“Emily?” she prodded.
“I don’t know if Boone loves living in Los Angeles as much as I do,” she admitted eventually.
Samantha had wondered when that issue was going to show up. “It’s still new to him.”
“But Sand Castle Bay is in his blood.”
“Has he said anything about coming back?”
“No, and I thought when he moved out there to open this restaurant, it would be okay.”
“Maybe it will be. Ask him what he’s feeling.”
“I’m half afraid to. What if he wants me to move back here, after all?”
“What if he does? What will you do?”
Emily sighed and regarded Samantha with a bleak expression. “I honestly have no idea.”
“Then, sweetie, you need to talk to him now, before this wedding.”
Emily shook her head. “No, absolutely not.”
“But—”
“No,” Emily repeated, then stood up. “We need to go back inside. I have some fence-mending to do.”
She took off for the house, leaving Samantha to stare after her, far more worried now than she’d been when she’d come outside.
* * *
On Sunday evening, Cora Jane looked around the backyard with satisfaction. With the help of Jerry, Gabi, Wade and Samantha, it had been turned into a showcase of tiny lights, huge pots of colorful summer flowers and tables laden with food and gifts for Emily’s bridal shower.
Samantha draped an arm around her shoulders. “You’ve outdone yourself, Grandmother.”
Cora Jane glanced up, blinking back unexpected tears. “I can’t believe the first of my girls is getting married in less than two weeks. I’ve waited for this for so long.” She gave Samantha a pointed look. “I thought you’d be the first, you know.”
“Just because I’m older?”
“No, because boys were flocking around from the time you hit your teens, and I know for a fact it was no different when you got to New York. Every time we spoke, you mentioned one man or another.”
Samantha shrugged. “None of them stuck. I want to find what Em has with Boone or what Gabi’s found with Wade. I guess the Castle women are all romantics at heart. We want the happily-ever-after. At least I was smart enough not to settle for less than that.”
Cora Jane nodded approvingly. “You know, I think your daddy always sold you short. He thought just because you wanted to be an actress, you were flighty or something, but your mama and I always knew better. You’ve got a good, level head on your shoulders. You know what’s important. And you’ll find the right man. There’s not a doubt in my mind.”
Samantha gave her a hug. “Thanks for your faith in me. As for Dad, he hasn’t exactly been attuned to any of us and the skills we possess.”
“No, he hasn’t,” Cora Jane said. “I do think he’s coming around, though.” She glanced across the lawn to where Sam was conferring with Jerry over the grill. “Look at him. Not only is he here, but he’s really trying to fit in.”
“How’d you pull that off, especially for a bridal shower on a Sunday night? Tomorrow’s a workday, after all. I can practically hear him making a million and one excuses for not coming.”
Cora Jane chuckled. “Probably double that, but I trumped ’em all. I told him to be here. That it was an order from his mother and I’d be disappointed in him if he didn’t show up for his daughter’s big evening.”
“Good for you. I know it means a lot to Em that he came. But aren’t he and Jerry going to feel like odd men out at a party crowded with women?”
“Oh, the party isn’t just for women,” Cora Jane said blithely. “Emily wouldn’t hear of that. There will be plenty of men around, too.”
She saw the quick rise of understanding in Samantha’s eyes and then the deepening of the color in her cheeks. “I imagine Ethan’s on this coed guest list,” she said stiffly.
“Of course,” Cora Jane responded. “The entire wedding party was invited.”
“Of course they were,” Samantha said, shaking her head. “You and Emily don’t give up, do you?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” Cora Jane insisted, trying out the innocent look she’d had years to practice, but still hadn’t exactly perfected. Judging from Samantha’s skeptical reaction, it wasn’t terribly effective this time, either.
“Do you have any idea how much you and Emily are humiliating me?” Samantha asked. “Ethan’s going to get the idea that I’m desperate or something.”
“Oh, honey bun, there’s no chance of that,” Cora Jane assured her. “Any man looking at you is only going to wonder why no one has had the sense to snap you up. You’re beautiful and, even more important, you have this huge heart. You’re smart and talented and quick-witted. Any man would be lucky to have a chance with you. And a smart man wouldn’t blow that chance.”
Samantha looked pained by the recitation of her attributes, but by the end she was grinning. “So you’re saying if Ethan doesn’t take you up on this golden opportunity you’re throwing his way, then he’s a dolt?”
Cora Jane chuckled. “Well, I might have put it a bit more diplomatically, but yes, that’s exactly what I’d conclude. Just so you know, though, I think Ethan is an awfully smart man. Now go inside and put on something pretty.”
Samantha looked down at her capris and the colorful matching blouse that even Cora Jane recognized as coming from a famed New York designer’s summer collection. She’d seen an ad for it in Vogue or one of those other fashion magazines that the girls had left lying around the house.
“Prettier than this?” Samantha inquired doubtfully.
“I’m thinking a sundress,” Cora Jane said. “One that shows a little cleavage.”
“Grandmother!”
Cora Jane wasn’t bothered by the dismay she heard in Samantha’s voice. She merely held her gaze. “Can you think of a better way to let a man know what he’s missing?”
This time Samantha groaned, but she turned and headed for the house. Of course, it was anybody’s guess if she’d come back wearing that sundress Cora Jane had recommended or something that covered her from head to toe. The girl did have a perverse streak that kicked in when she’d been pushed too far. Cora Jane realized that she might have tiptoed a little too close to that particular boundary, but she still had high hopes that the evening would end with one more breach in those walls of defenses those two young people had around their hearts.
5
“Would you get a move on?” Boone called out as he paced Ethan’s living room. “We’re going to be late. If we are, Emily will have a cow.”
“You could go on without me,” Ethan called back. “I’m perfectly capable of driving myself over to Cora Jane’s.”
“But the question is, will you?” Boone replied. “I’ve been getting the distinct sense that you’re not exactly getting with the program. One of my assignments for tonight is to make sure you show up and play nice.”
Ethan walked out of his bedroom, a scowl firmly in place. “If, by that, you mean that I haven’t tumbled straight into bed with the maid of honor, then you’re right. I’m not getting with the program. Has it occurred to any of you that Samantha is no happier about this matchmaking scheme than