he had promised Charlie she could swim in the pool there.
Adjacent to the golf course, the Colonial was a grand and elegant resort that housed most of the top players in the tournament. Two doormen in red top hats and tails held the doors open to the brass-and-marble lobby. There was a rotunda with a stained-glass ceiling, a replica of the veiled Christ by Sammartino as its centerpiece. Lily stopped in her tracks to look at it. This was one of the chief works of art she had planned to study in Italy this summer, a sculpture so perfectly wrought that it was said to move people to tears.
She nearly wept over the replica, which was displayed on a huge, polished marble pedestal. The unflinching portrait of suffering touched a nerve, and she quickly looked at Charlie, Cameron and Sean to see if they were similarly moved. Cameron was busy checking out a pair of smooth-haired teenage girls in tiny skirts and halter tops, while Charlie was showing Ashley how to hopscotch on the black-and-white marble floor. Sean and Red had kept walking, deep in conversation. And Lily felt herself missing Crystal with a painful intensity that left her breathless. She had no idea what sort of job she was doing with this fractured family. Some moments she thought it was going well. Cameron had gotten behind a wheel finally, regardless of the results. Yet other times, Lily felt utterly lost, as lost as Charlie looked when she first woke up in the morning and discovered all over again that the mother she’d been dreaming about was just that, only a dream.
“Lily,” Charlie said, grabbing her hand. “Look at the pool!”
They could see it through the glass doors at the end of the colonnaded hallway. It was a gleaming turquoise octagon with a model Trevi Fountain and even a grand twisted staircase leading down to the shallow end. It was the perfect picture of gaudy ostentation.
Lily took the girls to the ladies’ dressing room and helped them into their swimsuits. “Where’s yours?” asked Charlie.
“I was just going to watch.”
Charlie screwed up her whole face in confusion. “Watch? Did you see that pool? How can you only want to watch?”
“It’s fine,” Lily said, keeping her voice light. No point in confessing to this child that she’d harbored a lifelong fear of water. The only reason she knew how to swim at all was that she’d had to pass water safety in college in order to get a summer teaching certificate.
“Come on, Lily. It won’t be the same if you don’t get in the water,” Charlie said. She and Ashley looked adorable in their yellow swimsuits. Ashley’s even had a rumba ruffle across the bottom.
“I didn’t bring a suit.” She had one in the RV but had managed to make it all the way across the country without having to put it on.
“We’ll go get you one,” Charlie said, sounding both loving and bossy—exactly, eerily, like her mother. “There’s a shop right across the hall.”
“Hotel shops are too expensive.”
“Uncle Sean’s going to win a million dollars tomorrow,” Charlie said stoutly. “He’ll give you the money for it.”
“Your uncle isn’t going to give me a dime,” Lily said quickly, defensively. “I have my own money.”
“Then you’ll use that. Charge it and forget about it.” It was exactly the sort of thing Crystal would say. Then Charlie grew downcast. “I really want you to swim with us.”
“Please,” said Ashley softly, as though she’d understood the whole conversation.
Lily heaved a sigh. “You two.” She took the baby out to the pool deck and handed her over to Sean. For a few seconds, her mouth went dry and she was speechless at the sight of him shirtless and muscular, already wet from diving in. Then she explained to him that she’d forgotten her suit and had to buy one at the hotel boutique.
“Charge it to my room,” Red said, lounging in Hawaiian-print shorts, an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth.
“I’ll pass.”
“Say you’ll do it or I’m coming shopping with you.”
“This is a conspiracy,” Lily said, hurrying toward the shop.
Charlie insisted on coming, and she shopped with her mother’s keen eye for color and style. She dismissed the black and navy tank suits Lily picked out. “Try this one,” she said, pushing a suit on a hanger under the door. “And no whining.”
It was an almost-scandalous cherry-colored bikini, and against her better judgment, Lily had to admit that Charlie was right. It looked…hot. Before she could change