Now it was quiet.
“You’re going to be okay,” Sloane murmured.
Charlotte sniffed as she gazed down at her phone, which was lying in her lap. “Julian’s not answering my calls or texts.”
“It’s too soon.” Somewhere on the street below, a scooter coughed to life. “He just found out that we know about his diagnosis,” she said.
“He shouldn’t have tried to keep it from us,” she grumbled.
Sloane had to agree, and yet she could understand why he would. “It makes him feel like he’s been robbed, that he’s no longer the man he once was. No one wants to feel like they’re damaged goods—bound to be a burden on all who love them.”
“So he keeps shoving us away?”
“I’ll talk to him. I’m his sister. He can’t shove me away, and he knows it.”
“He can’t shove me away, either,” Charlotte said defiantly. But then she added a much weaker “I hope.”
Lilly threaded her fingers through Charlotte’s. “Don’t cry. No matter what happens, you’ve got me.” She sent Sloane an apologetic glance before adding, “I love Sloane, and I love Steve and Old Blue. But you’re my sister, and families should stick together.”
It was such a sweet sentiment that Sloane couldn’t even be sad about her choice. She’d known it would probably go thatway—that if she’d changed her mind and wanted a child, she should have one. Now that Lilly had shown her that she might like to be a mother, she wasn’t nearly as frightened of the responsibility and the changes it would require. “I agree,” she told Lilly. “You twoshouldstick together. But I hope you know that you’re always welcome to visit me.”
A smile appeared on Lilly’s face as she nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Steve might be disappointed when he learns that he’s going to miss out, too,” Sloane teased.
“I’ve already told him,” Lilly responded.
This pulled Charlotte out of her misery. “You have?”
“I texted him late last night when I made my decision,” she explained.
“What’d he say?”
“He said that you’re a wonderful person, and he thinks I’m making the right choice. And he invited me to come visit.”
Finally, Charlotte seemed to recover some of her composure. Her hand curled more tightly around Lilly’s, and her voice went husky as she said, “I’m glad you chose me.”
Seeing the pleasure of Charlotte’s response register on Lilly’s face made the future even easier for Sloane to accept.
“Don’t worry,” Lilly said to Charlotte. “We’ll get Jules back—once he realizes he’s meant to be part of our family.”
Charlotte brought Lilly’s hand up and kissed her knuckles. “Love wins,” she said, sniffing through a laugh. “We’ll wear him down.”
chapter 29
Ben had met Lilly via FaceTime. He thought she was a sweet, beautiful young girl. Smart, too. He would’ve loved to have had her as a baby, because it would’ve enabled him to savor every stage of her life. But getting in halfway through was better than nothing. He was so eager to have a young person around, someone he could help and guide, someone who needed him. He knew there were people who didn’t agree. The same thing wasn’t right for everyone. But he felt his life would be missing something without the opportunity to devote himself to a little human being. And after beingsohopeful that he’d soon have a child in his home, the news Sloane had just delivered landed hard.
“She’s not coming?” he said. “But it was going to be perfect.”
“I’m sad, too,” Sloane said. “But you can’t really blame her. She has so little family. It’s understandable she’d cling to what she’s got. And Charlotte is wonderful.”
“I can’t argue with that. But Charlotte’s currently living with her parents, going through a divorce and trying to save her career. Is she really the best person to raise Lilly? Because thisseems to be hitting her at a really bad time.” Which was why they’d been about to step in. They were stable and ready.
Hewas ready, anyway, and he finally had Sloane on board. He didn’t see another opportunity like that—one they were both happy with—coming up again in the future.
“Charlotte’s capable of doing a great job, regardless of the headwinds she’s facing. You know her. She won’t allow Lilly to want for anything.”
“At what sacrifice?” Hadn’t that been Sloane’s argument from the beginning? Why was she so calm and accepting of this news? Because she didn’t truly care if Lilly came to live with them?
