“I’ll take a few minutes of normalcy. Give me ten minutes to get ready.” Bristol was filled with a giddy energy she hadn’t felt in a long time. Lizzy never let her go out. She needed this outing. Even if it was for five glorious, boring minutes. She changed clothes, put on her favorite sneakers, and tied a windbreaker around her waist. One of her security guys knocked on the door and gave Lizzy a Colorado Rockies hat from their gift shop. Bristol gathered her hair and tucked it up.

“You look like a soccer mom,” Lizzy said.

“Then I freaking nailed the look.” Bristol slid Lizzy’s large, black sunglasses on her face. “I don’t look like me.”

“You look like the quintessential middle-America soccer mom who’s hunting a cup of java to keep herself sane from too many soccer and T-ball games,” she said.

“As long as I don’t resemble Bristol Baines.” She stared at herself in the mirror and wiped off the lipstick. “Soccer moms don’t have time for lipstick.”

“We might be underselling soccer moms,” Lizzy said. She picked up her bag from the coffee table. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

The coffee bar was larger than Bristol expected. She followed Lizzy in, put her head down, and tried to appear as casual and inconspicuous as possible. Nobody gave her a second glance.

“Hi. We’re looking for Charley. Is she available?” Lizzy asked the barista behind the register.

“I’m Charley. Are you Lizzy?”

Charley was attractive, with black hair that was shaved short in the back and fell in chunks across her forehead. She wore a black T-shirt with The Night Owl logo across her chest. Her blue eyes widened in shock when she realized Bristol Baines was standing three feet away. Instead of making a big deal, she flipped the countertop open and motioned for her and Lizzy to follow her to the back of the store to a very small but private office.

“It might be better if we chat back here,” Charley said. She motioned to two chairs opposite a desk with a small stack of papers and a coffee mug that said “Life Happens, Coffee Helps” above their logo. It was obvious Charley was proud of her business.

“Thank you for the discretion,” Bristol said. She slipped off her sunglasses but kept the hat on.

Charley nodded and wrung her fingers nervously until everyone focused on them, and then she stopped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t put two and two together. I didn’t realize you repped Bristol Baines. When you called and said you wanted to book Annie for a show, I recognized Top Shelf, but not your name.” She gave Bristol a nervous smile. “I can’t imagine how hard it is for you to get out and about.”

Bristol nodded thanks. If Charley only knew how hard it really was.