Sunshine Reservations

Book 2: Sunshine Series

by Lilly Mirren

Genres: Family Life; Women's Fiction; Friendship

Synopsis

An old bed and breakfast by the beach and a restaurant that was burned to the ground, give Gwen an opportunity to start afresh after divorce.

Emily and Aaron are dating, and she’s finally figured out which direction to take her life. She’s studying at university for the first time, and she’s moved out of Joanna’s house and into a dorm room. But independence is harder than she imagined it would be.

Joanna learns that an empty house can lonely. But a friendly neighbour might be just what the doctor ordered, to help fight off the blues. And a new project will give her the boost she needs to keep moving forward. Then she welcomes an unexpected guest into her life who will shake everything up in the most delightful way.

Gwen is learning to cope with her marriage breakdown and the string of girlfriends her estranged husband brings into his life. She’s navigating their messy divorce while enjoying her new beachside lifestyle as a single woman. When she spies a rundown old inn for sale, attached to the restaurant that Joanna and her husband used to own, it gives her an idea.

Debbie is doing her best to bring more balance into her life, after decades of being a workaholic. She wants to heal her marriage, and she’s found that a part-time schedule with less stress, works best. That is until a disaster at the office throws more work than she can manage her way, and she finds herself back on the corporate hamster wheel instead of winding down towards retirement. If she’s not careful, the entire business, everything she’s spent her life building, may come crashing down around her.

The ladies wrote a cookbook, and now it’s published and is doing well, but the publisher seems intent on only highlighting Joanna’s contributions, which causes some tension between the friends. Can their decades together help them work through the conflict, or will they be torn apart over their fifteen minutes of fame?

 

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Release date: July 23, 2024

Publisher: Black Lab Press

Print pages: 201

Sample

CHAPTER 1

The sand was soft beneath her feet. Gwen Prince leaned forward into the afternoon wind, tucking her cardigan more tightly across her body and folding her arms to keep it in place. Her hair whipped around her head, obscuring her vision. Waves rolled to shore, crashing against the sand with a loud thunder. Clouds gathered on the horizon. The rain was coming, but it wouldn’t be here for a while. She had time to finish her walk and get back home.

Up ahead of her, a small black dog with a long, curly coat scampered across the sand.

“Don’t go too far, Ebony!” she called.

The dog paid her no attention. At four months old, Ebony was an adorable miniature labradoodle who’d been an impulsive addition to her family after the separation. She and Duncan sold the house where they’d raised their family together. It was too big for her to live in alone. Too much upkeep. Too full of memories. Too many empty rooms. So, they’d put it on the market, and it’d sold within weeks. It’d all happened so quickly that she hadn’t been ready for it. And then came the arduous task of packing up their belongings.

Duncan had chosen to move in with his much-younger girlfriend. Gwen had bought herself a condo by the beach with some of her share of the proceeds from the sale of the house. And then she’d purchased Ebony from a neighbour who’d come over to browse through Gwen’s garage sale and mentioned she was caring for a litter of pups who were about to be put up for sale. Gwen had traipsed over to her neighbour’s house to help her carry her purchases and had fallen in love with the little puff of black fur the moment she laid eyes on her.

Now, it was just the two of them living in the condo. Gwen’s four children were all adults and had places of their own. Duncan had moved on. And Gwen was left with her memories and a confusing array of paperwork and meetings with lawyers and accountants to prepare for their divorce. A separation which was proving to be far more convoluted and involved than she’d hoped it would be.

They’d been married for thirty-seven years. Longer than she was single. She didn’t know how to be single. It’d been easy when she was young. She’d finished high school, then dated Duncan and married him when she was twenty-three years old. They’d started having children right away. What followed was a blur of nappies, play groups, swimming lessons and homework for the next thirty years.

As a mother, she’d chosen to stay home and not have a job outside the home. It seemed like the logical thing to do—Duncan made good money. She’d trained as a dental assistant, but she had stopped working as soon as they were married. And she’d always been happy with that decision. More than happy with it. She’d given everything for her family. Her dreams, desires, ambitions, plans, even her hobbies… She’d gladly given them all up so she could focus on raising her children and being the best possible wife to her husband.

But now they were grown, and all four of the children seemed to think she was at their disposal. They were entitled, and spoiled, and expected her to care for their own children the way she had for them. They never considered that she might be a person with feelings and ambitions of her own. And when Duncan brought home a shirt smelling of another woman’s perfume, it’d turned her entire world upside down. She hadn’t seen it coming. She had thought they were solid. It was true that they didn’t spend a lot of time together and he’d been distracted when he was at home. But she thought that was normal—it was normal for him. She’d grown used to it. 

