“You don’t look happy,” he said.
She didn’t bother denying it. “I’m not.”
“Is it the old problem or the new one that’s bugging you?”
“Both. I’m a multitasker when it comes to worrying.”
“Try to relax. We’ve got an entire month to figure it all out.”
She nodded and handed him the foil-covered meal the airline had delivered while he was sleeping. “I saved this for you.”
He tried to give the roll that’d come with the meal back to her. “At least have this.”
She shook her head. “Jules, what would you do if you were me?”
“I’d tell Cliff he doesn’t deserve me,” he said with a grin.
She rolled her eyes. “I know how you feel about Cliff. I’m asking about Lilly. What if you found out you had a half sister somewhere, and she needed you to take guardianship—at our age?” He and Sloane were only six months older than she was. “Would you do it?”
“To be honest? I don’t know. I’m glad I’m not in your situation.” He started eating. “On the other hand, finding out about Lilly and having her in your life could be one of the best things ever to happen to you. We just don’t know yet.”
One of the best things ever to happen to her? Charlotte certainly hoped that would be true—that they’d be the best thingto ever happen to each other—but depending on how “difficult” Lilly was, reality could present her with the exact opposite.
Sloane was exhausted after her flight and the long wait at Naples airport. Although it was exciting to hear a foreign language spoken all around her, especially one as beautiful as Italian, she’d received so many messages from Rory while she was on the plane she was beginning to wonder if coming had been a mistake. Although she’d gone over everything with him before she left, he couldn’t find this swatch or that plan, needed her to send him certain design files and had questions on various jobs. He’d also received a call from one of her clients asking for a remodel of a guesthouse.
Sloane hadn’t counted on that deal coming through until fall. She wanted to handle it herself, but he was doing her such a big favor she’d replied that he could take it.
Bottom line: what had sounded perfect at first—a carefree month on the Amalfi Coast—wasn’t turning out to be quite so carefree. She was worried about her business; Rory seemed at a loss without her. And she was worried about her marriage, for the opposite reason. Ben seemed almosttoookay with her leaving.
Her phone buzzed with a text from her husband.
Did you arrive safely?
While she was on the plane, he’d been looking up things she could do in Praiano and found a hike to a convent that was built in 1399 but was no longer in use. Ben said she should see it and take a trail called Path of the Gods that continued up the mountain from there. According to what he’d found, the scenery was spectacular—hence the name—and after seven miles or so she’darrive in Positano, which was arguably the most popular town on the Amalfi Coast.
It’s three a.m. on the West Coast. How are you going to get up for work?she wrote back.
I’ll manage.
You need to sleep.
Tried and couldn’t.
Sloane felt bad for him, but was actually glad to have a distraction. With Charlotte and Julian’s plane still an hour or more out, she wasn’t only tired; she was bored.
Sorry to hear that.
What are you going to do while you wait?
I don’t know. I admit, leaving you & the business for a month sounded better before I did it.??
You’re probably just jet-lagged. Don’t worry about anything. We’ll both be waiting for you when you get back.
She wasn’t completely confident either her marriage or her business would survive, but she wasn’t about to say that.
I’m going to be so behind! I feel bad imposing on Rory. And I’m afraid I’ll lose all my own clients by the time I get back.
You won’t lose anything. You’ll cover for him when he wants a vacation. As long as you’re willing to return the favor, everything should be fine.
