Charlotte frowned as she shook her head.
“You and Jules have been hooking up? For how long?”
“As soon as I realized I wasn’t going back to Cliff.”
Sloane gave her head a small shake. “So... what does that mean?”
“It means I’m in love with him, Sloane. It means that weneed to forget about whatever’s going on in our own lives and be there for him.”
“Of course!” she said. “I’d do anything for him!”
Another tear slid down Charlotte’s cheek. “He’s not going to like that we know.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t tell him. Maybe we should pretend we don’t know and let him break the news when he’s ready.”
“And when will that be? Knowing Julian, he’ll just keep putting it off, thinking he can deal with it on his own. I say we have that conversation now, while we’re all here together and still have some concentrated time with him.”
“But that could turn into something big and... and disruptive. What about your book?”
She’d believed Megan would get back to her immediately. The fact that she hadn’t didn’t bode well. It meant she was unsure enough about what she’d read to ask her boss to take a look. “Forget about my book. Whatever happens with it happens. I want to be available to Julian when he needs me most.”
Sloane rested her head on Charlotte’s knees. “This sucks.”
“We’ll get through it,” Charlotte said. “We’ll get through it together.”
After a moment or two, Sloane lifted her head. “Are you really in love with my brother?”
“Does it surprise you that much?”
She thought about it for a moment. Then she said, “No. He’s twice the man Cliff is.”
Charlotte was about to agree—not to be mean; it was simply the truth—when she heard someone call her name. She could’ve sworn it was Cliff, but the timing of Sloane’s mention seemed like too much of a coincidence for that to be true.
He shouted her name twice more before the buzzer rasped. It reallywasCliff.
“Holy shit.” Her stomach dropped; the sunrise suddenlylooked stupidly cheerful. The playoffs had ended in defeat, which meant there was no longer anything keeping him in the States, and although he’d once threatened to come to Italy, she’d never believed he’d really do it!
Julian couldn’t stop glaring at Cliff from where he sat directly across from him, partly because Cliff was glaring back. Cliff had traveled for so long and had such a rough flight—delays and bad food—that Charlotte had let him in to meet Lilly and have breakfast. But he must’ve upset Charlotte when he first got here because her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and Sloane was acting odd, too. Julian was so defensive it was almost impossible to tolerate the other man’s presence. He felt none of the hero worship such a big NBA star was probably used to commanding; Julian wanted to throw the bastard out of the villa.
Lilly seemed skeptical of Cliff, too. She kept watching him from under her eyelashes as if he couldn’t be trusted. Maybe she’d heard the exchange that’d made Charlotte cry. Julian had been sleeping so deeply he’d missed it. He’d had no idea they even had a visitor until he’d gotten up, showered and made his way downstairs. He’d been worried about the things Charlotte had said to him last night, the confidence with which she’d claimed they were going to get married—until this new threat stole his attention.
“Nice place. It’s good to see you’re spending my money wisely.” Cliff was obviously joking, but what he’d said wasn’t funny. Instead of a laugh, his comment earned him a narrowed glance from Sloane, who’d never liked him to begin with. Even Lilly grimaced.
“Well, since you kicked me out so unceremoniously, I felt it was the least you could do.” Charlotte spoke with a smile, as if she was only joking, too, but she’d put him in his place firmlyenough that Julian didn’t feelhehad to do it. That kept the delicate balance they had going at the moment.
“Jules and I are paying our way,” Sloane piped up, drilling Cliff with a laser-like gaze. “We’re not taking anything from you.”
“I’d pay, too, if I could,” Lilly said, her voice small but steady.
“No one expects you to pay for anything, Lilly,” Charlotte said. “You’re a child. Please don’t feel bad about that.”
Lilly’s attention returned to Cliff, who was looking back at her over the rim of his cup.
“Sorry about your mom,” he said as he put down his coffee. “But from what I hear, maybe you’re better off.”
“Cliff!” Charlotte exclaimed.
“I’m just saying!” He spread out his hands. “Doesn’t sound like she was much of a mother.”
