5
Ivy stepped inside Java Beach with Shelly and glanced around. The coffee shop was a vintage, mid-century beach throwback. Vintage Polynesian travel posters covered the walls, and fishnets filled with old oars and colorful buoys hung from the ceiling. Beach reggae music played in the background. This is where Ivy and Shelly met Mitch the first day they’d arrived in Summer Beach.
Over the past year, Mitch had expanded the outdoor seating area, which simply meant adding more beach loungers on the back of his sandy lot that looked out to the ocean. People liked to sip coffee with their toes in the sand and their gaze on the horizon. It was a beautiful way to start a day in Summer Beach.
“You just missed Mayor Bennett,” Darla called out, seated at a nearby table inside. Her short, royal-bl
