A Tale of Two Centuries

“Yeah,” she answers automatically. “It is.”

Silently, Cat pats her hip, just over the spot where her pear tattoo lays. The night my cousin told me the truth, that she was not Patience D’Angeli from sixteenth-century London but Cat Crawford from twenty-first- century Beverly Hills, she also confided the details of her unfortunate past. I remember at the time it seemed almost impossible to believe that a mother would abandon her family, leaving behind a five-year-old daughter and loving husband, to chase a selfish dream. A forbidden dream in my world. The dream of the stage.

But getting to know Cat then and being here now eliminates any trace of uncertainty. And watching her deliberately seek out the representation of her pain, the symbol she told me she chose to remind her that the heart cannot be trusted, slices my heart in two. There are many reasons to loathe the woman who gave birth to my beautiful, audacious cousin, but the wounds she inflicted when she left have to be the biggest.

Aloud Cat says, “Less, being with your family taught me a lot. I’m not the same person I was before Reyna sent me on my gypsy adventure. I have a relationship with Jenna now, and I have Hayley. I’m even slowly giving up my constant need to be perfect. But I’m still scared.” She shrugs. “There doesn’t seem to be a magic button for that.”

“And Lucas scares you?” I ask, now thoroughly confused. I have been unsure if I should encourage her obvious feelings for him, but if Lucas is dangerous, it makes my decision much easier.

She sighs. “With Lorenzo it was different. It didn’t matter what I wanted or wished; I knew our relationship couldn’t last. Eventually I’d find my way home again. So even though being with him was amazing, it wasn’t real. Not really. Lorenzo was safe. Lucas isn’t.”

I gently nod, wanting her to continue, wanting to understand. In my world, in my social circle, people rarely marry for love. It is not that the marriages never lead to love, but freedom to pursue whomever you choose does seem to complicate matters a bit more.

Cat leans her head back against the seat, suddenly looking tired. “Lucas lives here, Less. In my time. And unless his family moves again, he’s always gonna be here. But if I give in to this feeling of connection and explore the possibility that he and I could ever have what Lorenzo and I almost did, then what happens if Lucas stays here but leaves me? What if he gets to know me, the real me, without my mom’s tabloid craziness and my dad’s glitz and glam, and loses interest?” She gives a self-deprecating laugh. “People have a tendency to do that.”

A bump in the road jostles us, and Cat throws an arm out, instinctively protecting me. When she looks up, I see that rare vulnerability back in her eyes.

Outside my darkened window, the world passes in a blur of green and blue, reminding me of the horror of yesterday’s ride. So much has changed in the last twenty-four hours, and if my time-travel experience is anything like my cousin’s, more change is to come. But it will not solve everything—Cat’s fear is proof of that. I guess some things take a little more time…and perhaps one of the reasons Reyna sent me here is to help finish the work fate began.

A Cat-like plan starts forming in my brain.

I wrap an arm around my cousin’s shoulder and squeeze her tightly. “You will always have me.” She looks up, a rueful smile on her face, and I shake my head. “It matters not whether I’m here in body or merely in your heart. We are family, Cat.”

All through the drive back home, I think through the night ahead. And the more my plan comes into shape, the more excited I become. Now I just have to ensure that Lucas is worth my efforts. And hope that he joins his mother and sister at the meeting tonight.

The moment we open Cat’s front door, an effervescent woman with big blond hair and a bigger smile envelops us both in a generous hug. Cat gives me an indulgent grin, and I know I am finally meeting the infamous soon-to-be stepmother.

“You must be Alessandra,” Jenna says, stepping away to close the still-open door. “Peter has told me all about you, and I’m just so sorry I wasn’t here to welcome you.”

Guilt washes over me anew at the deceit. It would have been difficult for her to be present when she had not even been aware of my arrival. “It is perfectly all right,” I tell her. “Mr. Crawford has been more than accommodating.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure he has, but there are some things women are just better at, am I right?” She wraps her arm around my elbow, then repeats the gesture with Cat and begins leading us to the dining room. “But now that I’m here, we’ll get all caught up and become instant friends, I can tell.”

She jumps into an energetic retelling of her recent travels, and I try to follow their conversation, but my chest grows tighter and tighter. Jenna is everything I expected her to be. She is jovial, welcoming—and reminds me so completely of my own mother that an overwhelming sense of melancholy crashes around me. In a way, I am grateful. It is as if fate put her here to provide me a sense of comfort in the midst of chaos, a bittersweet reminder of home and all that I am missing. But watching the spirited way Jenna converses, smooths her hand along Cat’s hair, and repeatedly finds ways to show her affection, it also prompts an intense longing for home.

How I wish Mama could be here with me.

The doorbell rings, making me jump. Aware that there are no servants to answer the door as I have at home, I say, “I’ll get it,” hoping the walk to the entryway will shake off my unhappiness. I can’t spend my time here wishing for home. I need to embrace every moment I have while I can—before the other two signs are revealed.

With a decisive nod at my encouraging internal speech, I stroll through the atrium, choosing to focus on thoughts of how my mother would react to the scandalous clothing I arrived in instead. With a wide grin, I open the door.

On the other side of the threshold stands an adorable girl fidgeting with the strap of her handbag. And behind her, instead of the mother who was to bring her, is Lucas.

Smiling at the way fate works, I glance around to see if they came alone.

Lucas nods to the rumbling vehicle parked behind him. “Mom’s on the phone in the car.”

The trace of an Italian accent takes me aback. Cat did say he spent a few years in Milan, so I should have expected it. Misjudging my reaction, Lucas quickly adds, “She’ll join us in a few minutes. Angela was just excited to get started.”

Lifting an eyebrow, I look at the girl who appears fascinated with the flower doormat. Cat told me she was shy. Being nervous around strangers myself, I offer a smile of solidarity when she glances up. She grins in return.

Angela seems very sweet…but, if I had to guess, I would have to say the other Cappelli sibling was the one eager to get inside.

Stepping back, I motion for them to enter. “Prego, vieni.” Angela’s small smile grows as she steps over the threshold.

As I lead them to the dining room, I go back over my plan. Tonight’s agenda is simply to observe. In true Cat style, I have fashioned what she calls a checklist, and I will (hopefully) mark items off as the night progresses. In determining if Lucas is a proper suitor for Cat, the first attribute I will be looking for is his heart. Though my cousin never sees these qualities in herself, she is the kindest, most loyal, and most loving person I have ever met. She deserves to have someone who cares about her just as ardently as Lorenzo did and who has as much love to give her as she will give him.

After ascertaining the condition of Lucas’s heart, since I already know about his talent and shared interest in art, I will watch how he interacts with others. In particular, his younger sister, a person with whom he spends a great deal of time and undoubtedly knows him best. I will also watch how he behaves around his mother and Jenna.

Mama always said you could tell a lot about a person by the way he treats his elders.

And finally, I will pay close attention to both Cat and Lucas and how they interact with each other. If I am to support his suit to win her heart, I must see a hint of the sparks and smiles I saw her share with Lorenzo.

Truly, it is a tall order for one evening.