And if he’d changed his mind and wanted her back? She wasn’t convinced that would be any better. If he softened any more than he already had, it could create a desire to give up the battle she was waging to save her career and do the right thing by her half sister. For the most part, she’d been happy when she was married to him. Could he have been a better person and husband? Of course. There’d been bumps along the road.But she’d always focused on the good times and making the relationship work, so she certainly would never have left him.
Knowing whatever he’d sent would evoke strong emotions either way, she decided not to look. She couldn’t risk letting him upset her when she’d just started her book. She had to protect her muse. And she couldn’t risk what could happen to Lilly if he wanted to repair their marriage.
Ignoring it, she clicked on a new message from Julian instead.
Hey, sleepyhead. Took little sis out for breakfast and a walkabout to give you the chance to go through Sabrina’s phone without her being around.
If Luca hadn’t already mentioned the sexual nature of some of the text messages he’d discovered on Sabrina’s phone, Charlotte probably wouldn’t even have considered going through it on her own. Since Sabrina had always been a stranger to her, doing so felt invasive and weird.
But Lilly was too young to see some of the things Luca had indicated were there. Charlotte had taken a break from writing to discuss the situation with Julian last night before he went to bed. After that odd moment on the deck when he’d helped her move Sabrina’s boxes into the storage room and she’d made things awkward by saying she should’ve married him instead of Cliff, she hadn’t seen much of him. But she’d approached him last night while Sloane and Lilly were playing checkers in the house to make sure everything was as it had always been between them. What he said and did helped and comforted her. He’d sort of taken over Sloane’s position in that regard, which was a little surprising, but she had enough to think about, wasn’t going to worry about that, too. She was enjoyingSloane, as well, and was glad the way she’d behaved when she was married to Cliff—giving in to the pressure he put on her instead of doing more to insist he accept her friends and family the way she’d accepted his—hadn’t permanently damaged their relationship.
How long will you be gone?she wrote, responding to the message he’d sent this morning.
As long as you need us to be.
I’ll find her phone and text you when I’m done. Thank you!
Again, she recalled the comment she’d made about marrying him and cringed. He must have found thatwayout of line. He’d been around so much while they were growing up, and they were so familiar with each other and each other’s families. He probably looked at her like a second sister and was put off by the idea of anything romantic between them. That had to be why he’d reacted the way he did, even though she’d only been joking.
Well, she’dmostlybeen joking. A woman could do a lot worse than marry Julian. Not only was he handsome, he was clever, fun, warm, protective, kind and demonstrative.
There you go again! Quit thinking about him in that way,she chastised herself and jumped out of bed.
After pulling on a lightweight sweatshirt and a pair of shorts, she shoved her feet into some flip-flops and was almost out of the room—wasn’t even going to brush her hair or teeth since she didn’t know how long it would take to find Sabrina’s phone and wanted to get to it right away so she didn’t strand Julian for hours—when she remembered Cliff’s text and stopped dead in the doorway.
What was he saying? Was he finalizing the divorce or wanting to get back together?
Closing her eyes so she wouldn’t actually see what he’d written, she clicked on his message to remove the bolding that set it apart from the messages she’d already seen. She didn’t want that notification glaring at her every time she glanced at her phone, didn’t want to be reminded that he’d sentanything. She had to deal with her book and her sister. That meant forgetting about Cliff, at least while she was in Italy, whether he still wanted her or not.
Shoving her phone in the pocket of her cutoffs, she rushed into the living room and kitchen area and was heading straight for the doors that led onto the deck when Sloane startled her by calling out from not very far away.
“Hey, you just getting up?”
Charlotte whipped around to see her friend lounging on the sofa reading the latest Kristin Hannah novel. “Oh, I’m glad you’re awake,” she said. “Come help me find Sabrina’s phone. I need to go through it.”
“Why the rush?” Sloane asked, but set her book aside as she got up.
“I want to do it before Lilly gets back.”
“Because...”
“Because Luca told me Sabrina was sexting other guys. I don’t want Lilly to see anything like that. It could traumatize her for life.”
“Are you surewewant to see it?” she asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
Charlotte would’ve laughed at Sloane’s response, but she was in too much of a hurry. “Better us than a twelve-year-old.”
“I can’t say I’ve been all that impressed with what I’ve learned about Sabrina so far,” she admitted ruefully. “This might come off as insensitive, but I think you should be glad she gave you up.”
Charlotte paused to respond more thoughtfully. “I’m well aware that I was much better off with Penny and Don. But I’m trying not to be too hard on my birth mother. Who knows what drove her? To me, it seems as if she was more than a little lost—always chasing something she couldn’t find.”
“That’s very generous of you. But I still say she should’ve been a better mother to Lilly.”
Charlotte couldn’t argue with that. Sabrina was almost assuredly the person responsible for the fear, uncertainty and insecurity she saw in her younger sister’s eyes.
They stepped out into a gusty day with sunlight dripping over the sea like paint rolling down an artist’s canvas. “What are you going to do with Sabrina’s phone when you’re done with it?” Sloane asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “Why?”
