“That would be wonderful,” Penny responded before moving on down the hall.
Her mother seemed more excited about this dinner than she did, but at least Penny had been feeling better. She claimed that having Lilly around helped keep her mind off her aches and pains.
Don and Penny had already taken Lilly to Disneyland twice,once while Charlotte was visiting her birth father in San Diego. They’d purchased a season pass, so Charlotte knew she’d be going quite often, too, now that her book was done.
“Charlotte?” Lilly knocked on the bathroom door, which already stood partway open.
“Come on in,” Charlotte told her.
Lilly came in and sat on the closed lid of the toilet. “Do you think you could put a little makeup on me?”
Charlotte considered her younger sister’s beautiful, earnest face. “I remember asking at your age, too. I guess I don’t see anything wrong with letting you wear a little blush and lip gloss, like you sometimes did in Italy. How about that? You can wear eye shadow and the rest once you turn thirteen.”
“Okay,” Lilly said, and Charlotte tilted her face up while using a makeup brush on her soft cheeks.
“Are you looking forward to dinner?” Lilly asked when Charlotte went back to her own face.
Like Penny, Lilly seemed to beveryexcited about tonight, which was a bit strange. Fleming’s was a nice place. But Charlotte wasn’t sure any dinner warranted as much anticipation as the rest of her family seemed to be feeling.
“I am,” she replied absently since she was trying to put on mascara.
“I think you’re going to like it,” Lilly said.
Charlotte lowered the mascara applicator. “Why?”
Looking a little startled, Lilly shifted her gaze to the tile floor. “The food’s good, isn’t it?”
“It is, but this isn’t like Disneyland, Lil. It’s just... food.”
“I know. I’m happy you finished your book—that’s all.”
“So am I,” Charlotte said and felt a smile creep over her face. She was relieved, but the full sense of accomplishment hadn’t hit her quite yet. She supposed that would come later, after she’d had a chance to recover and had heard from Megan.
“We’re leaving in fifteen minutes!” Don called from downstairs. “Can’t be late or we’ll miss our reservation!”
Lilly jumped to her feet. “I’d better go put on my dress.”
“You’re wearing a dress, too?” Charlotte asked.
“Yeah. I want to look nice,” she replied as she hurried out.
Apparently, her parents had Lilly believing that tonight was going to be something special. Charlotte couldn’t imagine why—until they arrived at the restaurant.
Julian paced back and forth in the private room he’d requested at the restaurant. He was wearing slacks, loafers and a golf shirt—nothing too heavy—and yet sweat dampened his collar.
That was nerves, he realized. He was terrified to put his heart on the line. And yet... that was exactly what Charlotte deserved. He wanted her; he just didn’t want her to accept him back into her life out of pity or obligation.
Would he know the difference?
He hoped so.
He heard voices—one he recognized as Lilly’s—and stiffened, his heart in his throat. His future happiness hung in the balance...
The others let Charlotte enter the room first. The moment she saw him, she stopped abruptly before gathering herself enough to say, “Jules.”
He came toward her, but stopped a few feet away. He didn’t want to crowd her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I...I don’t know what else to tell you, except I love you. That’s why I was trying to live without you. But...” He wanted to say his life was empty without her. Except he couldn’t. He was afraid that kind of statement would only guilt her into responding the way he hoped, and he desperately needed her to accept him for no other reason than that she loved him, too.
“But...?” she prompted.
