“You were right. You are right. I’ve been a total bitch to you and to Brady and, well, to a lot of people. For no reason other than jealousy, which is a cop-out reason, I know. See, my family has a lot, and I should just be grateful for that, but there’re certain expectations that come with it all.” For the first time since Sloane had known the woman, she actually looked like she felt guilty. “I’ve grown up in the spotlight, and at some point I guess I became afraid of ever living outside of it. When you showed up and then you and Brady became the center of attention? Well, I’m not like Marcus. People…they don’t come easy to me. Instead of trying to be a part of your story, I tried to find a way to make it mine. If you can’t join them, beat them.” Carol shrugged. “It’s not a good excuse, and not much better than being a stereotypical mean girl, but it’s the truth. One I think it’s finally time to work on.”

Sloane didn’t know what to say, but then Carol gave her two things Sloane never thought she’d get from the woman.

“I’m sorry for everything I did, Sloane. I really am. But I didn’t think you’d believe me, so I thought I better have something to show I made an effort.”

Then she handed Sloane a picture.

“I don’t know if you have a copy of this or not, but I found it in my mom’s old book club boxes and thought you might want it.”

Sloane had done a good job of not crying in public for the last three weeks. She hadn’t cried when she told Brady about her parents, and she hadn’t cried when he walked away. But now? Tears instantly rimmed Sloane’s eyes.

“It’s me and my mom.”

It wasn’t the best-quality photo, but somehow that made it feel more real. There was a young Stella De Carlo, caught mid-laugh as the very young Sloane stood next to her on the lip of the Robertson fountain. Her mom was holding her hand; Sloane was smiling.

They both were happy.

“I—I don’t have any pictures like this,” Sloane said around the lump that had formed in her throat. She ran her thumb over a precious moment frozen in time.

“I looked through every box and photo album through the years to see if there were any more, but that’s the only one I found of her. Mom said she might have some in her office and that she’d look—”

Sloane wrapped her arms around Carol before she could finish the thought. “Thank you.”

Carol stiffened at the contact but eventually returned the hug. When they separated, she shook her head a little and cleared her throat.