Ella chose a booth away from the window, even though she really wished she could sit where the sunshine could hit her face. She thought it was safer to sit back in the corner, though, where less people would see them. While she doubted her cousin or her stepsisters would be in this part of town, she didn’t want anyone taking a picture of Rome and posting it someplace where Tim, her stepsisters, stepmother, or her dad would see it.
She’d ordered a soda and was sipping it slowly, so glad to have something other than water. She’d drank basically all of the Coke Tim had had in his refrigerator since she’d gotten there the night before, but in fairness, he’d only had a couple of cans. Well, maybe four. But still, she had a lot of missed time to make up for.
When Rome finally arrived, she coul
