And almost keeled over when Lily gave him The Smile. The one he had seen earlier, and she hadn’t revealed since. But she did now, and the way it lit up her face was enchanting.
And sexy as hell.
“Thank you so much,” she breathed. “I haven’t had a chance to call my sister since the craziness at the airport.”
She was still firing that megawatt smile at him.
He looked away, shifting uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, go for it.” He got up and spun the chair around for her, then went to his bag to dig out his ereader.
She settled into the chair he had just vacated and began clicking swiftly. Bruno headed toward the bedroom so that she could have some privacy during the call, but she waved her hand at him, not bothering to look up.
“You don’t need to go. This will be quick.”
He shrugged and turned, settling instead into a large, upholstered wingback chair across the room.
A few more clicks, and within seconds he heard the ringing of a phone coming from his computer. Soon, another voice came through the speakers.
“Lily!” it squealed, and Bruno smiled. Her sister sounded young and very excited to be getting the call. “I thought you were supposed to be on a plane, but I was reading the weather reports from Santiago and they said most flights were grounded. Are you okay? I figured you were okay, since you’re you and super-capable, of course, but I was still a little worried. Did you find a place to stay? I found a couple of online posts that said most of the hotels are completely booked because of all the stranded tourists. But you have Internet, so I’m guessing—”
“Slow down!” Lily broke into the monologue, laughing. “I think you’re way more worked up than I am,” she teased. “And I’m fine. I’m at the Ritz.”
Julie gave an impressed whistle. “You’re so glamorous.”
He tried not to chuckle, given that he just been talking with Lily about how dressed down they were.
Lily smiled, but even from a distance he could see it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her face grew serious. “Actually, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to get out tomorrow. I mean, the storms have stopped, I think, just based on what it looks like outside, but I don’t know how backed up the flights are.”
She was tense. He knew her well enough already to recognize the slight clenching of her jaw, the hard set of her shoulders.
There was a pause on the other end, and then Julie said softly, “Don’t beat yourself up about it if you can’t make it home. I’ll miss you, but Greg, Andrew, and Meredith will be there with Mom, and your staying safe is way more important than my graduation. We can always celebrate in a few days, just you and me.”
Lily sighed. “I should never have come on this trip and risked not making it back in time. It was a selfish thing to do.”
Bruno frowned. He didn’t like the sound of this. He felt protective of Lily already, and it sounded like she was taking on unnecessary responsibility for things that were out of her control. Julie certainly didn’t seem to think it was Lily’s fault if she couldn’t make it back for the graduation. He wondered how old Julie was. Lily had said she was young. Was this a college graduation? High school? Lily certainly wasn’t fresh out of college, based on her career success alone, but she didn’t look much older than mid-twenties.
And suddenly, he felt like a dirty old man. He hoped she was at least within a decade younger than he was.
Julie scoffed, the harshness of the sound magnified by the tinny speakers of the laptop. “I think it’s about time you were selfish. You’ve spent the last few years catering to everyone’s needs but your own. If you don’t make it to my graduation, it doesn’t matter.”
Bruno couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lily’s face as she fought back tears. “You’re too good to me.” She managed a wobbly smile at the screen.
Julie tsked. “You’ve been through enough this week with your fun, screw-that-asshole getaway turning out to be such a disappointment.”
Lily sighed. “I should never have e-mailed you about that. It was a moment of extreme weakness—”
Julie cut off her sister. “There you go again, taking the world’s problems on your shoulders and not letting anyone share the burden. I know you still think of me as a baby, but I’m about to graduate from college. And I’m here for you, just like you’ve always been here for me.” There was a short pause, and when Julie spoke again, her voice was softer. “I’m grown up enough to at least listen to what is hurting you. And I’ll always be here for you, whether or not you make it home tomorrow.”
Bruno watched as Lily just nodded, swallowing convulsively. Uh-oh. She was about to lose it.