Nothing Good Gets Away

Chapter 17

ROWAN BASS

Urth Caffé is bursting with people, despite the early afternoon hour on a weekday. I'm lucky that I managed to get a spot outside in the perfect September weather, but even so, I'm still overstimulated by all the conversations happening around me.

The two girls in their athleisure to my right, sipping green juice, seem to be catching up on drama within their friend group. The two men in front of me, dressed in polos and slacks, are talking business. The couple behind me is planning their trip to Santorini.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to distract myself by checking my business numbers on my phone and taking slow breaths. Sienna is supposed to be meeting me any second now, and I have no idea how the hell our conversation is going to go after the other night. All I do know is that I'm not going to roll over for her this time.

And here she comes, wearing high-rise black leggings and a matching spandex bra top. Her blonde extensions are pulled back in a slicked-back ponytail, and she has the whole "no-makeup-makeup" look going on. She looks stunning, like always.

"Hi, Row," she uses her sweet voice as she sits across from me.

"Hey," I don't reciprocate with a raised pitch in my tone. "How are you doing?"

She sighs like she's the goddamn president of the United States, or like the fate of all humankind is in the palm of her hand. "Well, Grant and I made up."

I'm not even remotely surprised, and I know my expression shows it. "That's good. Are you happy about that?"

"Yeah, I mean he said he was really drunk when it happened, so I understood."

Christ.

"Okay, well...as long as you're happy," I drop my phone in my purse. "Do you know what you want? I can go order for us."

"Yeah, just the kale salad and an iced tea," she relaxes back into her chair, pulling her phone out to start scrolling.

I head inside to stand in line, holding my arms over my chest as I study the menu behind the register. All the words start to jumble and fade in my gaze as I zone out, only for the woman behind me to politely tell me that it's my turn to order.

"Oh, sorry," I take two big steps forward. "Can I please have the kale salad with an iced tea, and...the tuna sandwich on rye bread, please?"

"Sure! Did you want salad or fries on the side?"

"Fries, please," I dig my wallet out, "and a side of fruit as well."

She tells me the outlandish total for the most basic order, and I hand over my card for her to swipe through the reader. "Would you like the receipt?"

"No, thank you," I take the number for our order and make my way back to the table with Sienna to wait. It takes her almost an entire minute to notice that I'm sitting there as she looks up from her phone.

"So what's new with you?" She asks.

I don't know where to start, or how. I feel as though I should wait for our food to arrive before bringing up everything that I'm upset about, but now also feels like the time to do it if she's asking me.

"Sienna, there are a lot of things that I wanted to talk to you about. A lot of things that have been bothering me."

She rolls her eyes with a little smile. "Is this about the other night when I walked in on whatever you and the hot neighbor were about to do?"

"That," I nod, almost grateful that she gave me such a perfect example. "I don't appreciate you making assumptions about me and Harry, or about me in general. I hate it, actually."