As Ivy languished on their new open-air balcony with Bennett, the palm fronds swished in the ocean breeze. Raucous laughter and off-key singing punctuated the balmy evening air. Those were the usual sounds from happy summer crowds. Living at the inn, Ivy had grown accustomed to that, though tonight’s party was louder than most.
The sorority sisters had been there several days. “It’s going to be awfully quiet when they leave,” Ivy said.
Bennett grinned as he scooped their dessert from the electric ice cream maker, the latest addition to their treehouse. “Sounds like they’re having a good time by the pool.”
“They’ve spent the day at the beach and had dinner in town,” Ivy said. “They’ll probably wind down soon.”
The group had taken over most of the inn, so Ivy wasn’t concerned about them bothering others. Their long-term guest, Gilda, usually wrote at night with headphones.
Bennett handed her a bowl. “This chocolate chunk recipe is excellent. Next time, let’s try it with pistachios, too.”
Ivy took a bite. “Mmm, it is good. You spoil me.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Bennett dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ll take an extra-long walk in the morning.” She was glad Bennett loved her just the way she was. She might not have a bikini body anymore, but she felt good for her age. And she got to enjoy dessert.
But no more starving herself to please her former in-laws. Jeremy’s mother still fit into the tiny Christian Dior suits she’d bought for her honeymoon decades ago, and she’d expected the same from Ivy. While Ivy had admired her mother-in-law’s dedication to near starvation, after having two children, she couldn’t be bothered to maintain a handspan waist anymore. There were more important things in her life.
Like cheesecake and tiramisu.
Outside, the singing grew louder, and a loud splash sounded. Ivy grinned between bites. “I think we’re in for a long night.”
She had grown accustomed to that, as had Poppy. They usually rose early to prepare breakfast. Sunny was out with friends tonight, and she probably wouldn’t be back until later. Paige had confided to her that she could sleep through almost anything once she removed the discreet hearing aid she wore.
“It doesn’t happen often. And they’re having a great time.” Bennett returned with a small bowl of ice cream and sat beside her, stretching his long legs on the coffee table.
“That ice cream maker was the best idea ever,” she said, savoring every bite of the rich, creamy treat with dark chocolate chunks. “I remember when my brothers and sisters used to take turns with a crank on an old wooden tub filled with rock salt and ice.”
Bennett chuckled. “My sister and I did the same. It was old-school, but that was half the fun.”
“Maybe with those muscles,” she said, playfully squeezing his arm. “I was sore for days. It was worth it, though. There’s nothing like ice cream at the beach on a hot summer day.”
“I should mention that to Mitch,” Bennett said thoughtfully. “Maybe he could add home-churned ice cream to the menu.”
“If he made an amazing coffee ice cream, he’d have a line out the door. Any flavor, actually.”
As they were talking, a scream suddenly split the night.
Ivy jumped, startled. Immediately, her old lifeguard training kicked in. “I have to see what happened. Someone might need help.”
Bennett swallowed his last bite. “I’ll get my first aid kit.”
As a volunteer firefighter, Bennett was also trained as a first responder. They headed for the door. She flung open the front door and tore down the stairs, her bare feet slapping on the wooden steps. As she did, she looked out over the pool to see what was happening.
Her jaw dropped. A stranger—a woman not much older than she was—wearing a leopard-print jacket, a turban, and reams of gold necklaces stood by the pool looking aghast as the sorority sisters pulled Beth from the water.
Ivy gasped. Fortunately, she looked conscious and was moving, but that wasn’t why Ivy hesitated.
Damp swimsuits were flung around the pool. The women had been skinny dipping.
“Hold up,” Ivy said, pressing a hand against Bennett’s chest. “I’m not sure you should go down there.”
“If someone is hurt…” His voice trailed off. “Oh. Well, I see what you mean.”
Ivy passed a hand over her forehead. Surreal or absurd, or just women letting loose, she couldn’t decide which it was. Not that it bothered her, but she wasn’t sure about Bennett.
And who was that woman in the turban? She was definitely out of place.
“I’ll take care of this,” Ivy said.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen an unclothed woman.”
