It was nearly five o’clock, and multiple people were making their way toward Bliss carrying yoga mats, probably for the five-p.m. power yoga class that Sierra usually worked too late to make.

She crossed the bustling street toward the flower shop, the dress shop, and Frank’s Diner, where the dinner crowd was already starting to pick up. Monday was the fried chicken special, and nobody did fried chicken like Frank Dole. But she walked on by and kept going past the recording studio as well, though she gazed in the windows, checking for familiar famous faces who might be recording today. The front lobby was empty.

The next storefront was her destination—Henry Interiors—but it wasn’t the one-of-a-kind furnishings or decor she was after. She needed girl time, decompression time, and a big-ass glass of wine, and Hayden Henry would handle all three.

An old-fashioned bell announced Sierra’s entry, and she spotted Hayden in the back half of the sales floor, fussing over some funky textured gold and white throw pillows on a pure white comfy-looking couch flanked by an end table and a floor lamp. As usual, her friend was wearing a cute, professional outfit—black pants, silky white tank, light pink open cardigan with matching pumps, and a chunky but feminine necklace.

“Hey, you,” Hayden said when she glanced up, pushing her shoulder-length espresso-colored hair out of her face. Then she did a double take, as if all of Sierra’s angst was written on her face. “Ooh. Bad day?”

Sierra glanced around to make sure they were alone. “Weird day. Wine day. Whatcha got?” She kept walking toward the back room, understanding that Hayden might or might not be able to join her right away, as the store was open for another hour.

“There’s a Pinot Noir and a Malbec on the counter, or help yourself to the wine cooler.”

“Goddess. Pinot Noir will do. Where’s Elena?”

“Day off. She had a thing to do,” Hayden said distractedly, still eyeing the layout of the white-couch area, one of several furniture groupings scattered throughout.

Sierra slipped behind the curtain that covered the extra-wide doorway between sales floor and back room, the contrast between the two areas jolting her as it always did.

The public room was impeccable, exquisitely designed, with every detail well thought out and executed. It was the kind of showroom that made you itch to buy something, to make your home as beautiful as the store, the moment you walked in.

The back room, on the other hand, was overfilled with merchandise stacked to the high ceiling in places. Some of it was in boxes, but most of it was one-of-a-kind treasures that Hayden had found or created from other pieces. She was a genius at repurposing anything from an old chair to an antique cabinet, but the fact was, she’d outgrown this space within months of opening.