Her mother started to say something, but Charlotte held up a hand to silence her. “I’m done living the life you want me to live.”
Charlotte walked away, toward the stage door, and didn’t turn to look back. Not even when her mother called out, “I’ll tell Martin to expect you on Monday morning.”
It was pointless to try and make her understand.
After all, Marcia didn’t know her at all.
49
Cole yanked the tie loose and raced to his truck. He got in and drove around, replaying the events of the night over and over in his mind.
How could his feelings change so swiftly? Only an hour ago, he’d been so smitten with Charlotte he couldn’t have imagined a day without her in his life.
Now he wondered if he knew her at all.
What kind of person would sabotage someone else? Was that how she’d gotten to the top? By stepping on anyone who got in her way?
It sickened him to think that Julianna had taken the fall for Charlotte’s wrongdoing, that Charlotte had let her. Worse, Charlotte showed up here, invading Julianna’s world—as if she could step in where his sister had left off.
He parked the truck, got out, and walked toward the one place he might find a bit of peace. But when he neared Julianna’s grave, he discovered he wasn’t alone.
A nearby streetlamp illuminated Connor’s silhouette sitting on the ground beside her headstone.
So this was where he’d gone when he rushed off after his dance with Amelia.
Cole took a step toward his brother-in-law, and a twig cracked underneath his foot, drawing Connor’s attention.
Cole froze. “Hey, man,” he said.
“What are you doing here?” Connor asked.
“What are you doing here?”
Connor lifted a bottle of beer. “Drinking.”
Cole frowned. “You don’t even drink.”
His brother-in-law held up the six-pack. “Want one?”
“I don’t drink either.”
“But maybe we should,” Connor said. “Maybe it’ll help us forget.”
Cole sat down next to him in the grass. “Do you really want to forget?”
Connor shrugged. “It’d be easier, right?”
“Maybe,” he said. “But life isn’t supposed to be easy.”
Listen to him throwing out platitudes that even he didn’t want to hear. He was nauseating himself.
They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Cole wasn’t good at consoling anyone—he’d yet to work through his own grief, and frankly, he’d come here to talk to his sister. And maybe to wallow a little.
“That was hard,” Connor said, his voice tight. “Getting up there again.”
“I would’ve stepped in for you,” Cole said. “Everyone would’ve understood.”
Connor took a swig from his bottle. “I needed to do it for Amelia.”
Cole stilled. “It was good you did. I’m glad she’s dancing again.”
“Thanks to you,” Connor said. “And Charlotte. She’s been amazing.”
“Yeah, amazing.” Cole didn’t hide the sarcasm.
“I was hard on her when she first got here,” Connor said. “Think she’ll forgive me?”
Cole shrugged. “Maybe she’s the one who should be asking for forgiveness.”
“No,” Connor said. “Without her, I never would’ve married Jules in the first place.”
Cole frowned. “How do you figure?”
“She’s the reason Jules left ballet,” Connor said.
“You know about that?”
He shrugged. “Sure, Jules told me.”
“Was she upset?”
Connor shifted. “I mean, yeah, but it didn’t take long for her attitude about it to change. I think she was relieved. A part of her was, anyway. She was tired of all that cutthroat pressure. She danced because she loved it. I told her she could do that here—that I’d help her. That’s when she started the dance studio.”
“So, she was okay with everything?”
Connor took another drink. “She was grateful, I think. Said that dream meant more to Charlotte than it had ever meant to her. She never had that same drive, you know? Jules just wanted to be happy. And I think she hoped it would turn something in Charlotte—make her a better person, knowing that someone had sacrificed so much for her.”
“Do you think it did?”
Connor shrugged. “No idea. She didn’t show up for Jules like she should’ve, but she seems different now. You’d know better than me, lover boy.”
Cole pulled a handful of grass and tossed it aside. “She didn’t tell me what she did to Jules. I just found out.”
“She’s probably embarrassed,” Connor said. “You guys are good together. I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.”
Cole stared at the headstone. Jules would’ve certainly had an opinion about all of this. He wished she were here now to tell him what to do. “She knows how I feel about lying. Maybe she and I are a mistake.”