She’d realised the truth in the most uncomfortable way, and now they were separated. It was strange, after all these years, to be without him. He worked so often that she was accustomed to him not being at home during the day. But the nights were hard. He was gone. His side of the bed was empty. She still slept on the same side. She hadn’t managed to kick that habit yet and wasn’t sure she ever would.

A wave surged up the beach and caught her. She tiptoed through the cold water to higher ground, where the sand was still dry. The bottoms of her white pants were wet. But it was a summer afternoon and the heat of the day still clung to the beach, even with the heady wind buffeting her from the east. She hoped it wouldn’t blow Ebony away. The poor little dog was only four kilograms. She was so light that her back legs often lifted off the floor when she bent to eat. Gwen hoped she’d fill out a little bit as she got older. But she was a smart and pleasant dog and had already learned to come when called. Gwen always kept a little bag of doggie treats in her pocket for their beach walks.

She’d walked a long way, and when she looked at the dunes, she could see houses and restaurants backing onto the beach. There was a gap in between a large structure and a small restaurant. Ebony was digging in the dunes, so she hurried to put her dog back on the leash, then peeped over the fence to see what was beyond it.

The remnants of Joanna’s old restaurant were scattered amongst overgrown grasses and weeds. Beside it, a tall three-story building loomed, with beautiful old-fashioned trim and paint in desperate need of a refresh. There was a for sale sign in front of the building and in front of the empty block, and the sign said something about business district zoning.

She squinted to see if she could make out anything further, but she wasn’t wearing her glasses. There was a path beside the building, so she led Ebony along it, her footsteps squeaking in the sand. The large sign had a few lines of details. The property held a former bed-and-breakfast that’d closed down when the restaurant next door had burned to the ground ten years earlier. It had twelve bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms, a ballroom, dining room, sitting room, breakfast room and library. And it was for sale, either separately or together with the land beside it.

Gwen gazed up at the building in awe. It was a beautiful old structure with ornate finishes

that no modern building had. Big, too. Some of the images on the sign made it look positively regal inside. She’d always wanted to own and run a bed-and-breakfast, but it was too late for all of that. She was sixty years old and had never run a business. She should’ve done something like it years ago, but she’d chosen her path, and she couldn’t go back and change it now.

Was it too late, though? She was still in good health. And she had all this money sitting in the bank from the sale of their home. It’d been a big house and had sold for well above what she’d expected. Even after purchasing the condo, she had a lot left over, as well as other assets that were coming her way in the divorce. Maybe she should consider it.

A shiver of excitement made its way through her body. No, she couldn’t do that. Not on her own. She’d never done anything so big alone before. Duncan had always been the one to take the reins when it came to business or finance. She didn’t know anything about it.

Maybe Joanna could give her some advice. If she bought the two properties together, she could rebuild a restaurant on one and restore the bed-and-breakfast on the other. Two businesses run together. The restaurant could service the inn, and vice versa. It might work. And it would give her something to focus her time, energy and  resources on. The thought gave her a thrill.

 

CHAPTER 2

It was Emily Miller’s twenty-third birthday. She hadn’t told her roommate. Instead, she’d risen early to go for a run around the university campus. The morning air was cool, but she knew it wouldn’t be long before it heated up. She’d been living in the dormitory for four months now, having started there in July for second semester.

She ran down the footpath to the quadrangle and then out through the arches to the street beyond. Birds erupted into song as the sun edged its way up the sky. The colourful sunrise hung over the ocean, although she couldn’t see the water from where she was. She knew it was there—the scent of it hung in the air.

The idea of being a midwife had been sparked while she was working as the live-in carer for Joanna Gilston in the tiny hamlet of Sunshine on Bribie Island. But she hadn’t really believed she could do it—surely it was for people who were academic. She wasn’t particularly bookish, and there were prerequisites she hadn’t completed. She hadn’t studied a thing since high school, which had finished five years earlier.

It would be a difficult study program to undertake. But the university had allowed her to enrol in the prerequisite subjects this semester so she could begin her midwifery program in the new year. And so far, she was grateful to take this approach, given how much work was expected of her.

It’d already been harder than she’d been prepared for. The workload had been something of a shock those first few weeks. She was getting the hang of it now, although she still found it overwhelming at times. Thankfully, it was November, and the semester was almost over. Soon, she’d be able to take a break over the summer before her coursework started in earnest.

