“Thanks,” I said uncertainly, checking the rim for lipstick marks.

“Everyone, this is my friend Cat,” Audrey announced to the table. “Cat and I have been friends for, like, a million years. Cat, this is Lawrence, who works with me at the museum. And here’s Keisha and Georgia, who are travel bloggers visiting from London. We connected over Instagram this afternoon.”

“I love London,” I said politely.

One of them took that as her cue to begin telling me about the best places to shop in London. I nodded along, hoping she couldn’t tell I barely recognized any of the brand names she was dropping, and was glad when the conversation moved on to the bloggers’ American itinerary. When the conversation then shifted to posting schedules and Google analytics, I felt my mind drifting to the pile of work in my shoulder bag. I was plotting my exit when Lawrence leaned toward me, eyes twinkling behind his glasses, and asked, “Has Audrey told you about the president of her fan club?”

I shot Audrey a glance. “You have a fan club?”

“It’s a joke,” she said with a forced-sounding laugh.

“There’s this gallery closed for installation, right?” Lawrence said. “And on Audrey’s first day, she found this rando in there. She kicked him out and gained a major fan in the process. Dude’s been back every single day since. He just lurks around the halls, hoping for a glimpse of her. The rest of us have made spotting him into a game.”

I raised my eyebrows in alarm. “Has anyone alerted security?”

“It’s okay, Cat,” Audrey said. “He’s not dangerous. Just a little weird.”

“You don’t know that.”

The table fell silent. Lawrence exchanged a look with one of the bloggers, a look that clearly implied I was no fun. Fine. Maybe I was no fun, but I also wasn’t going to stand by while my best friend fell victim to some stalker just because everyone thought it was a game. Women were murdered by seemingly harmless “admirers” all the time because they were conditioned to not make a fuss.

“Promise me you’ll talk to security,” I insisted, ignoring Lawrence’s rolling eyes.

Audrey patted my hand gently and effectively changed the subject by asking the bloggers when they planned to travel to New York. Twenty minutes later, Lawrence called it a night, giving Audrey a lingering kiss on the cheek, and Keisha and Georgia took off just after him. I was reaching for my bag, assuming Audrey would be ready to leave, too, but she flagged down the waiter and ordered us another round.

“Thanks for coming, Cat.”

I released my bag. “Well, it’s not every day your friend gets national recognition. Congratulations.”

“It’s more than that, though,” she said, swirling the dregs of her drink. “I really couldn’t stand the thought of being in that apartment alone another night, and I don’t want to have Nick over again. It’ll just inflate his ego, and you know it’s big enough as it is.”