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‘I like you, Alyssa,’ Emmalina said, the words seeming to come so easily to her.

Alyssa looked up, her heart feeling warm.

‘Though can I give you one last piece of advice, coach to coach? Then I promise I’ll shut up and let you choose your food. I recommend the pesto and mozzarella deep dish, by the way.’

Alyssa nodded for her to continue.

‘You worry a lot about what people might think. Like, you’re bothered about what strangers would say if you were snogging Dad, or if they knew where you actually buy your clothes, or if they spotted you wolfing down a pizza.’

Alyssa’s eyes widened, but she kept slowly nodding. Sylvie looked curious too.

‘What other people think of you is none of your business. You should just be you.’

Alyssa blinked a few times, letting the thought settle. It was the sort of thing she’d read on Instagram many times but usually brushed off. To her, what other people thought of her had always been her business. Quite literally. The opinions of strangers could make or break her career. She was no health guru or fashion icon, but she’d always strived to be seen as inspirational, on top of life, good at making wise choices. She’d got a lot of social media love as that person, and for a long time, that had brought her clients and opportunities. People wanted to work with her because they wanted to be like her. It was a simple equation.

She’d been getting better at shaking some of that off since she’d returned to Hartglove. But if an eleven-year-old could spot it, clearly, she had more work to do. And what kind of example was she setting to the next generation if she was on social media, putting on a front? Maybe too much ‘feel good’ could make others ‘feel bad’. The thought made her stomach drop.

‘You make a great point, Emmalina,’ Alyssa said earnestly. ‘And I’m working things through. Are you hiring yourself out as a coach yet? I should get your card.’ She gave her a wink.

‘Jeez, you guys. Can’t we just eat some pizza?’ Sylvie groaned.

Alyssa laughed. Friendship felt good again, after all this time. And now it was like having two sweet friends for the price of one. Although that gave her a quiet, creeping fear that the more good things she gathered, the more she stood to lose if things didn’t work out for her. It had hurt like hell the last time she’d lost her best people, and she had no idea if she could survive that again. She would just have to channel some of Emmalina’s fighting spirit.

And while Alyssa wasn’t ready to let a minor railroad her into announcing her relationship with Devan before she was ready, Emmalina had inspired her to work on at least one of her other problems.