RUSH (City Lights, #3)(82)

“We used to play Marco Polo with the neighbor kids at the house in Florida,” Ava told me while the three of us clung to the wall in the deep end, taking a breather. “You know that game? Where one person keeps their eyes closed while the others try to swim away?”

“Oh sure,” I said. “I think it’s mandatory if three or more kids gather at a pool.”

“We played that constantly, only Noah was a terrible cheat.”

“Liar,” Noah said.

“No, it’s true,” Ava told me, ignoring the little splashes Noah sent her way as she talked. “No sooner would I get out of the pool when Noah—the little cheat that he was—would call fish out of water.”

“Lies and slander,” Noah said, splashing more water now.

“I could even see the little shit squinting his eyes while pretending to feel around,” Ava told me, and then spit out a deluge Noah sent crashing toward her.

“You’re dragging my good Marco Polo name through the mud.”

“We should play that now and Noah should be It,” she continued and shrieked laughter as Noah surged toward her, “because for the first time we can guarantee he won’t cheat.”

Noah caught Ava and dunked her under. She came up sputtering, wiping streaks of dark hair out of her eyes. She splashed him, catching him full in the face as he didn’t know it was coming, and I hung back, watching them, as they laughed and bickered and splashed at each other like kids again.

I thought I’d be overjoyed to see Noah reunited with his family, and I was happy for him. But an ache of nostalgia gripped my heart. Watching Ava and Noah was like watching the ghosts of Chris and myself playing at our community pool, or at a neighbor’s house. Inexplicably, the more I thought of Chris, the more I thought of my lost violin, and I felt as if a shadow were cast over the brilliant sunshine of the day, and it followed me around all through the afternoon.

We washed up for dinner, and I put on my nicest dress—a violet-colored sheath with turquoise beading along the bodice. It took me three tries to get the little laces up front to tie. I guessed the horror of the mugging was finally catching up to me. But Noah needed me to get through dinner, so I plastered on my best smile and went down with him.

A small, sudden storm had rolled in while we readied for dinner, scuttling our plans to eat outside. Instead we sat in the formal dining room while light rain spattered the windows overlooking Mrs. Lake’s rose garden. Mr. and Mrs. Lake bookended the table while Noah and I sat to one side, Ava and Lucien across from us. Ramona, the housekeeper, served us grilled tilapia and roasted, stuffed bell peppers, and the entire table watched, little smiles on their faces, as I described the table to Noah so that he was able to eat without incident.

As the main course was being cleared away, Mrs. Lake turned to me, a warm, grateful smile on her face. “Now, Charlotte, Lucien told us you are a Juilliard graduate. That is quite an accomplishment.”

I tried to muster a word of thanks to Mrs. Lake but my tongue suddenly felt too thick for my mouth. I nodded and smiled, unable to meet her eye. Some ugly heaviness was unspooling in my gut and I wished mightily someone would change the subject.

Mr. Lake nodded from the other end of the table. “Juilliard, indeed. You must be quite a talented young lady.”

“She’s a virtuoso,” Noah stated, venturing carefully to find his water glass.

“Really?” Mrs. Lake clapped her hands. “How lovely. I have always adored the violin. Such a gorgeous instrument.”

I toyed with my fork and set it down; my hand was shaking. I glanced up and saw Ava and Lucien both watching me.

“You must play for us,” Mr. Lake said. “I do hope you brought your violin.”

“No, uh…no,” I stammered. What is wrong with me? “I can’t. It was stolen. Last night.”

The pleasant smiles slipped from their faces with identical alacrity.

“Stolen how?” Ava asked. “From the townhouse?”

Lucien leaned over the table. “Did you have a breakin?”

Noah took my hand. “We didn’t want to scare you right off the bat,” he said, and briefly, and without much detail, told them about the mugging.

“Oh my dear.” Mrs. Lake put a hand to her chest. “How horrid.”

“Yes, and it was very frightening,” I blurted suddenly, the words tumbling out of my mouth. “But Noah was very brave and he protected me. He fought the mugger off but my violin was taken. It was taken and now it’s gone.” The reality of these words finally sunk in, like cold knives. “I’m really quite tired actually. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’d like to lie down. Thank you very much for dinner and…it was very good. Thank you and good night. Good night.”

I hurried up the stairs and by some miracle found the west suite without getting lost. I went to the cavernous bathroom of beige and copper tile, and splashed some cold water on my face, which only made my inexplicable shivering worse. As I started a hot bath, a knock came at the door.

“Charlotte? Are you all right?”

I opened the door. Noah’s face was a mask of worry. “I’m sorry I just left you like that. I don’t know what came over me.”

“I’m so sorry, babe. I didn’t realize…”

“No, I’m just being silly,” I insisted. “And God, how embarrassing. Please tell your parents I’m sorry. We got home late last night and I’m tired, and I think it’s all just catching up to me. I’m going to take a bath and get in bed. I’m fine, I promise.”