“We’re in Italy,” Sloane said. “He didn’t have to recommend that to me.”
“I say we walk around a bit and see a little of Positano before it gets too dark,” Charlotte said. “We can get some tiramisu later.”
“The tiramisu at Kasai is the best,” Lilly said, her voice barely audible.
“Back in Praiano?” Charlotte clarified, obviously attempting to draw her out.
She nodded. “The owner’s mother makes it.”
Lilly hadn’t spoken much at dinner, so Charlotte was surprised she’d volunteer this. “Do you think they’ll be open late?”
“If they’re busy.”
“They don’t have set hours?” Julian asked.
“Not in Italy,” she said. “But most restaurants stay open late now that it’s spring. You’ll see people eating at ten, eleven, even midnight.”
“Have you been anywhere else—other than the Amalfi Coast—since you arrived here?” Julian asked.
“Rome and Florence.”
“What about Lake Como?” Sloane asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know where that is.”
“Venice?” Julian ventured.
Another shake of her head.
“Maybe we should do some traveling while we’re here,” Charlotte suggested. “I think we can take public transit almost anywhere.”
Lilly said nothing, but Julian and Sloane agreed.
“Did you get some good pictures while Lilly and Charlotte were getting ready?” Sloane asked her brother.
“I didn’t bring my big camera with me today, didn’t want to mess with it. But I got a few nice shots with my iPhone.” He navigated to his albums to let them look, and Charlotte paused on a photograph he’d taken from a second-story window at the villa before leaving the house. She could see Lilly and her in the hot tub with the large red tiles of the deck and then the deep blue of the Mediterranean Sea spreading out beyond them. The white bougainvillea climbing on the house showed in the foreground, giving the picture depth and perspective.
“Youdohave an eye,” Charlotte told him. The picture he’d captured made everything look so perfect and serene. No one would be able to guess the roiling angst she’d been feeling at the time.
He smiled as he reclaimed his phone. “I’m glad we came.”
She could tell he was trying to encourage Lilly, to suggest she should be glad, too. But Lilly was so hard to reach. Charlotte thought she’d made some progress with her in the hot tub. But since then, her half sister had retreated behind the walls she’d built to keep the rest of the world at bay, making Charlotte wonder if she’d ever be able to bridge the gap between them.
chapter 13
“So how do you think it went with Lilly today?” Julian asked.
The villa had gone quiet except for the rhythmic pulse of the waves against the cliffs. It was late in Italy—almost one a.m.—but only midafternoon in California, so he, Charlotte and Sloane were still wide-awake. They sat around the dining table on the deck, where a lantern flickered, drawing moths that tapped faintly at the glass.
“Tough to say,” Charlotte said, her voice low.
They were keeping their voices down. Lilly had gone up to her room an hour ago, but it was possible she hadn’t fallen asleep and could hear the conversation.
A gust of wind nearly yanked away the umbrella that had provided shade earlier, so Julian got up and secured it. “Seems like a sweet girl.”
Charlotte sighed. “Sweetwasn’t the word the attorney used.”
“What didhesay?” Julian asked.
