asked. “I thought we were really great together.”
Why did he want to talk about their relationship now? Weren’t they past analyzing it?
Louisa watched the entrance of the restaurant with intensity, as if she could will her parents into existence. “We were great together until I realized you didn’t believe in me.”
He frowned. “That’s insane. I was your biggest fan. I still am.”
She shook her head slightly. “I’m going to go call my parents. They’re late.”
Eric lifted a hand to stop her from standing. “I’ll go. I just miss you, is all.”
Not even the hint of a flutter.
At that precise moment, Warren and JoEllen Chambers appeared in the doorway of the restaurant and rushed over to greet them.
“Oh, Eric, you’re here again.” Louisa’s mom swooned. “Do you ever stop working?” Then to Louisa: “He is such a hard worker, Louisa. Don’t you think?”
Louisa didn’t respond. Instead, she watched as her parents embraced Eric like he was their long-lost son. Did they remember she was sitting there and they’d yet to see her since they returned to the island? Some daughters might expect a hug. She knew better.
Her mom finally (finally!) sat down next to Louisa, but her dad still stood next to Eric as if they were old friends. They were talking about golf or some such nonsense, and Louisa was itching to run straight back home.
Why had she agreed to this lunch?
“Louisa, Eric has some great ideas on how to make your business legitimate,” her father said.
“I’m sorry?”
“A business manager might not be a bad idea.”
“He’s a hotel manager. Not a business manager.” Louisa’s stomach churned. Could she leave without appearing too rude? “And I think Alyssa and I are doing pretty well for ourselves.”
“Of course,” her dad said. “It’s just a thought.”
“I’ll leave you to your meal,” Eric said. He turned to Louisa. “Maybe we can get coffee sometime? Catch up?”
Louisa mumbled a response and Eric walked away.
“Such a nice young man, Louisa,” her mother said. “I still don’t understand why you ended things with him.”
“No, I don’t suppose you would,” Louisa said.
“I beg your pardon?”
Louisa inhaled. She didn’t need to have an argument with her mother. While she wished her parents—and Eric, for that matter—would view her as an adult, an intelligent adult who was perfectly capable of running her own business, they didn’t. The only way to change that was to act like an adult. And that meant not throwing a tantrum or lugging around her childish feelings.
“It was good to hear from you,” her mom said. “I wasn’t sure when we would get to see you—you’re always so busy.”
“You didn’t tell me you were back.”
Her mother draped her cloth napkin on her lap, then glanced up at Louisa. “Of course we did.”
“You actually didn’t.”
Her mother’s eyes moved upward as if she were searching a mental memory bank. “Hm. I could’ve sworn I told you.” She waved her perfectly manicured hand in the air. “Oh, well. How are things? How is your little business doing?”
“It’s not a little business, Mother.”
Her dad laughed. “Louisa, when are you going to come to your senses and go back to work at the hotel? Or here? Eric said he’d hire you back in a heartbeat.”
“You asked Eric if he’d give me a job?”
“It came up in conversation. Nobody understands what it is you have against him. Sounded like he’d be willing to give you another chance on the romance front too.” Dad smiled as if he’d just issued the best news ever.
Should she try to explain herself? Should she tell her parents that she didn’t want to be with someone who made her feel like her ideas were silly and frivolous? Should she tell them she didn’t like it that they sometimes made her feel that way too?
“Should we order?” Louisa asked.
They picked up their menus and looked them over in silence.
“I heard you ran into Cody.” Louisa didn’t look up from her menu.
Neither did her father. Her mother, on the other hand, slapped hers down on the table. “Cody Boggs?”
“Oh yeah,” her father said. “I saw him at a coffee shop. They were giving him a standing ovation for saving someone’s life.”
Cody hadn’t mentioned that part.
“He saved someone’s life?” Mom asked.
“Someone who wasn’t wearing a life jacket.” He punctuated his sentence with a knowing What have I always said? look.
Louisa lifted the menu a little higher. Cody had refrained from ratting her out. That made her heart squeeze a little. Gosh, she loved that man.
She closed her eyes behind her