She’d defeated her tears and now adopted a resolute look. “Sometimes I don’t know if I’m fooling myself, like that I’m just caught up in my first big romance. But, seriously, some days, I feel like I’ve found the one. Like if he wanted to run off right now, I’d do it.” The love on her face was like a bullet through my heart. “If something’s wrong, I want to help him through it.”

“I know, I know, but you still don’t know what ‘it’ is. If it’s a writing thing, he’s got to work it out. If it’s something else . . . well, I’m sure he’ll come talk about it when he’s ready.”

Her dark eyes were contemplative, looking at me without seeing me while she processed all of this. “You’re probably right,” she said at last. She gave me a small, rueful smile and shook her head. “God, I feel kind of stupid. Look at me. Some kind of champion for strong women, huh? Did I mess up my makeup? And oh God, did I really just ask that?”

“No, it’s fine. And you’re not stupid. Your feelings are normal.” I stood up, needing to get out of here. The room was making me claustrophobic. I had to get away from her, away from her trust. “I’m going to go do a sweep. They should be opening any minute.”

She rose as well and ran a hand over her eyes one last time. “Yeah, I’ve got things to do too. Thanks for listening to me.” Before I could open the door, she gave me a small, fierce hug. “I’m glad you’re my friend.”

With that, she left to tend to her work. Meanwhile, I wished a hole would open on the floor and swallow me up. I almost wished Nanette would show up and end my misery. Thankfully, I only had two hours until I was meeting Roman. Then I’d be free of this misery and self-loathing that Maddie was unknowingly stirring up in me. But if I’d hoped store business would prove a distraction, I was wrong. A half-hour later, an errand to the café brought me face-to-face with Seth.

He sat at a table with his laptop and looked up as though he could sense that I was nearby. He smiled, and my heart raced. I smiled back before I could stop myself. He looked like he wanted me to come over, yet I worried about attracting attention or tipping others off. Of course, it might actually look more suspicious if I didn’t talk to him, I realized. Long ago, it was perfectly common for me to stop by and chat with him. No one had ever perceived it as anything more than friendly banter.