“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.”

“Oh, Milly.” Nicole gave a choked laugh and opened her eyes. “You haven’t changed one bit, and I’m so happy about that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Since Richard had walked out taking most of her confidence with him, she felt as if every part of her had changed. She could barely remember the person she used to be, but Nicole didn’t know that because she hadn’t asked.

She felt a pang of loss as she remembered how their friendship used to be. There had been no barriers between them, but now there was a barrier so big she couldn’t see past it.

Nicole turned her head to look at her. “When we were young you always refused to read scandalous stories about celebrities. You thought it was distasteful that someone was making a career out of exploiting a person’s misfortune, and you didn’t want to be part of it. You were always kind, even to people you didn’t know.”

Was that how she’d ended up where she was, with everyone taking advantage of her?

“These days it’s less about my principles and more about the fact I don’t have a moment in the day to draw breath, let alone read gossip. I have a life, Nicole!” A life she was holding together by her fingernails. And suddenly the heat flared to life again. Maybe Nicole was hurting, but she was hurting too. “I don’t have time to read much at all. I wish I did, but between raising my child alone and worrying what all this is doing to her, dealing with my selfish ex-husband, running a business at a time when everyone is watching what they’re spending and wondering if life is going to be this tough forever, there’s not a lot of spare time left for lounging around reading about people whose lives quite frankly seem pretty good from where I’m standing.” She stopped, mortified. Why had she said all that? She’d blurted out far more than she’d intended. She’d told herself that she was going to be polite and give nothing of herself. She was going to show Nicole that this friendship didn’t matter to her any more than it did to Nicole. That she’d moved on, just as Nicole had.