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Cami keeps the conversation going while stealing strawberries whenever she thinks Lana isn’t looking. The red fruit juice around her mouth is a dead giveaway, so I clean her up while her mother has her back turned.
The doorbell ringing has the three of us looking up.
“We have a doorbell?” Lana pauses her mixer.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard it. Are you expecting someone?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. Are you?”
“A majority of the town hates me, so I’m going to go with a no.”
Lana looks down at her half-mixed whipped cream. “Do you mind checking who it is?”
“I got it!” Cami hops off her stool.
“Camila!” Lana rounds the corner, but I’m closer.
Cami rises on the tips of her toes to reach the deadbolt, only to be swept into my arms.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
Cami pouts.
I take a peek through the peephole. Lana’s sister, Antonella, paces a few feet away. Her tan skin looks paler than usual, and her thin hair hangs limply around her face, accentuating a sharp bone structure that can only be achieved by malnutrition.
“Shit.”
Cami sucks in a breath.
I put her down. “My wallet is on my nightstand. If you count all my bills correctly, I’ll let you keep them all.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“Yup. But you have to stay in my room until I come and get you.”
“Okay!” Cami squeals as she takes off for my bedroom.
Lana abandons her whipping cream. “What’s wrong?”
“Your sister is outside.”
Lana’s mouth drops open. “Antonella is here?” Her face pales. “Oh my God.”
“You didn’t know she was coming.”
Her head shakes. “No. I thought I made myself clear during our last phone call.”
“Do you want me to see what she wants?”
Her hardened gaze lingers on the door. “I already know what she came here for.”
My brows tug together. “But—”
Her shoulders slump. “Let me go talk to her.”
I step in her way. “Lana.”
She doesn’t look up at me, so I tip her head back.
