Page 19 of The Lost Book of First Loves

Chapter 9

Alison

She really wasn’t sure this was a good idea.

After Beckett walked out to his truck, Ali confronted the misgivings that had been plaguing her ever since she had come up with this impulsive, ill-considered idea to have June stay here, purely as a way to lure her to The Painted Sky.

“I don’t feel great about you being here all alone,” she said. “You’ve only been out of the hospital two days.”

“And I spent those two days on my own at my apartment,” June reminded her.

Alison thought of that huge penthouse space that seemed far too grand to be called an apartment. It hadn’t at all resembled the cramped quarters Ali had shared with two other law students for the past three years.

As large and as elegant as that Seattle penthouse had been, June had seemed lost there when Ali had taken her home from the hospital.

“Why don’t I sleep on the sofa tonight to keep an eye on you?”

“Not necessary.” Some of the briskness in June’s manner that Ali had observed as her intern returned to her tone now. “Honestly, I’ll be fine. I feel good. My ICD seems to be working well. I also have my cell phone. If there’s a problem, I can always reach out to you.”

Ali didn’t want to point out that if June had a medical complication, she might not be in any position to make a cell phone call. Only days earlier, she had been fine in one instant then not breathing the next.

“Okay. If you’re sure. I’ll check in on you every few hours. If you don’t text me back, I can be here in five minutes to make sure everything is okay.”

“Alison. Stop. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me but I’ll be fine. I’m used to being on my own.”

“Maybe so, but you also never had a cardiac arrest before. If you won’t agree to text me back, I’ll sleep on the couch. Which do you prefer?”

June blinked, looking surprised at her firm tone. Ali couldn’t really blame her since she had been meek and gutless as an intern.

After a pause, the other woman sighed. “Fine. I’ll try to text you back. If I don’t get right back to you, I might be napping, though.”

“Then I will pop in to check on you quietly and disappear again,” Ali answered. “You won’t even know I’m here.”

June studied her, her head tilted as if Ali were some foreign creature. “I still don’t understand why you’re so concerned about me. I wasn’t exactly easy on you when we were working together.”

Because we’re sisters. Because we share the same father. Because I almost lost you and the thought of that terrifies me, especially before we have the chance to get to know each other.

She could not tell June any of that. Not yet.

“Maybe I’m just a very nice person. Even to a boss who makes Meryl Streep inThe Devil Wears Pradaseem like a breeze.”

June made a face. “Come on. I wasn’t that bad.”

“You weren’t at all,” Ali agreed. “I was just teasing. You were very kind to me, especially since I was completely incompetent.”

“You weren’t that bad, either. I would like to try again with your internship after I return to work. And not only because you’ve been so kind to me.”

Not in a million years. Ali had no desire at all to work in the corporate world.

“Beck’s waiting. I should go.”

She wanted to give June a hug, but their relationship wasn’t quite solid enough for that.

Yet.

“I will for sure see you in the morning.”

“Sounds good. Thank you again for everything.”

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