“But all of them at once?”
“They can get towels. Beth might need help.”
He was right. “Let’s go.” She hurried down the stairs. “Coming through,” she called out as she approached the throng of women.
“Excuse me,” the strange visitor said, looking perturbed.
“I’ll be with you in a minute.” Ivy pressed her lips together. Whoever had the nerve to interrupt her right now could just wait.
The women parted, and as they saw Bennett, a couple of them screamed while others dove for towels. A few seemed oblivious. Lining the pool were champagne bottles and glasses, which explained a lot.
Pushing dripping strands from her face, Emma knelt beside Beth and frowned. “She hit her head on the edge of the pool.” She gestured toward the strange visitor. “That woman surprised Beth, and she stumbled at the edge and fell. She slipped under the surface before I could reach her.”
“Well,” the other woman huffed. “It wasn’t my fault. The front door is locked. Whoever is supposed to be tending the front desk should be fired.”
Ivy held up a hand to the woman. This was the last thing she needed right now.
“Beth almost drowned,” another woman exclaimed. “Emma saved her life.”
“Let’s have a look at you,” Ivy said to Beth. She smoothed a hand over the woman’s scalp and felt a lump forming, but there was no laceration. “How are you feeling?”
Beth pressed a hand against her forehead. “I feel a monster of a headache coming on,” she said, slightly slurring her words.
Ivy chewed her lip. Alcohol and a head injury—not a good combination.
Behind her, Bennett draped a towel over Beth’s bare shoulders and handed one to Emma, who suddenly realized he was there.
“Oh, thanks,” Emma said, a little embarrassed. “We were just having some fun. Is she going to be okay?”
“Most likely.” Bennett opened his bag. “Has she been drinking?”
Nodding, Emma gestured toward the empty bottles. “But Beth started earlier than most of us.”
Concerned for their guest, Ivy held up her index finger. “Follow my finger,” she said as she moved it from side to side.
“Slow down,” Beth said, wavering a little.
At least she was communicating, Ivy thought as Bennett took her blood pressure. But Beth’s gaze was unfocused, whether, from alcohol or injury, Ivy couldn’t tell, but they couldn’t take a chance. She leaned in toward her. “You hit your head quite hard, so you should be checked out more thoroughly. We can call an ambulance to take you to our local hospital.”
“On it,” Poppy said behind them. “I wasn’t really sleeping anyway.” She was wearing a cotton robe hastily tied around her waist. As she pressed the phone to her ear with one hand, she handed out towels from a stack on a chaise lounge with the other.
The new woman threw up her hands. “Am I invisible? I’m here to check in, and instead, I have to vie for attention with this bacchanalian revelry.”
“Ma’am—” Ivy began. This evening was going sideways fast, and she didn’t need whoever this person was hovering over her.
“A low-class group of hussies,” the woman finished, glaring at the others around her.
“Wowzer,” one of the sorority sisters called out. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called a hussy. We’ve still got it, girls! Who wants more champagne?”
Bennett drew a hand over his mouth, and Ivy could see he was trying to keep a straight face as he knelt beside Beth.
Fortunately, Beth was laughing, too.
Ivy glanced back at Poppy, grateful for her niece’s help. With Bennett tending to Beth, she looked up at the older woman. With her chic outfit and layers of jewelry, she resembled Coco Chanel in her later years. But she looked completely out of place in Summer Beach.
Ivy didn’t have time to deal with this woman. “I’m sorry, but the inn is full tonight. Did you reserve a room?” She hoped they hadn’t taken a reservation by mistake.
The woman drew herself up and gave Ivy an imperious glare. “I shouldn’t need one.”
Again with the attitude, Ivy thought. Striving to remain cordial, she said, “The Seal Cove Inn might have a room. We can call a taxi for you if you don’t have transportation.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open in shock.
Ivy ignored her. Thankfully, they didn’t get many guests like that. Ms. Fancy Entitlement would have to wait while they tended to Beth.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Beth said, clutching her head. “Tell your niece to hang up the phone.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Ivy said patiently. “You could have a serious brain injury. You’re a smart woman, and you wouldn’t want to ignore that.”
