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Almost. “I understand. You’re not the only one who makes sacrifices for the ones he loves, and I know all too well what it’s like to lose a parent.”
He softens, knowing what’s coming, knowing already that this is over.
“I would never stand in between you and your mother, Zach. So there is no obligation. I just should have heard the truth a long time ago.”
As I turn to leave, he grips my sleeve and pulls me back. “Aly, wait. I...I can’t lose you.”
“I’m not going to be your mistress or whatever it is you people call it.”
“No.” He removes his hands from my arm and plunges it into his hair. “I just need some time to sort this out.”
“That’s all you ever need. Time. Time to wait, time to explain. Well, you’re running out of time, and I’m running out of patience.”
Zach stares at me in silence. Maybe contemplating how much I truly mean the words I’ve just said. I’m not even sure how muchIbelieve them.
“Why didn’t you tell me Jackson was blackmailing you?” he asks.
The blood in my veins curdles. Every artery clogs, cutting off the blood supply to my heart and the oxygen to my brain.
“He isn’t blackmailing me.” Which is true. “He just sent me a text accusing me of sleeping with you to get the apprenticeship.”
“And this was before…”
“Yes, it was before.” If he’s asking me about it, Jackson must have come to him for more leverage. Jackson certainly wasn’t getting anywhere with me. I have no money for blackmail. But if he knows who Zach really is, how much he’s worth, Jackson might have said anything to convince Zach to pay for his silence. “What did he say to you? Is that why you’ve been…”
“He mentioned something similar.”
His clipped words worry me. He’s hiding something. Again. “And? Did you believe he knows something?”
“No. But we shouldn’t take any chances.” Zach reaches for the coffee in my hands and sets them both on a table beside us. His arms fold about me, and I breathe in the warm citrusy musk of his cologne.
This is home. This is everything.
This is foolish. Yet, I can’t seem to convince myself to care.
“Please, Aly. I know this isn’t easy. But I’m going to make it work.”
My body absorbs into his. I am lost to the heat radiating off of him, his scent, and the firm form of his body beneath his plush sweater. I want to stay lost, to forget where I am. These are empty promises, I warn myself. Though sometimes, we just need to believe in magic.
His hand cups my chin, lifting my face up toward him. Before I know what’s happening, his lips press against mine, and I am falling all over again. It doesn’t last long. Not enough for me to completely forget the gravity of the conversation we just shared.
We make our way back upstairs. The same crew member he paid is standing at the top, guarding the entrance. I walk ahead of Zach as he talks to the kid. Across the room is a tall blonde. She seems completely out of place in a coffee shop like this. Not that the steep prices of the coffee are anything to sneer at.
Her normal coffee selection, I imagine, involves something imported fresh the morning of and brewed in a solid gold coffee maker. Instead of sugar, she probably sprinkles diamonds into her cup.
Other customers have started to notice her, too. Beyond the ridiculously overpriced outfit that simply screams “mug me,” her beauty is at a celebrity level. I bet she has a personal trainer, or consults with a strict hourly food calculator that regulates every meal and calorie.
She looks perfect. Unreal. I would never live up to her.
Zach appears beside me. His eyes widen with confusion, trying to make sense of the vision in front of him. A lump bobs at the center of his throat. He shifts his gaze to me quickly, then back to the radiant beauty.
“Zach,” she says, finally noticing him across the room. Her tiny heels tap against the tile floors. Anxiety wells within me just watching her balance in those shoes. “I’ve been looking for you.”
I hang back, taking an alternate path to make it seem less obvious we were just together. It doesn’t work. She senses the tension between us, or catches one of Zach’s regretful side-glances, and delivers a scathing glare of her own in my direction. She doesn’t offer any further acknowledgement of my presence than that. A woman like me is so far beneath her notice, I guess. Instead, she loops her arm through Zach’s and draws him tighter to her.
“Come on, honey bear. We have to leave soon, or we’re going to be late.”
She leans in to kiss him, and my heart lurches forward.
