"Charm." I pulled my eyes away from my phone when my dad called my name.

They were both watching me as my phone continued to ring in my hand. I was torn. Did I talk to Nate, let him explain why he'd disappeared on me, or did I talk to my family and figure out what they knew about Nate that I didn't?

I swiped my thumb across the screen, ignoring the call. Thinking Nate had something to do with the fire at the bakery was somehow less painful than the idea that he'd gotten back together with his ex.

If I didn't talk to him, my heart remained in one piece.

"What's going on?" I asked, stepping further into the living room.

My dad opened his mouth, but Aunt Mimi cut him off. "Have you seen this man?" She stood, holding out her phone for me to see. She was on the prisoner site again, a mean looking Black man's mug shot displayed.

I didn't recognize him, but something about his face felt familiar. My stomach twisted. Shaking my head, I asked, "Who is it?"

My aunt returned the phone to the pocket of her dress, her gaze flicking back to her brother.

He stood with his arms crossed, a pinched expression on his face. "Go on, tell her," he said, gesturing with his hand. "Tell your niece how you put her life in danger."

It was rare to see Aunt Mimi without a smile. To me, she was always like a pastel-colored fairy-god mother with rolling pin instead of a wand.

In that moment, she looked like a child having to confess that she broke her parent's expensive vase.

"Can we talk in your room?" She didn't wait for an answer as she walked away. My dad frowned, the disappointment he felt for his sister written all over his face.

I followed my aunt to my room, shutting the door as she plopped down on my bed, her pink dress fanned out around her. I didn't know her exact age since she'd been turning twenty-seven for three years now, but the way she hugged my stuffed bear to her chest made her look so young.

The urge to hug her was strong, but I held off. I wanted to know what she had to tell me first.

I sat next to her, my legs folded pretzel style as I faced her. "What's going on, Aunt Mimi? Who is that man and what does this have to do with Nate?"

She didn't respond for a long moment, her fingers raking through the fur of the teddy bear.

The silence was killing me. I needed her to explain, so I gave her a little nudge. "Does this have to do with your gambling problem?"

My aunt's eyes went wide, her jaw going slack. "How...?"

"I went to talk to your old friend," I told her. "Lynn Goffney. She told me what happened—why you two had a falling out."

Her chin dipped as she curled into herself. When she looked up again, her eyes were wet with tears. "Yeah, that's what this is about. I made some poor choices in my life and they're catching up with me."

I reached out, giving her shoulder a supportive squeeze, encouraging her to continue.

"That man in the picture, I borrowed some money from him," she said, staring down at her lap. "Instead of paying him back, I ran."

The choices my aunt made regarding her business started to make sense. "Is that why you didn't want Cake Me Up online?" My stomach turned as something dawned on me. "I made an Instagram account." There weren't many pictures, definitely no picture of my aunt, but what if—

"Charm." She grabbed my hand, stopping my thought spiral. "You had nothing to do with him finding me. It was my fault for not being more careful with the people I trusted."

My body went rigid as the argument she and my dad had earlier came back to me. "Nate had nothing to do with this," I said, feeling more defensive than I should've for someone who'd been ignoring my calls all day.

My aunt was taken aback by my outburst. Her expression softened a second later, the corners of her lips twitching into a small, sad smile. "You like him, huh?"

My face felt like it was engulfed by flames. The kiss with Nate replayed my head, sending electricity throughout my body. I did like him, but that seemed so unimportant right then.

Aunt Mimi took my silence as a confirmation. Giving my hand a tight squeeze, she said, "I really hope he's not involved. What I do know is that the man I showed you—he's Nate's uncle."

I snatched my hand out of hers like she'd burned me. I stood from the bed, going to the other side of the room as if distance would make what she said any less true. "What?"

Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears as she looked up at me. She swallowed thickly before saying, "It was a setup. From the moment Cheyenne and Nate walked into the bakery, I was being played. Cheyenne was just working for her brother, trying to get his money back."

Nate's mom didn't seem like a bad person in the few interactions we'd had. She seemed...normal. Maybe she was just a good actor. Like her son.

The way Nate could easily switch between being a video game obsessed boy to hardworking employee should've been a red flag. The way he, out of the blue, wanted me to teach him to bake should've been a red flag.

I let him into my aunt's house and who knew what he did when I wasn't looking. He probably only flirted with me to distract me from what he was really doing.

I let him kiss me, touch me, all while his family was plotting to screw over my aunt. The thought made me nauseous. "Why would they do this? What does burning down your bakery get them?"

"Insurance money," she said, shaking her head. "I felt it in my gut that something was off when Cheyenne wanted to take that spa trip. Your dad's right, I don't think."

My gaze shot to my aunt. "Wait, Nate's mom was with you?"

"Not for the whole trip because she had work, but yesterday we were together," she told me. "But when I woke up this morning she was gone."

Why was Nate acting like his mom was home when she wasn't? Was he in on the plan? The more I thought about it, the less things made sense. Or maybe it all made perfect sense. Nate and his mom were liars. Nothing more to it than that.

♡ ♡ ♡

Sleep wasn't an option that night. I spent the night at Nessa's house and we checked off a few more summer bucket list items like making our own ice pops and tie-dying shirts.

Nate messaged once while Nessa's dad set up a tent for us in the front yard, wanting to know if we could talk.

I had nothing to say to him. Wherever he was, I hoped he stayed there. If I never saw his face again, it would be too soon.

Now, Nessa and I sat in the tent, the night time noises of crickets and random dogs filling the air. We had pizza and a laptop playing The Kissing Booth, because we were suckers for cheesy rom-coms.

"Do you think it'll work?" Nessa asked, taking a sip of her water.

I grabbed another slice of pizza as I asked, "What?"

"The insurance thing," she clarified. "Will your aunt actually get the money?"

"She should. It's not like she was scamming them."

Cheyenne and her brother had a thoroughly thought-out plan. They gave my aunt a solid alibi with that spa trip and aside from Kai, there was no one to dispute the gas leak story.

"As long as Kai keeps his mouth shut, Aunt Mimi can pay off her debts and hopefully Cheyenne and her family will leave us all alone." I punctuated my mini-rant by angrily biting into my pizza. Not even the sweetness of Hawaiian pizza could over power the bitter taste Nate left in my mouth.

I could feel Nessa's eyes on the side of my face. "I'm sorry about—" I shot her a look that made her stop before she spoke his name. "—gamer boy," she finished.

So am I, I thought, picking a pineapple from my pizza and popping it in my mouth. "It's whatever. He was a crappy kisser, anyway." My lips tingled in protest at my blatant lie.

She simply smiled, resting her head on my shoulder. "I know this day has been the shittiest day ever, but at least we have Disneyland to look forward to."

My face broke out into a grin as I remembered her early birthday present to me. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"No, you haven't."

I threw my arms around her, hugging her so tight she yelped. "I love you."

She hugged me back just as tight. "I know."