Emma leaned in. “If I wake up and find you dead in your bed tomorrow morning, I swear I’ll never forgive you. Neither will that sassy mother of yours—or any of us.”
Beth pulled the towel tighter around her shoulders. “Okay, I’ll go,” she said grudgingly.
Ivy nodded at Poppy, who spoke quickly into the phone.
“I’ll wait,” the entitled woman announced. She flounced to a chair and plopped down. “And would someone turn down that annoying music?”
Bennett jerked his head in Ms. Entitlement’s direction. “Want me to deal with that woman?”
“I need you to stay here with Beth.” Ivy scanned their guest’s face, afraid that she might have really injured herself. She needed Bennett here with her, not off tending to some high-maintenance woman they didn’t have room for anyway. Ms. Entitlement could wait.
With any luck, she’d leave.
Ivy continued talking to Beth to keep her engaged. Within a few minutes, an ambulance arrived, and a pair of emergency medical technicians hurried toward them.
“Hi, Noah,” Ivy said, recognizing the young man who’d looked after Piper, another one of their guests, a few months ago.
Noah greeted her and Bennett. “What’s going on here?”
Bennett filled him in while Ivy helped Beth with a towel. Noah and his partner examined her injury before helping her into the ambulance.
Beth turned around. “Where’s Emma? I need her.”
“I’m coming,” Emma said, looking determined.
Beth reached for her friend’s hand. “I’m so, so sorry for anything I might have said to you. I haven’t been acting very nice, have I?”
“Forget it,” Emma said. “We’re sisters, remember?”
Beth hooked her little finger with Emma’s and smiled. “Forever. And you know what? My brother wasn’t good enough for you.”
Off to one side, Ms. Entitlement gave a loud huff. “Imagine. Grown women, acting like children.” She pulled out her phone.
Ivy hoped she was calling the Summer Beach taxi service.
Noah’s partner tended to Beth, and he walked around the vehicle to talk to Bennett and Ivy. “Good to see you both. Come see the park when you can. Piper is doing an amazing job.”
“You bet,” Bennett said, shaking his hand. “And take good care of your passengers here.”
“Always,” Noah said before climbing into the driver’s seat.
As the ambulance turned into the night, the women around the pool began to disperse, picking up their clothes on their way.
Ivy, Bennett, and Poppy were left by the pool.
“That was quite a party,” Ivy said. “I wouldn’t have expected that from the prim and proper ones.”
“They’re the ones you have to look out for,” Poppy said.
Crossing her arms, Ivy said, “No, that would be Ms. Entitlement over there. I should deal with her. As soon as she gets off the phone, that is.” The woman was gesturing in anger, and whoever was on the other end of the line was getting an earful. Ivy felt sorry for whoever she was talking to.
Bennett brought a garbage bin to the patio. “I’ll take care of the rest of this.”
“Thanks,” Ivy said. “I don’t think they’ll be up very early for breakfast. Poppy, you can sleep in.”
Ivy stifled a yawn. “Yet another night to remember. Shelly will be sorry she missed this.”
Bennett chuckled. “I can just imagine her reaction.”
As Ivy picked up a forgotten swimsuit top and draped it over a chair arm for its owner to find later, she laughed along with him. “Never a dull moment at the Seabreeze Inn.”
She only hoped that Beth was okay. They’d never lost a guest, and she didn’t want to start now.
When Ms. Entitlement put her phone down, Ivy strode across the patio toward her.
“Thank you for your patience,” Ivy said. “Now, I can call the Seal Cove Inn for you to see if they have a room for you.”
The woman stood abruptly. “That won’t be necessary. I called my aunt, whose daughter owns this establishment, and I told her about this travesty. She’s calling her daughter right now. And I’ll wager that you, miss, are about to be fired.” She gave Ivy a dismissive wave. “You should pack your things.”
Through the open door of their apartment upstairs, Ivy heard her phone ring. Her heart sank, and she blinked at the woman. “Are you my cousin Diana?”
“And you are?”
“We spoke on the phone a few days ago. I’m Ivy.” And we’re off to a blazing start, she thought.