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The intercom buzzed.

Izzy sighed. “Saved by the intercom.”

I stood, smiling. “The universe looks out for me that way.” Or so I thought until I reached the wall-mounted monitor near my front door and saw none other than Alondra waiting outside, her mouth pinched, her eyes hidden by large sunglasses.

Crap.

Chapter Ten

Reluctantly, I pressed the button to unlock the main door to the complex. No prizes for guessing what had brought my mother here. She’d finally chosen to confront me over my continued contact with Trace.

I was surprised that she hadn’t simply given me a ration of shit over the phone as opposed to inconveniencing herself by flying all the way to Redwater. As a rule, Alondra did not inconvenience herself. She also wasn’t a fan of Redwater—it wasn’t glamorous enough for her liking.

I doubted that I was being dramatic by having the distinct feeling that this conversation was not going to go well.

I returned to the living area, puffing out a weary breath.

Izzy frowned. “What’s wrong?”

I set my hands on my hips. “She’s here. Alondra.”

Her brows lifting, Izzy hummed. “Apparently she’s done holding her silence and has decided that a face-to-face chat would be good.”

“Well it won’t be.” Far from it.

“You never know, she might be here to say that she’s done being an arsehole.”

I snickered. “Oh, you’re funny.”

“Stranger things have happened.” Izzy stood. “I’ll get out of here so that you two can talk in private. I’m nosy enough towant to stay, but I admit there’s a good chance I’d bitch slap her if she went on a rant, and I doubt you’d want that.”

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”

Her mouth curving, Izzy crossed to me and put a hand on my upper arm. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”

“In your apartment holding a glass to the wall so you can eavesdrop?”

“Yes. That’s exactly where I’ll be.” She gave my arm a quick, supportive squeeze. “Good luck.”

Mere minutes after Izzy left, my mother arrived. I didn’t get the chance to greet Alondra. She strode inside before I’d even fully opened the front door, her face a mask of anger. Yeah, thisdefinitelywasn’t going to go well.

With an inward sigh, I let the door swing shut. Turning to fully face her, I folded my arms, braced for dramatics.

She swiped off her sunglasses in a sharp, fluid movement. “Did you specifically set out to embarrass me?”

I bristled, my brows drawing together. “Embarrass you?” What in the hell?

“You’ve been swanning around Redwater slobbering over two men at the same time, like you don’t have an ounce of self-respect.” The words tumbled out of her, edged with disgust. “Icringedlooking at the pictures taken of you with them.”

Oh, was that so? Inching up my chin, I poked my tongue into the inside of my cheek. “I had the same reaction many times over the years when you did shit like accidentally-on-purpose flash your underwear to the paparazzi—an incident that might not have been so terrible if you hadn’t been wearing a G-string.”

All the kids at school had teased me mercilessly about it. One had even torn the article out of a magazine and pinned it to the classroom chalkboard, the dick. Similar things had happened before and after that particular incident.

“That was accidental,” she clipped.

“It was a bid for the tabloids’ attention, and we both know it.” I followed her into the living area, where she flung her purse on the armchair. “Now, please don’t tell me you came all this way just to whine at me about some pictures. I’ve told you before, what I do with Trace and Kaleb ismybusiness. It has not one tiny thing to do with you.”

I didn’t get the outburst that I’d expected. No, she drew in a long breath through her nose, and the tension slipped out of her muscles just as her anger appeared to drain away.Appearedbeing the operative word. I never forgot that my mother was an award-winning actress.

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