“I don’t doubt it was purposeful, not even for a second! And you shouldn’t either, Georgia,” Elizabeth said, standing upright in the pool. She gave me a serious look.

“But what reason would Mara have for trying to hurt me?” I said wearily, rubbing my eyes with the palm of my hands. I’d been around Elizabeth so many times throughout my life, at family dinners and while visiting Asher, and she visited my mom every so often to check on her. But rarely did I ever find myself completely alone with the woman. For some reason, it was making me slightly uncomfortable, and I fought the urge to get up and walk away from her.

“Come on, Georgia. You and I both know that people have always suspected you and Asher were more than friends…”

“It’s not like that,” I protested.

But now Elizabeth was pulling herself out of the pool, saddling herself up next to my chair. She looked surprisingly strong, her arms flexing as they glistened in the bright white sun.

“I love you like a daughter, you know that,” Elizabeth said.

I wished like crazy that I had something to cover up my face—a big pair of sunglasses or a bandanna. Anything to hide the discomfort that had to be written all over it right now.

“I know you do, Elizabeth,” I said.

“Your mother was my best friend. She still is.” Elizabeth’s eyes were wet, but I couldn’t tell if it was water dripping down from her hair or actual tears.

Mother never cries, Asher told me once. If you opened up her chest, I bet you’d find all wires and gadgets in there. She’s hardwired to be tough, always has been.

“I know,” I said again, reaching out to touch her arm. I wished more than anything that I could go back to those days, my mom and Elizabeth, thick as thieves, drinking and playing cards at the kitchen table. But Mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago, right around the time of Edmund’s death; the disease had quickly wiped away the woman I remembered as my mother, and that Elizabeth remembered as her dearest friend.

“I want Asher to be happy,” Elizabeth said, giving me a knowing look.

“I want that too,” I said. “And he adores Rosalee, you must know that.”

Elizabeth looked off into the distance, shading her eyes with a hand as she stared into the sun.

“I think he cares for her, yes. But if there’s something between the two of you, I need to know it. Before I give my blessing to all of this … I have to know if you’re in love with my son. Please, Georgia. I need to know the truth, if not from him then from you.”