She wasn’t prepared for this. She’d always thought ramblings of broken hearts and wounded souls were mere melodrama. Now, she changed her mind. She didn’t want to be honorable and keep him safe. She wanted Chuck. The ache was too deep for tears. Hitching her purse onto her shoulder, she followed Lucy up all forty-two steps to the second floor. Each time her foot hit a marble stair, the echo bounced around the palatial entryway like a racquetball whacked by Goliath. And of course, there was the requisite freaking huge statue in the middle of the landing. Clearing the last step, she approached her childhood room with dread. As a kid visiting Italy, she’d always felt overwhelmed by the spacious suite, like being smothered by a feather pillow too large for her head. Her father had hired an interior decorator to create a showplace little girl’s room in cotton candy pink. Jolynn hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings, so she’d never told him she’d wanted a Disney princess bedspread from Sears.
