I tap on her closed door, and it takes her a few minutes to answer, flipping the lock.

“Molly! Hey.”

“Do you want to grab some lunch?”

She clears her throat and peers over her shoulder. “Yeah. That would be great. I was just finishing up some paperwork.” She’s acting oddly but swings the door open, and I see Josh sitting on a sofa near the window.

“Hey, Molly,” he says cheerfully. “I was just taking a break myself and stopped to see if Laken wanted to head over to André’s.”

Laken runs her fingers through her disheveled hair. Two of her blouse buttons are undone, the lacy top of her bra showing. I feel as though I’ve walked into an improv skit. “Oh, sorry. Well, if you two had plans,” I say like an idiot.

Josh jumps to his feet and tucks his shirt in his pants. “No. No. You guys go. I’ll catch up with you another time,” he says to Laken and practically runs out the door.

Laken and I walk across the square. I don’t know what to say to her as she rambles on about business and her boys until we reach the café. We put in our orders at the counter, take a metal stand with a number attached at the top, and set it on our table.

“Josh wanted to book a massage,” she says. “Things have been pretty rough for him at work.”

Laken’s a terrible liar, and I’ve lost my appetite. How could they do this to Kim and Cal? And why now, when we’re all torn up over Jay? Jesus. What am I supposed to do about this? Then I hear Jay’s voice in my head. Not your problem, Molly. Not yours to fix. Which is funny because all Jay ever did professionally or otherwise was try to fix people.

But it’s going to be damn hard not to get involved. I can’t keep this from Kim, my oldest friend. Laken came along later. Losing Laken’s friendship, while it would sting, wouldn’t be devastating. And Josh. Well, he was never my favorite person, but as Kim was over the moon about him, I tried. The fact that he asked Kim to marry him, after dating for just six months, surprised me and Jay at the time, but she seemed happy.

I listen as Laken prattles on about the spa and her twins and everything except Josh. I run my spoon through my soup, like I did when I was little, and leave as soon as I can without it seeming as though I’m running away from her, which I am. I need to get back to the bookstore and on even ground again.

* * *