Page 6 of Tempt My Heart

"Jared messaged me."

"I hope you told him exactly where he could go."

Ali winced. "Not exactly."

"Alison Henderson. Do not tell me you got back together with this boy."

"No, nothing like that," she said quickly before rolling over onto her back to stare up at one of the cracks in the corner of her ceiling. "I actually need your advice, and I need to get out of the house for a while. Can you meet me atLola’s?"

Silence on the other end of the phone. Normally Ali was begging for her mom to stay out of her life because she had a tendency to meddle, so she knew it had to be something big for Ali to actively want her opinion.

"Sure, kiddo. I can be there in an hour."

“Works for me. See you soon.” She hung up and gazed up at the ceiling. Her mom lived just outside of the city in the rural neighborhood where Ali had grown up—in fact, she still lived in Ali’s childhood home.Lola’swasn’t too far for her to travel, it was mostly Saturday traffic that would slow things down getting into the main hub of the city, but the coffee there was worth the trip anyway. It was actually where she’d first met Jared. Of course, now she was wondering if he’d known it was one of her favorite places—just how premeditated had he been?

"Ugh." Ali flung her arm across her face and winced as she somehow tugged on a piece of her hair that had come loose from its braid.

She didn't want to lie to Christopher. Didn't want to betray him or make him complicit in her betrayal—and that was only if she could realistically get him to take any notice of her.

There was no way she could guarantee that her boss would take her to his best friend's wedding. Jared's plan had more flaws than she could count.

Freya:Are u awake yet

Jesse:NOBODY'S awake yet. It's FIVE AM.

Freya:If you're not awake then how did u reply?

Jesse:…

Freya:@alihenderson I know u said not to bother but I spoke to my dad's cop friend. He said there's not much they can do until Jared releases the video.

Ali sighed, scrolling through the group chat to catch up on her messages as her mood plummeted further. It was already one in the afternoon. By the time she was just waking up Freya had apparently been on her morning run, spoken to the police on her behalf, and was now making pancakes judging by the smell wafting under Ali's door.

It was Freya's go-to hangover cure and Ali had to admit that she appreciated the forethought as her stomach growled loudly. One foot dropped out of her warm covers and then the other, but then the room rolled as she tried to sit up. Steadying herself, Ali tugged on her cozy PJ socks and shuffled into the kitchen.

Freya looked up with a smile as she dished pancakes out onto three different plates and slid one in Ali's direction.

"Heard you talking in your room. Your mom?"

Ali nodded as she grabbed the plate from the counter and carried it to the small dining table they had squished into the corner of the main living space. “Yeah, we’re going to meet atLola’s.”

“Well, eat something before you go. It’ll make you feel more human.”

She snorted but didn’t disagree, wolfing down the hot blueberry goodness before pecking Freya on the cheek and heading into the shower.

The hot water eased her throbbing head, and by the time she made it out the door she was desperate for a latte. The coffee shop was a short walk from her apartment, in a similar direction to her office, and it felt strange to be walking down the same street as yesterday and find it unchanged when everything else seemed like it was turning upside down.

Lola’shad a sort of rustic coziness to it that immediately set her at ease, like a home away from home with its low-hanging lights, wooden decor, and woven rugs on the hardwood. Her mom had beat her there and claimed a small booth along the left wall opposite the counter, and the familiarity of her mom’s smile and the scent of coffee beans made her finally relax.

“Hey.” She smiled and slid into her seat with a sigh of relief before ordering a coffee using the app.

“How’re things?” Ali knew her mom was probing but trying to be nonchalant about it, and she worked to hide her smile. They had a pretty relaxed relationship nowadays and she was grateful for it, especially when she slid her sunglasses off her face and her mom’s blue eyes narrowed as she took in the slightly puffy, bloodshot remains of yesterday’s crying. “I see.”

“Mom—” Ali cut off her words to thank the waitress as she set down her coffee.

Her mom shook her head and the strawberry blonde of her hair practically quivered with rage. “Remind me where this boy lives?”

A laugh slipped out, unbidden, and she had to wonder if she was just hysterical at this point. If her mom was mad now… Well, everyone had better take cover for when she told her the rest of the story. She hiccuped slightly as the laugh threatened to turn into something else and she clenched her jaw to keep any more tears at bay. “I don’t know what to do.”

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