Are you free for coffee now? she typed back, then picked up her Coke. It had gone flat, so she dumped it down the sink. Her phone dinged as she was putting the bottle in the recycling bin.

Meeting Rebecca and Sadie at Black Bean Cafe in an hour, the message read. You’re welcome to join us.

Olivia frowned at the screen. Normally, she’d prefer to have a conversation like this in a less public venue. But the Black Bean Café had high booths that provided at least a bit of privacy, and the music was always just loud enough to mask the conversations around them. Add in the noise of a busy café—the rattle of dishes, the clang of silverware, the never-ending shouts of the baristas calling out orders—the odds of someone overhearing were slim to none.

“Yes,” she muttered, and tapped out Perfect, meet you there. She sent the text, then slipped the phone back into her pocket and hurried upstairs to grab her purse.

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

She walked into the café and shrugged on her hoodie, grateful she’d remembered to bring it. The place was packed, full of people taking advantage of the gorgeous summer Saturday, and they had the a/c turned up to arctic blast. She spotted Amanda in a booth on the far side, Sadie and Rebecca with her, and after acknowledging them with a wave, went to the counter to order.

The line moved quickly, the baristas working with choreographed efficiently behind the counter, and within a few minutes she had her iced vanilla coffee in hand and was sliding into the booth next to Amanda.

“Hey,” she said, smiling at her friends. “What are we talking about?”

“Well, we were talking about Rebecca’s threesome,” Sadie offered, her ginger hair wobbling a little in its messy topknot. She gestured with her green smoothie. “But that’s old news. What the fuck happened with Kyle?”

“Jesus, Sadie.” Amanda wrapped a shielding arm around Olivia’s shoulders. “At least let her say hello, first.”

“She said hello,” Sadie pointed out.

Rebecca, sitting next to Sadie across the table, rolled her eyes. Her dark hair was pulled into a sleek tail, her gray eyes soft with sympathy. “Ignore her.”

“It’s okay,” Olivia said with a laugh. “Do you want the long story, the short story, or the other story?”

“Other story?” Amanda frowned, her eyes soft with concern behind the lenses of her glasses. “Did something else happen?”

“Not with Kyle,” Olivia said, and lifted her drink for a sip. “But it’s kind of related.”

“Well, that sounds juicy as fuck, but let’s deal with Kyle first.” Sadie leaned over the table, her voice dropping so everyone had to lean in to hear her. “All we know is that you broke up with him, then ended up staying at Cade’s last night.”

Olivia nodded. “True and true.”