Page 78 of Big Island Weddings
“Lani,” Emma called, “are you sure you don’t want to freeze one?”
“Ew!” Lani called back. Beside her, Tenn laughed. “No thanks!”
“Okay, then I guess this one’s for me.”
“No offense, Tara! It’s perfect! I just don’t want old cake in my freezer.”
Tara grinned. “No offense taken.”
She and Emma claimed a piece of shade and sat down to eat. The inside was chocolate, surrounded by coconut buttercream, and it was amazing.
“You could do this for a living,” Emma said.
“You’re the fourth person to tell me that today.”
“See?”
“Pass.”
“It’s so good, though.”
“I’ll make you a cake whenever, but there’s no way I’m doing weddings for a living. I’ll keep making my island-grown meals. Nobody cares what they look like, so it’s a lot less stress.”
“Makes sense.” Emma settled in to enjoy her slice… then froze when she saw Juniper and Cody walking down the beach hand in hand. The buttercream lodged in her throat, and she coughed.
“Are you okay?” Tara asked.
She made a sweeping gesture towards the teenagers. “Are they…together?”
Tara laughed. “You didn’t know?”
“I thought they were just friends!”
“They were. And now… maybe more.”
“I thought he had a crush on Liam’s daughter.”
“He’s moved past that, thank goodness. She only ever saw him as a brother, as far as I know. Which is good, since…”
“Since they might actually be brother and sister someday?”
“Maybe.” Tara wrinkled her nose and laughed. “That would have been a little weird.”
Emma looked back at the teenagers, far down the beach. “I had no idea.”
“He moped around for weeks after Maddie turned him down… and then Juniper moved in next door, and he perked right up.”
“I feel like an idiot. Just when I thought I was doing well with her.”
“Are you upset?” Tara asked.
“No. Well, a little. Not about Cody; I adore him. I just wish Juniper felt like she could tell me things. I felt like I’d made some progress with her.”
“It can be hard to talk about things that you’re still figuring out.”
“I guess so.”
Tara gave her a friendly nudge. “Juniper’s an amazing kid. You’re doing great.”
