Caroline felt terrible for her sister,

but Allie had been so secretive about what had actually happened with her and Mark, and now she wanted answers. “All this started July third. You have to tell me what happened.”

Allie grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. “He told me he thought I was getting too serious.”

“That doesn’t sound unreasonable.”

Allie put the chilled water bottle to her throbbing temples. “I told him I was falling in love with him.”

Caroline groaned, her worst fear realized. “Love? You barely knew him, Allie.”

“But we’d spent practically every waking minute together since we met. He told me…or he let me believe…” Allie broke off with a sigh. “He said he was too worried about his dad’s money problems to get involved in a relationship.” Allie laughed a humorless laugh. “Can you believe that? Money problems? We live in a tiny house, no money, no school…”

Caroline gave that some thought. “It sounds like a lame excuse, like he wasn’t really that into you.”

“Starving artist—that’s what he called me,” Allie said with tears streaming down her face.

“Oh.” Caroline was finally seeing the big picture, and she didn’t like the view.

“I just thought he needed more time,” Allie said with a sniffle, “but I guess what he really needed was someone to bankroll his family’s debt.”

“And when he heard the name Benedict, he thought that was you. Then he found out you didn’t have a trust fund, so he moved on to a richer woman—Misty Peterson.”