Read When We Fall for Free Online

Charlotte far preferred Chez Louis’ grilled shrimp and vegetable platter or the poached salmon at the Ivy Grill. But, predictably, Elizabeth wanted greasy griddle food. And what Elizabeth wanted, Elizabeth got, which was just fine byCharlotte, since her sister’s soggy stack of pancakes came with a welcome side order of anonymity.
    â€œOkay.” The waitress disappeared into the throng of indistinguishable servers, and Charlotte rifled through her monogrammed carryall to find her iPhone.
    The Louis Vuitton had been a gift from Charlie for their tenth wedding anniversary, which meant he’d given her permission to buy something for herself.
Within reason.
He’d never bothered to ask what he’d gotten her. One bag was the same as the next to him—their definitions of
clutch
being, quite clearly, very different. In Charlie’s world, a clutch was what Derek Jeter came through in with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Charlotte scanned the e-mails in her inbox, which were mostly snippets of gossip from her best friends, Sabrina and Missy. There was also a slew of “immediate action required” notes from Gia’s school principal, since fourth grade would officially commence the following day. It was hard to believe that almost a decade had elapsed since Gia’s birth, an occasion that, for most new parents, would have been indisputably blissful. But not for Charlotte and Charlie. Any joy they’d articulated in the weeks leading up to, at, or immediately after Gia’s birth had been swiftly squelched by Charlotte’s mother, for fear that it would intensify the excruciating agony stemming from Elizabeth’s catastrophic loss. And the agony wasn’t confined to Elizabeth. There’d been a sinister cloak of despair encasing her entire family for at least a month.
    â€œYou would not believe the fucking traffic I just hit on the Post Road.” Elizabeth’s snarky voice called Charlotte to attention. Her sister appeared purposefully casual, as usual,wearing a crinkled white men’s shirt tucked into faded and shredded blue jeans, the soles of her perfect size-seven feet flattening the back of an old pair of Vans sneakers and her auburn hair gathered into a messy chignon. Often, Charlotte wondered how Elizabeth managed to look so good with such little effort and even less money for shopping.
    It was hard to remember a time when she hadn’t been jealous of Elizabeth’s naturally lean physique, her warm olive complexion, and the way her enviable blue eyes illuminated when she was passionate about something. Elizabeth was by far the more desirable sister, in Charlotte’s opinion and—she felt quite certain—in the opinion of anyone who’d met them. She was also the more outgoing and possibly smarter sister, though Charlotte always made better grades in school thanks to her staunch work ethic.
    â€œShhh.” Charlotte surveyed her surroundings again, perusing the thankfully unrecognizable faces.
    â€œWhat? We’re not at the ballet.” Elizabeth dropped all one hundred and three pounds of herself into the plush booth with a thud.
    â€œI know, but do we really need the f-bombs?” Charlotte sniffed and widened her eyes. “Are you smoking again?”
    â€œWhat?” Elizabeth flailed her lean, tanned arms to summon the waitress, who promptly rolled her eyes.
    â€œYou heard me.” Charlotte tucked her skillfully straightened, collar-bone-skimming brown hair, highlighted with streaks of deep red, behind her ears and arched a professionally plucked eyebrow dubiously. “It’s a repulsive habit and you better not be puffing away in my car. Charlie will kill you.”
    â€œWhat else is new?” The waitress appeared. “Saved by the bell.” Elizabeth smirked. “Can I get a Coke? I wouldn’t drink this crap if you paid me.” She pushed the iced tea toward Charlotte, causing it to splash