“Unless she really doesn’t want to speak to me again.”

“Well, you won’t find out unless you try, will you?”

Jess looked again to where Lily was standing, her eyes narrowing with uncertainty, before turning back to Ben. “I really am sorry for dumping all this on you. You just caught me at a really bad time. I’m not always like this, honestly.”

“Don’t be silly. There’s no need to apologize. I’m glad I happened to be here when you needed to vent.”

There was a pause and Jess felt herself rush to speak before she knew what she was going to say. “You know I’m here with Mum for a few days? Maybe . . . I don’t know . . . maybe we could get a coffee or something before I head back? I can fill you in on the latest episode of my family drama.” She gave a short, tentative laugh, felt heat flush her cheeks.

“I’d really like that. How about I give you a call here at the hotel tomorrow morning—around nine? We can make a plan then.”

“That’d be great. And thank you—for listening, I mean, and for the wise advice. I’m sorry for sniveling all over your shoulder. The other guests here must think we’re a couple in the midst of some awful breakup or something.”

They smiled and said goodbye, and as Jess crossed the marble-floored lobby toward Lily, she tried to think of all the ways the members of her family might yet be able to forgive one another.

Chapter 64

Lily

Lily looked up in time to see Jess walking across the lobby toward her, to see her sister wipe the palms of her hands on the back of her jeans, to catch the hesitation before the question.

“Where’s Mum?”

Their eyes met only briefly and Lily couldn’t be sure which of them had looked away first.

“She wanted a bit of time by herself. She’s walking back through the park. She wanted . . .” The words floundered in Lily’s throat, choked by the strangeness of standing next to her sister, just the two of them, for the first time in decades. “Do you want to . . . get a drink or something?” She felt heat rise into her cheeks, was aware of the seconds stretching incalculably as she waited for Jess to reply.

Her sister glanced up just long enough for Lily to catch the relief—or was it doubt?—that skimmed across her face. Lily wasn’t sufficiently schooled in Jess’s expressions to be able to read it. But then Jess nodded, and before she had a chance to change her mind, Lily led the way into a room with wood-paneled walls, parquet flooring, and rose-petal lighting. The bar was busy and she headed for an empty table in the corner. She sat down, Jess opposite, feeling like a little girl on a playdate, uncertain as to who should take the lead, which toys they should play with, which game should begin.