Nobody she had gotten to know after high school knew the first thing about the vile acts she was capable of. Nobody must know. Mia had rebuilt herself one day at a time, had distanced herself from the influence of her father and the girl she had allowed herself to become a little bit more every day as time progressed. And now there she was fifteen years later. Perfectly capable of not thinking about her past for days on end. Until now. It had come back as hard and sudden as a slap in the face.

“Come on, Mia. A girl like you. The admirers must be lining up,” Jo said.

Mia huffed out a laugh. “No one is doing any such thing.”

“What about Lou? Do you still have the hots for her?” Jo pursed her lips together.

The sound of Lou’s name shot another jolt of shame through her. Mia shook her head. “No. That’s never going to happen.”

“Why not? What happened?”

Mia feverishly wished someone would come into the café right about now. She wouldn’t even mind if it was one of Lou’s friends who would pretend she didn’t exist. But the door remained closed and the customers who were present seemed perfectly content nursing their coffees.

“Nothing.” Damn it. Mia had clearly said too much already.

“Did you make a move on her at the open mic night?” Josephine didn’t let up.

Mia shook her head. “Nothing like that.”

“Because Caitlin and I were talking the other day and, provided that Lou bats for our team, the two of you would make a pretty stunning couple.”

“What? No.” Mia had to keep herself from raising her voice.

“Okay, okay. I get it. You’re not interested, but I sure thought you were for a minute there,” Jo said.

Finally, the door opened and someone walked in. Before Mia could get a look at the new patrons, her heart skipped a beat. But it wasn’t Lou. It was a woman whom she had seen at the Pink Bean almost every day and who had flashed her a few smiles that could hardly be misunderstood.

“Hi Daisy,” Jo said. “I’ll let Mia take care of you today.”

Hackles fully up, Mia served Daisy her coffee, reacting as neutrally as possible to her mild flirtations.

“Okay, if it’s going to be like this whenever it’s your time of the month, you’re going to have to be very honest with me,” Josephine said. “You nearly stared poor Daisy out of here with that ominous glare of yours, and we both know she has the hots for you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m having a massive off day. I don’t feel much like flirting or talking for that matter.”

“Hey, we all have them. No need to explain yourself to me. Just a heads-up, that’s all I ask.”