She finished up her five kilometres and then returned to the dorm. Taking the stairs three at a time, she was puffing hard when she reached the door to their shared room. She opened the door and was greeted by a group of girls wearing party hats. Several of them shot streamers at her, which made her jump.

“Surprise!”

“Happy birthday!”

She laughed. “Thank you. You guys are crazy!”

There was cake, even though it was far too early for that much sugar, in Emily’s opinion. But the girls in the dorm ranged in age from seventeen to twenty-one, and they still thought cake with a thick layer of buttercream frosting was a valid breakfast option. And today, she was happy to join them.

A knock at the door interrupted the festivities. Emily opened it to find Aaron standing on the threshold with a bunch of flowers in one hand and a gift in the other. He smiled at her, and her breath caught in her throat. He was still the most handsome man she’d ever known.

She flew into his arms, and he laughed as he tried not to drop the flowers or gift. He came into the dorm room to shouts of welcome from the girls who were there. They’d turned up the volume on some music, and a few of them were dancing. Someone shot streamers over the couple.

She sat on a chair to open the gift. It was a leather shoulder bag she’d spied when they were shopping a few weeks earlier but hadn’t wanted to spend the money on.

“Oh, I love it!” she said as she leaned in to kiss him on the lips.

“I’m glad,” he said. “I thought it might help you carry everything to class.”

“It definitely will. It’s so beautiful, though. I hate to get it dirty.”

“That’s

what it’s for,” he replied.

She added the flowers to a vase with water. By that time, most of the girls had left for their first class of the morning. Her roommate, Madison Paxton, filled her own bag with books.

“I hope you have a good day, birthday girl,” she said.

“Thanks, Madi. I’m sure it’ll be fine, although I’m not looking forward to my bio class, since we have a test.”

“You’ll ace it, I’m certain. Bye. See you later, Aaron.” She grinned as she ducked through the doorway.

Emily turned to Aaron and nestled against his chest. He wound his arms around her. “Alone at last.”

She groaned. “I’m sorry, but I have to go as well. I’ve got a full schedule today. I’ll be late if I don’t get moving.”

He grunted. “Of course you do. And I’ve got to get to work. I hate this. We never see each other anymore.”

“Now that we’re not living in the same house, you mean?” She curled her hands around his neck and gazed into his eyes.

“Yes, it’s the worst. I loved that I could see you every day.”

“Even if you couldn’t kiss me?”

He laughed. “The anticipation was half the fun.”

“Well, I’m sorry I have to go. I’d much rather stay here with you. And if I didn’t have that quiz, I would.”

“I don’t want you to miss any of your classes. I know how hard it’s been to get back into the swing of studying.”

“Yes, and I want to get good results. I’m determined to be a better student than I was in high school.”

“I think you’re already better,” he replied. “I remember you used to ditch class a lot.”

“Me? I think you’re confusing the two of us,” she replied with mock indignation.

“Oh, that’s right. It was me. Not you,” he said with a laugh.

She kissed him again and felt the familiar rush of passion climb up her body. Then she reluctantly let go and hurried to pack her new shoulder bag.

“I’m so excited to give up the backpack. I’ll look so much more professional with this,” she said.

He smiled. “You look very professional, and sexy.”

She laughed. “Will I see you again soon?”

He kissed her. “Don’t make any plans for dinner tonight.”

“Where are we going?”

He grinned. “It’s a surprise.”

“How should I dress?”

“In something you don’t mind getting sand on.”

“We’re going to the beach?”

“Our favourite spot,” he replied as he opened the door to her room then blew her a kiss.

“Bye,” she called after him.

 

CHAPTER 3

The lights in Joanna Gilston’s face were so bright, she couldn’t really see what was right in front of her. She cleared her throat and tented a hand over her eyes.

“Too bright?” the journalist asked. Amy Farrell from Channel Seven News rested a hand on Joanna’s arm. “Don’t worry. They’ll fix it in a moment.”

The lights dimmed, and Joanna blinked. There was still a bright circle in the middle of her vision. She looked at Amy. The journalist flicked through a thin sheaf of papers in her lap. She wet a finger with her tongue and kept flicking. She had long, wavy blonde hair, blue eyes and the most perfect nose. She looked like a television newscaster’s dream.

“Now, I’m going to introduce the segment, and then I’ll do an interview with you,” she said. “Don’t be nervous—it’s very casual. We’re going to have fun. Okay?”

“Okay, sure,” Joanna replied.

She’d done interviews before, ...