Lilly seemed emboldened by the conversation. She certainly hadn’t asked anything about Sloane before. “So you don’t live close to Charlotte?”
“No. We both lived in the LA area while we were growing up, but when I married my husband, I moved with him to Seattle because he had a good job offer there, and we had a lot of student debt to pay off,” she added with a laugh.
Charlotte’s phone went off. She twisted around and, being careful not to drip water on the device, checked to see who was calling her. Then she silenced her ringer and put the phone down again.
“Was that your folks?” Sloane guessed as Charlotte settled back in the water.
Charlotte nodded.
“You’re not going to take it?”
Julian could hear the worry in his sister’s voice.
Charlotte’s response was subdued. “I’ll call them back later—or maybe tomorrow.”
Julian noted Sloane’s expression when she glanced over athim. She was concerned. Charlotte had always had such a good relationship with her parents; neither one of them wanted to see that put in jeopardy.
But Charlotte didn’t allow any more conversation on the subject. Reaching back, she grabbed her phone again. “Here, let’s take a picture of the four of us,” she said. “Julian, will you get in?”
“I’ll be the one to take it,” he offered.
“Are you sure?” she said. “I’d rather have you in it.”
He was wearing his swim trunks, so it wasn’t any bother. He pulled off his T-shirt, tossed it aside and climbed in to pose with them.
Initially, he sat next to his sister. In his mind, it was better to avoid getting too close to Charlotte. But Charlotte had him come over next to her. His arm was the longest, so he’d get the best angle—and she wanted the moon over the water in the frame.
As they moved closer together so they could all fit inside the frame, he felt the side of her breast against his arm. It was only incidental contact—she probably didn’t even notice—and yet the sexual awareness that suddenly flowed through him made him wonder if coming to Italy was going to be the best thing for him, after all. Maybe it would just make him yearn for something he couldn’t have.
Lilly fingered the crisp fabric of her new dress, which was draped across the bed next to her. She loved it. When she was wearing it, she felt pretty—more like her older sister, who’d been so nice to her today. Would that last, she wondered—the niceness? Was it real and permanent or just a passing polite phase while Charlotte was in a good mood and having fun on vacation?
Because the hope rising up inside her scared her. She didn’t want to start expecting something good, couldn’t take the disappointment she’d face when Charlotte put her wherever she was going to put her once she was done sightseeing in Italy.
With a sigh, Lilly got up and hung her dress carefully in the wardrobe that served as a closet at the villa. Luca would be bringing Sabrina’s clothes, jewelry, papers and other things tomorrow. She’d been worrying about that all day. She was afraid there were items in those boxes she didn’t want Charlotte to see—items that might make her mother look bad. She didn’t want her mother to embarrass her yet again.
There could even be stuff of hers Sabrina had kept, stuff she’d rather Charlotte not see. She’d been so upset about her mother’s death—so shocked by it—that she hadn’t paid any attention to what was left. At the time, it didn’t seem to matter. Sabrina had never owned anything valuable, so there was nothing to help Lilly moneywise. And no keepsake was going to bring her mother back. Lilly hadn’t wanted some picture or perfume bottle sitting on her dresser to remind her of Sabrina. Why would she want anything to remind her of her mother storming out of the house without so much as a goodbye—and then veering in front of a bus? The very thought of Sabrina doing what she always did—throwing a fit and yelling and screaming and acting like a child so that she couldn’t drive right—made Lilly so angry it brought tears to her eyes.
But now she wished she’d packed those boxes herself like Luca had asked her to, because she didn’t know exactly what was there. Had her mother kept her report cards?
Probably not. Sabrina had never been one to hang on to much. They’d moved around; having a lot they had to carry with them only made life harder. But Lilly was still a little apprehensive. She didn’t want Charlotte to know she hadn’t beena good student. She’d let school go, had been too busy trying to keep her mother happy so their lives wouldn’t turn to crap again.
Not that it had ever worked. No matter how hard Lilly had tried to solve their problems—no matter what she gave up or missed in her own life so she could be there for her mother—the same cycle continued.
Still, she’d kept trying, hoping the next time would be different, and now her past could make her unacceptable to the only person who might be willing to help with her future. What if Charlotte thought she was one of those kids who wouldn’t pay attention or do homework? No one wanted a kid like that, especially an adult with a choice, and Charlotte definitely had a choice.
There was always foster care. Lilly shuddered at the idea of living with strangers who had absolutely no reason to care about her beyond the money they’d receive. She wished she had a cell phone. Her mother had refused to buy her one, said she wasn’t old enough, they were too expensive and she didn’t want Lilly to start “running around” or spending hours and hours on social media. But now she had no way to contact Luca—not without asking Charlotte—to see if he’d make sure there wasn’t anything of hers in the boxes he was about to bring over.
She doubted he’d go to the trouble of searching them even if she asked, though. He’d think she was worried about nothing, wouldn’t believe it mattered. He seemed to take everything with a shrug and a smile. At first, Lilly had loved that about him. Her mother had called him “easygoing.” But easygoing also meant he wouldn’t stick around when times got tough, and he’d proved that. As soon as her mother grew difficult, he’d wanted them to move out—go back to America—just like that. At least Steve, the farmer, had tried to convince her mother togo to counseling. He’d said she owed it to Lilly—even offered to go with her.
Thinking of Steve reminded her of Old Blue. She missed that dog even more than her mother. He’d made her feel she mattered in the world. They’d needed each other—but no one seemed to care.
She wished she could call Steve. It would be good just to hear his voice. He never really said much, but he was steady and kind. She liked just being in the same room with him and still couldn’t believe her mother had managed to mess up that situation. Steve was the best man her mother had ever dated. Even Sabrina had eventually admitted that.
A soft knock sounded on her door. Surprised since it was so late, she froze. Was she going to get in trouble? She was supposed to be in bed, but she’d been too wound up to sleep.
The knock came again, so Lilly walked over to the door. “Yes?” she said softly without opening it.
“It’s Charlotte. I saw the light under the door and was worried about you. Are you okay?”
