Page 78 of Pretty Heartache

“Ember!” I scold, embarrassment still consuming me.

“I’m only teasing.” She winks and then her smile fades, her face turning serious. “Does Archer know?”

“No.” I shake my head. “We haven’t been talking very much lately. And anyway, I’m a little upset at him.” I swallow thickly. “He told our dad I was back.”

“What the fuck?” Ember huffs. “You’ve talked to him?”

“Micah caught him scaling the fence in the backyard. I was working in the garden when he showed up, and I went in the house before I could hear what they were talking about. But Micah told me he’d said Archer had been the one who told him. I think he was there to see me. And buy pills from Micah.”

“He doesn’t still sell, does he?” Ember asks, worry etched into her brow.

“No.” I shake my head, confident in my answer. I have no reason to believe Micah would take that risk. Not after he shared his experience with me. I see how happy he is now and know he wouldn’t want to risk losing it all for the sake of selling drugs again.

“Good.” Ember gives a small smile. “Hopefully, you don’t run into your father again.”

“I hope not.” I feel tears sting the back of my eyes. “I almost thought about leaving, but… I don’t know.” I shrug, looking around before landing back on Ember’s kind eyes. “There’s something about where I am that makes me feel safe.”

Ember gives me a closed-mouth smile.

“Ember.” One of the photographers steps up to us and leans in. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re ready to start.”

“Perfect.” Ember bounces out of her seat and slips between our chairs but stops before she joins the rest of the crew. “Are you sure you don’t want me to style you? We could do a quick, small shoot.”

I look over Ember’s shoulder, watching Merit sit down on the single barstool set in front of the white backdrop. She’s unmoving in her seat, patiently waiting for Ember to join her and make a last few finishing touches to her makeup. My palms sweat, and I inhale a shaky breath, wrapping my hand around my phone still in my lap.

“Not today.” I tilt my head, focusing back on my best friend. “I think Merit deserves this day all to herself.”

Ember glances over her shoulder. When she turns back, she’s wearing a smile. She softly nods. “If you change your mind…” She wags her brush back and forth before backing away.

I respond to Micah’s text before following my best friend and joining her.

Watching Merit’s photoshoot is more enjoyable than I expect it to be, and by the time she’s finished, my chest feels a little lighter. I realize my love for this world isn’t completely gone or diminished.

The joy on Merit’s face gives me a boost—one that reminds me why I fell in love with this profession. Somewhere inside me is still the little girl who would sneak into my mother’s vanity and steal her lipstick.

Once the photoshoot finishes, I chat with Merit before saying goodbye to Ember and her team.

While hitching my purse over my shoulder and heading toward the front door, I’m texting Ray a message to let him know I’m done and plan to meet him out front when I slam into a wall. Well, it isn’t so much a wall as it is a person.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I yelp, grabbing onto the woman’s arm, steadying both of us.

Three gold bangles jingle on her wrist, and a distinctive sapphire diamond ring is wrapped around her index finger.

One I recognize.

It pulls at my memory, and it takes everything I have to gather the strength to look her in the face. Slowly, my eyes move up the length of her arm, then up her neck before they land on her all-too gorgeous smile.

“Mom.” I swallow.

She tilts her head to the side and relaxes her shoulders. Lifting her hand, she runs the back of her index finger down the side of my face. “My Addy girl.”

I cringe, jerking away and giving her a scowl. “What are you doing here?”

“Well.” She licks her lips and flips her long, wavy brown hair with her hand, flashing her signature smile. The one she gives when she’s trying to come across as confident. Inside I know she’s uncertain about seeing me. “I heard Ember had a studio,and I wanted to come by and see it. Actually, I was going to ask her about you.”

She pulls me in for a hug. Her long, thin arms wrap around me, tugging me without waiting for an invitation, my arms pinned at my side. She’s warm and familiar. I look over her shoulder, searching for Ember, but I don’t see her. She must still be hiding in the back.

“I was just leaving,” I mumble.

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