31
“THANK YOU ALL for coming,” Ivy said as she gazed across the converted ballroom, which comfortably held the crowd that had gathered. Feeling confident, she raised her glass, taking care not to catch Bennett’s strangely intense gaze.
Instead, Ivy looked at her mother, who had a proud smile on her face. “Here’s to a new chapter of Amelia Erickson’s Las Brisas del Mar, which we now call the Seabreeze house. A place for gathering and relaxing on the shores of Summer Beach.”
“Here, here,” Nan said as she began clapping. Arthur joined in, as did many other people.
When the applause subsided, Ivy went on. “Speaking of Seabreeze, we’re hoping for a cool breeze right now, in fact.”
A chuckle rippled across the crowd. “An early summer,” someone called out.
Ivy fanned herself. “And please we
