say ‘love-you’ all the time, but this is different,” Charlie insisted.
Inside, Lily felt a strange upheaval. Day by day, it grew more impossible to hold herself back from this family, to keep her independence intact. It was too late, she acknowledged, to protect herself from hurt. She’d given up that option long ago. Now all she could do was brace herself for the fall. She let all her feelings for Charlie shine out as she said, “You’re right. What’s the matter with me?”
“Nothing. That’s why I love you so much.”
They took Babe for one last walk before putting her in her crate in the RV. Even with an air conditioner running and the radio left on, Babe was not going to be a happy camper. As Lily coaxed the dog into the crate with a Milk-Bone, she flashed on the thought—Look at what my life has become.
From complete independence and autonomy, she had been transformed into someone in charge of three kids and a dog.
She shut the cage and went outside, Babe’s mournful howl coming from the back of the Winnebago.
Putting on a bright smile for the girls, she said, “Ready?”
“Ready,” Ashley declared.
Lily had her usual wrestling match with the folding stroller, which never seemed to want to unfold. She sorted it out and buckled Ashley in. She put some extra sunscreen on her chubby knees, even though she and the girls were already slathered with it.
As she pushed the stroller onto the grounds of the Royal Oak Country Club, she immediately sensed that everything had changed. The atmosphere here was completely different—the parking lot was as busy as an airport, the whole area bustled with spectators, technicians, marshals and well-dressed people Lily couldn’t quite identify. The air itself hummed with a different sort of energy.
A ripple of excitement went up as a huge gleaming vehicle parted the crowd like the Red Sea and came to a stop in front of the clubhouse.
“What’s that?” Charlie asked.
“It looks like a Hummer limo,” Lily said. “Who knew?”
Red Corliss joined them, mopping his brow as he crossed the parking lot. “If it isn’t the Wonder Girls,” he said, beaming.
“Who’s that?” Lily indicated the limo. She caught a glimpse of a black shirt with a Nike swoosh before the tall, good-looking man was swallowed up by the crowd.
“That’s Beau Murdoch. Last year’s player of the year.”
“Who are all those people around him?” she asked.
“His entourage. Let’s see. He’s got his caddie, his swing coach, his putting adviser, publicist, probably a lawyer and therapist—the list goes on.”
“That’s amazing.”
“It’s big business.” At the gate, they showed their badges. A stern-faced official glared at Lily. “And you are?”
She drew herself up. “Sean Maguire’s entourage,” she said loudly.
An older woman in pink golf togs in line behind them smiled at Charlie and Ashley. “What a beautiful family,” she said. “He’s a lucky man.”
Lily’s face heated as she fumbled through thanking the woman for the compliment and pushing the stroller through the gallery.
“That happens all the time,” Charlie said to Red. “People always think we’re a family.”
“You got a problem with that?” he asked.
“Naw.”
“Can I be in your family, too?”
“Sure, Red.” She took hold of his hand and balanced on the balls of her feet. “You can be the grandpa.”
“Very funny,” he grumbled.
Lily felt a surge of gratification, though she kept her head lowered and her eyes averted from Red. He was way too good at reading people and she was way too bad at hiding her feelings. This summer was turning out like nothing she could have anticipated. Being with Sean and the kids brought her face-to-face with matters she ordinarily hid from herself, like how lonely her life really was and how much she cherished the connection she found with Crystal’s children. And yes, with Sean Maguire.
She watched Beau Murdoch take leave of his wife. Their adoring looks at each other seemed genuine, although Lily wondered how they could stand having camera flashes popping off while trying to kiss. The Murdochs had twin babies in twin strollers, each looked after by its own private nanny.
“The wife’s a Firestone,” Red murmured to Lily. “Like the tires.”
“I thought she was Mrs. Murdoch.”
The couple looked like the former king and queen of a high school prom, poised and smiling for the camera. Another flash went off, and then it was Lily’s turn with the girls. Standing in front of the screen printed with sponsors’ logos, Lily was amazed at Charlie and Ashley. The girls both possessed their mother’s beauty-queen DNA