“I haven’t been on any more dates, Dad.” She quickly spooned up the rest of her breakfast. “You’ll be the first to know when I do. Fathers have a right to know these things about their grown-up daughters,” she joked.

Her father didn’t smile. “I’m just worried about you.”

Ah, there it was. When Lou had moved to Brisbane to get away from her life in Sydney and start over, she had also taken advantage of the opportunity to escape her parents’ over-protectiveness. They’d meant well, but to put herself together again she’d had to do it without them. She had missed them terribly, and spent hours on the phone with them every week, but at the time, it felt like the only way forward.

“I can take care of myself these days.”

“I know you can, but I’m still allowed to worry.”

“I have to go.” Lou checked her watch ostentatiously. “See you tonight.”

She gave him a quick wave and left her worried father to clean up the breakfast table.

“Can we talk?” Lou asked Mia as soon as she entered the Pink Bean. She no longer needed Amber’s presence next to her to go up to the counter and order a coffee from Mia—and Mia no longer hid in a corner when she saw her approach.

“Now?” Mia asked, her body having gone stiff a little.

“After your shift, if you have time.”

“Lunch?” Mia consulted her watch. “I’ll be done in half an hour.”

“Just a quick chat is fine.” Lou didn’t want to go as far as to have lunch with Mia. Besides, the conversation she wanted to have would only be made harder if they had to chew food in between. “In private.” Lou had considered asking Mia to her parents’ house for privacy reasons, but she didn’t want to invite her into her home. It was a step too far. “I’ll wait for you.”

“Okay, sure.” Mia gave her a half-smile. “Care to tell me what it’s about?” She was growing bolder around Lou, less on guard—less as if she was still punishing herself.

“Not now.” Lou said in a tone that she hoped would convey what it was about. She had no doubt Mia would understand. Because it was the one big thing between them everything still flowed back to. Truth be told, Lou was ready for that to be over. Maybe Micky had been right in more ways than one.

“Okay.” Mia handed Lou her coffee. “I’ll come and find you.”

Lou found a spot in the corner by the window, so she could look out over the street and rehearse what she was going to say. But as she sat there, she found her eyes drawn back to the counter, where Mia was bantering with Jo, or joking with customers, just being her jolly self—the one she had become later in life.