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solemn mood.
    The only people present were a marriage officiant, some hotel staff who were still finishing with the setup, and the four of us — me, Mom, Mia and Michael. The four Ms.
    The staff had laid down a soft carpet runner midway down the deck, and I followed it with my eyes to see that it led to an arch covered in vines and flowers. Beyond that, the deep blue ocean stretched out to the horizon, which was lit up with purple, red and pink as the sun began to set.
    For a tiny wedding, they were sure as hell making it a beautiful one.
    Mom was standing under the arch with Michael, and she was staring up at him with a lovesick expression which made me cringe internally. She’d looked exactly like that when she’d introduced me to that asshole Vince.
    A sea breeze blew past me as I headed up to the end of the carpet, but it wasn’t the cool wind that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I turned my head over my shoulder to see Mia in a purple dress, giving me the stink-eye from the other side of the deck.
    “You’re meant to stand over here with me,” she said as she realized I’d caught her staring.
    “Okay.”
    I headed over to her and flashed her a smile, hoping the pretty flowers and beachfront venue had at least put her in somewhat of a better mood.
    “Nice night for a wedding, huh?”
    She pouted her lips like an unimpressed catfish. “If you say so.”
    Okay, then. She clearly wasn’t happy about speaking to me. At all. Or maybe it was the wedding she wasn’t happy about?
    Mom and Michael were only yards away, still holding hands and staring at each other, and the staff finally left us all to it.
    I barely heard the officiant speak. My mind was too focused on Mia and all the regrets I had about the events of our swim session last night. She was standing quite close to me, and her sweet jasmine-scented perfume filled my head as I watched our parents take their vows. I knew she didn’t like me, but it was damn hard to stop myself from wanting to tear that dress right off her.
    The ceremony was over before I knew it. That was it. Our parents were married, and our families were joined as one.
    The staff had set up a small white marquee down on the sand with a little table and chair set. A royal-icing covered cake sat in the center of the table, and a hint of a smile turned up the corners of my lips as I watched a grinning Michael feed a slice to Mom under the outdoor lamp that lit the area around the marquee. Maybe he was a decent guy after all. It seemed like such a minor thing, but feeding another person cake just seemed so tender and intimate. My last stepdad Vince had never done anything like that, even at my Mom’s wedding to him all those years ago.
    I suppose only time would tell where Michael stood.
    Strains of music from the deck reached us on the beach, and I took a seat on one of the chairs and watched as Mom and Michael embraced before slipping off their shoes and dancing in each other’s arms. Mia had just finished a piece of cake, and she came and sat down a second later as well.
    As she watched our parents dance barefoot on the sand, I detected a hint of melancholy in her expression. Something was bothering her. In fact, I’d noticed it yesterday in the pool as well. Even when she was smiling — and believe me, she had a megawatt smile which could light an entire auditorium — there was still something sad in her eyes. Something she obviously tried her best to hide behind that dazzling white smile, but couldn’t help letting it seep through occasionally.
    I wondered what could have made her that way. Something to do with her mother, perhaps? I was still fuzzy on the details of that. Had her Mom split the same way my bio Dad did? Had she been an emotionally abusive parent like Vince?
    My face softened as I thought about it, and I sat down next to her. “Wanna drink?”
    “No, thank you,” she said.
    “You sure? They make a mean Long Island Iced Tea up at the bar.”
    “You