“I know she’s been worried.”
Sloane waited for Lilly to catch up with her. The walkways weren’t wide enough for them to remain side by side for the whole journey, not if someone was coming from the opposite direction, so Lilly generally trailed behind to allow room for others. “Listen to me, Lilly. You don’t have to worry about adult problems anymore, okay? Like I’ve told you before, Charlotte is smart and reliable. She’ll be fine.”
She was saying that Charlotte wasn’t Sabrina. Only she was doing it nicely. And Lilly was grateful. It was so easy to get caught up in the kind of sick-to-her-stomach worrying she’d done most of her life. In some ways, she’d had less of that sinceSloane, Julian and Charlotte had entered her life. Now she had three capable adults looking out for her, the world seemed a lot safer.
But their time in Italy was almost over. What would happen then? Would she no longer be safe? She had no real assurances, and that made each day feel like she was taking one more step toward some terrible end.
Lilly slung the cute hobo-style bag Charlotte had bought her last night across her body to shift the weight of it. “Do you think she’ll go back to Cliff?”
“God, I hope not.”
Lilly knew Charlotte hadn’t been responding to him. She’d heard her say as much. But she also knew he’d been trying harder and harder to get her back. He’d reached out to Sloane, even though Sloane said they’d never gotten along. She said Cliff was too possessive of Charlotte, that he’d tried to separate her from all the other people in her life who loved her, and that made Lilly wonder what would happen if Charlotte went back to him. She didn’t want to lose contact with her sister. She was really starting to like Charlotte. And Charlotte was her only family. Cliff had enough people, possessions and attention. He didn’t need Charlotte, too. Did he?
“But... what are the chances?” She wanted something to be certain for a change.
Sloane’s answer proved, once again, thatnothingwas certain in life. “To be honest, I couldn’t even put a number on it,” she said. “Let’s just be glad she’s focused on being here with us and getting her book done. It’s giving her some time away from him—time to see that she’s better off without him,” she added emphatically.
“You’re saying the real test will come once we get home.”
Sloane cast her a rueful glance, but continued walking. “That’s the bottom line, I guess.”
Lilly had searched the internet to learn everything she possibly could about Cliff. He was famous enough that there was a lot to sort through. Tons of pictures showed how handsome he was. And from his interviews, he seemed like a fun guy. He was certainly good at basketball. But Sloane didn’t like him. Neither did Charlotte’s parents, from what Lilly had been able to tell. She’d spoken to them a few times on the phone. They were starting to call regularly—and ask to talk to her after they’d spoken with Charlotte.
Charlotte’s mother sounded like the kind of grandma who’d bake cookies and go all out for Christmas—nothing like the tired and frustrated person who’d been her real grandma. Charlotte’s dad sounded patient and kind and sort of indulgent toward the women in his life. Lilly liked how he’d just chuckle whenever Charlotte and Penny got carried away with an idea.
“What would Charlotte’s parents do if she went back to him?” Lilly asked. “Would they put a stop to it?”
“They probably wouldn’t say anything. It’s Charlotte’s decision, right?”
“I guess.” Disheartened, she walked a bit slower—and stopped briefly to run a finger over the blue ceramic octopus tile embedded in the wall. No one had ever been able to tell Sabrina what to do, either. That was part of the reason she’d never gotten along withherparents. “What about Julian?” She and Sloane were together so much these days that they talked all the time, but this conversation went a little deeper than others, making Lilly feel as though she was stepping onto thin ice.
“What about him?” Sloane asked, pausing to wait for her.
“He’d be the most upset if she went back to Cliff.”
At this, Sloane retraced a few of her steps. “Why? You mean because Cliff doesn’t treat Charlotte like he should?”
“I mean because... because Julian likes her himself, doesn’t he?”
“Not in that way,” Sloane said. “We all grew up together. It’s not romantic.”
Lilly didn’t say anything when they started walking again, but that wasn’t the impression she’d gotten. The way Julian looked at Charlotte, especially when she wasn’t paying attention, was more like... like he cared about her in acompletelyromantic way. And Sloane didn’t like Cliff, but Julian took that to a whole other level. He wasn’t only protective of Charlotte; he was jealous of Cliff.
Or was she wrong about that? She’d spent her whole life trying to read the various men her mother had been with. She’d had to—to get some idea of what was coming. She could always tell when her mother’s latest boyfriend was angry, frustrated, happy or even when he lost interest.
But maybe Julian was different...
“Have you heard if Ben will be able to get enough days off to come over?” she asked, changing the subject. She’d also spoken to Ben and really liked him. He was similar to Julian, only not quite as funny.
“The pharmacy’s too busy this time of year, and he doesn’t have the vacation days. We have only ten days left, so there’s not really time to arrange it anyway.”
“That’s a bummer.”
“Yeah. He’d really like to meet you.”
“I’d like to meet him, too.”
“Maybe we can have you over when we get back,” she said as they reached the street where the store was located.
