“No.” Calliope’s stomach twisted as the fog of the future began to lift. The future she couldn’t see before Xander Costas arrived in Butterfly Harbor was coming into focus now. And it was filled with loneliness. “But I believe we’re about to.”
“You want me to distract Stella?” Holly waved to get Abby and Paige’s attention. Not an easy feat as they were currently arguing over who would buy the last bag of chocolate cashews.
“If you wouldn’t mind. Don’t worry,” Calliope insisted when concern crossed her friend’s face. “I’ve been expecting something like this.”
“We’re just a shout away if you need us. Stella?” Holly called to Calliope’s sister, who was playing ping-pong goldfish with Marlie. “Honey, can you help me find Simon?”
“Sure.” Stella flicked her gaze to Calliope before she hurried off to help Holly.
It might have been Calliope’s imagination, but she swore the crowds parted for Xander as he approached her.
“We need to talk.”
“Certainly.” She swallowed hard and turned toward the cottage, cringing as she closed the door behind them. Clearly now wasn’t the time to tease him about being late. “What’s wrong?”
“Alethea. She’s moving here. To Butterfly Harbor. Because you told her to.”
“I most certainly did not.” Irritation slipped through the impending heartache. “I told her to follow her heart wherever that might take her.”
“Same difference. She needs to get back to her life, not keep hiding from reality.”
“You mean she needs to get back to your life. The life you and your family have mapped out for her.” She sat in the chair her grandfather had made, the rocking chair her grandmother had rocked her in. The chair she’d rocked Stella in while she’d cried out the pain and anguish over the mother they’d never have.
“It’s practical and logical for her to finish school,” Xander’s voice sounded tight, as if he were barely holding onto his temper. “Surely you see that.”
“No, actually, I don’t.” Who did he think he was talking to? “Not if it makes her unhappy. What’s practical in wasting years of your life for something that will never enrich it?”
“Says the woman who grows vegetables and plays with insects.”
His words drove the air from her lungs. “It’s a living.”
“It’s a fantasy for anyone other than you, Calliope. What were you thinking filling her head with these dreams? She has a life waiting for her back in Chicago. Or Virginia. Or even New York. That’s where all the possibilities are.”
His possibilities. Calliope chose her words carefully. “First, life can be a fantasy for anyone who chooses it to be, and second, I didn’t fill her with anything. She was empty when she came here, Xander. You know this. You saw it. This place brought her back to life. I completely understand why she wouldn’t want to leave.” She certainly couldn’t. Nor did she want to. She only wished he felt the same.
“Do you know what my family is going to think when she tells them her plans? They’re going to think this is my fault!”
“Why is it anyone’s fault?” Before her eyes, the man she’d fallen in love with was fading, replaced by the cool, detached businessman who wheeled and dealed for a living. “What is so wrong with Alethea wanting to live her life on her own terms?”
“She’s not you, Calliope. She’s not independent and headstrong and stubborn. She’s been provided for and protected her entire life. She doesn’t know that life will screw you over every chance you get if you don’t have a solid, cemented foundation.”
“No, she’s not me. But I think we can both agree she is well aware of how harsh life can be.”
“You know very well I wasn’t talking about Talia.”
“No, you weren’t. You’re talking about yourself and how Alethea’s choices are affecting you. So what if your family blames you? If Alethea is happy, or even if she isn’t, she’s becoming independent. I thought you liked that about women. You certainly seem to like it about me.”