach,” Emma explained. “We’re going to the first day of the festival with them tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s amazing,” Lila said, her smile widening. “You’ll have a great time at the festival. Especially if you’re going with Linda, Sophia, Jake, and Toby,”
“Wow,” Penny said with a sigh. “It’s really true what they say about small towns. We have been here just over a day, and we have already crossed paths with the same family twice in completely different places. That doesn’t happen in Miami.”
“It can take a little getting used to at first,” Lila said. “When I first moved here, I felt like the whole town knew my coffee order by the end of the first week. It was a bit much for me. But after a few months, I realized it wasn’t nosiness. It was care. People here look out for one another. You don’t get that in a big city.”
“No,” Penny said quietly. “No, you don’t.”
Something passed across her face. Lila had seen that look before on women who had been hurt and had landed somewhere new and were noticing the difference. Lila did not press. She finished arranging the last cupcake, tied a neat string of pale pink ribbon around the box, and set it on the counter.
“There you go. Six cupcakes and one sourdough.” Lila moved to the cash register. “Is that all?”
Before Penny could respond, the bell above the door chimed again.
This time, Tom walked in with Sophia, Jake, and Toby tumbling in behind him. Buddy was not with them, which meant they had come straight from the hospital after visiting George. Linda came through the door last, after being delayed by a passerby who asked about George.
“Emma!” Sophia squealed.
“Sophia!” Emma’s face lit up.
The two girls met in the middle of the bakery floor.
“What are you doing here?” Sophia asked.
“Getting cupcakes and sourdough bread,” Emma said, then turned to the woman who was at the counter. “Penny, this is Sophia. We were just talking about her and her grandmother.”
“That would be me,” Linda said, stepping up to her granddaughter. “Hi, I’m Linda.” She held out her hand to Penny, who took it and smiled.
“I’m Penny,” Penny greeted her, shaking her hand.
“Penny’s my Uncle Darius’s partner,” Emma told them.
Lila glanced at Linda when she noticed her stiffening slightly. Something flickered behind Linda’s eyes. The smile on her face stayed exactly where it was, but the warmth behind it had cooled by half a degree, and Lila saw it.
“Hello, Penny,” Linda said evenly. “It’s lovely to meet you. This is Sophia’s brother, Jake, and his friend Toby.” She turned and put a hand on Tom’s arm. “And this is my father, Tom.”
“Pleasure to meet you, all,” Penny said warmly.
“How are you finding Sweet Blossom Bay?” Tom asked her.
“Beautiful. We’re settling in nicely,” Penny answered Tom. “And trying to get used to how friendly everyone is here.”
Linda nodded, and her smile held, but Lila could feel something underneath it that did not match. She wondered, watching Linda carefully, what it was about Penny’s introduction that had landed in Linda’s chest the way it had.
