Madison surged forward. “Why did you want to see me?” They’d done enough small talk, and she definitely didn’t want to talk about the first woman she’d slept with, now or at any other time, for that matter.

Danielle’s expression sobered. “Nice that you’re so interested in what happened to me in the past years. Really touching how much you care.”

Dammit! It wasn’t that she didn’t care, but she had a bad feeling about all this, so it was better to face the shit before it hit the fan. On the other hand, even she had to admit that she was being rude. And truth be told, she did still care about Danielle and what she had been up to since they had last seen each other. “Okay.” She sighed. “So what have you been doing all this time?”

After hesitating for a moment, Danielle turned toward the bar and signaled to her empty glass. “You also want one?”

“Sure.” What else was she supposed to say?

Danielle held up two fingers.

“The service isn’t all too stellar these days,” Madison grumbled. “Nobody seems to care that I came in a few minutes ago or that I might want to drink something.”

“The service’s understaffed.”

“How would you know? You still a regular here?” Had she been coming even after they stopped hanging out here together? The thought hurt.

A smile played around Danielle’s lips. “I bought the Archer five months ago.”

“What?” What the hell did Danielle want with a coffee bar?

“The owners retired.”

Rendering Madison speechless was a rare accomplishment, but Danielle had managed to do just that.

“They remembered us. Our badly made fake IDs obviously left a lasting impression.”

Despite the shock, Madison had to smile at the memory. When she had gotten the fake IDs so she could have a drink despite being just sixteen, Danielle had always accompanied her to the Archer but never touched any alcohol herself—not even once. The old owner of the Archer, Mr. Colberg, had looked the other way as long as Madison hadn’t overdone it, and Danielle had always seen to that. And now it was all Danielle’s. How surreal. “And what about your administrative job?”

“Working in township wasn’t really my cup of tea. Every day was the same. I didn’t have to get an MBA for that.”

“So because you were bored with your old job, you bought the Archer instead of accepting Grandmother Eileen’s offer to work at Fielding Inc. to make a fortune?”

“Working at Fielding Inc. would have been no different than working in township. I realized that I’m just not made for sitting around all day with my nose in paperwork.”

That was something Madison could relate to.