Page 22 of His to Possess
“I’m actually in Milan for the weekend,” she explains, then begins gushing about the high-end shopping before I can get a word in edgewise. Part of me wants to interrupt her to demand info, but Veronica is basically the only family I have left—at least, the only family I give a shit about. And definitely the only one who truly cares about me. Our twice weekly chats are honestly highlights of my day, even if she barely lets me say a word—and even though I would never, ever admit that to her.
When she finally winds down a little, I decide to broach the subject. “Hey, I ran into a friend of yours last night.”
“Really? Who? Wait, where are you? In New York?”
“I’m home,” I tell her. “In Charlotte. And the friend I ran into is Lilah Cartwright.”
“Really?” she squeals. “Oh my god, I haven’t talked to her inages. She’s always so busy, we pretty much only text these days. How did she look? What’s she been up to? Wait, what was she doing in Charlotte?”
“Uh, doesn’t she live here?”
“Not the last I heard. Her family’s been in Raleigh ever since the divorce.”
The divorce. Exactly what I wanted to talk to her about. When Jane told me Lilah’s parents had split up, I’d been more than a little surprised.
“I had no idea her parents divorced,” I say cautiously. It can be hard to keep Veronica on any single topic for long.
“Really? I would have thought everyone in your boring social group would have been gossiping about it.”
“Funny,” I mutter, but the truth is, I figured the same. I know William Cartwright as a neighbor from the times I’ve stayed at my father’s and from social settings. Our business circles occasionally overlap and I’ll see him out somewhere. Plus, people talk. It seems odd that I wouldn’t have heard about it.
“Then again, her dad was really weird about it,” Veronica says, her voice soft and sad. “I think he didn’t want people talking? Lilah and her brother and mom moved out like, immediately. Before they’d even signed the papers. You remember Ginny Walker?”
“Not really, no.”
“Her family lives on the Cartwright’s other side,” she explains. “Apparently Ginny’s mom’s housekeeper was heading home the night Mr. Cartwright kicked them out, saw the whole thing.”
“He kicked them out?” I ask sharply, sitting up straight in surprise. “All three of them?”
“Yeah.” Veronica sounds angry now. “I don’t think Lilah’s even seen him since then.”
“Shit.”
I wouldn’t say I have a friendship with Cartwright, or even a working relationship. But still, I thought I knew him well enough to assume he wouldn’t throw his own children out of his house.
I run a hand over my chin, trying to decide how much of this I can get into with my sister without giving myself away. “Hey, has Lilah told you anything about problems at school?” I try to keep my voice even, to sound like my interest is only casual.
“No.” Great, that was definitely suspicion in her voice. “Not since she graduated in the spring, anyhow. Why? Did she mention grad school or something?”
So whatever caused Lilah to drop out of Duke isn’t something she’s shared with my sister. I don’t know what to make of that.
“That’s what I asked her,” I reply casually, scrambling for a lie. “I asked if she wanted to do grad school or try for an internship. She just seemed uncomfortable about it, that’s all.”
Veronica lets out a little giggle. “That was probably just because it wasyou.”
“What does that mean?”
“Oh, come on, Philip. She had the biggest crush on you when we were younger.”
My eyebrows go up. “She did?”
“Of course she did! That summer you were living at Dad’s, after his heart attack? We were, what, fifteen? She would go completely tongue-tied whenever you entered the room. I caught her writing your name with little hearts in all her notebooks.”
I try to keep the smirk off my face, but it’s damn difficult. I like the idea of Lilah mooning after me. “Well who could blame her? With my devilish good looks and irresistible charm.”
On the other end of the line, my sister makes loud gagging noises.
“Attractive, V.”
