I shook my head slowly. “No.”
“You have me,” she said gently, her expression softened. “I know it’s not the same, but just remember, you and Harper will always have me.”
I nodded, forcing a smile at the closest friend I had in the world.
“This lawyer,” I began hesitantly, “I need to ask how much it’ll cost. I’m just worried, knowing your usual standards.”
Lina might own a small kiosk and work here herself, diligently, but she drove an Audi Q5 and lived in an apartment worth two and a half million. And she was the rich one, not the ex-husband. She had inherited a fortune from her father. Luckily, she had a prenup, so that asshole of a husband didn’t get a single penny.
But before she could answer, I heard a familiar voice. “Sloane?”
My eyes darted to the front. Gabriel was at the walk-up window, grinning at me.
Lina looked at him, then at me, her frown deepening as she glanced back at him again.
“Are you hiding in there? Robert was looking for you.”
I gave Lina a pointed look. “See?”
She scoffed, then asked Gabriel for his order. He replied, “I’ll have a black coffee, please. No sugar.”
No sugar. Of course.
Lina turned and started making the coffee for him.
“But seriously,” he asked, “what are you doing in there?”
“Hiding,” I admitted.
He chuckled. “And bingeing on sugar again?”
I glanced at the one in my hand and the two more resting on a plate in my lap. “These donuts are fantastic,” I said, taking another bite. “Lina made them herself.”
“I’ll have that too, then,” he said. “The chocolate one.”
“I thought you banned sugar from your life,” I pointed out.
“What can I say? You inspired me,” he said with a laugh.
Then our eyes met, and I became fully aware that Lina was listening closely.
“I want to invite you in,” I said. “But the space is so small, and you’re such a big guy...”
“Then why don’t you come out and sit with me?” he offered.
Lina’s head snapped toward me, eyes wide.
I narrowed my eyes at her, catching the silent message loud and clear.“Oh no, you don’t.”
“Yes, okay,” I said, locking eyes with Lina, a silent challenge in my gaze.
I placed the half-eaten donut along with the other two on the plate and grabbed my coffee from the floor before standing. I walked out of the kiosk, ignoring Lina’s burning stare on my back.
Walking beside him, I couldn’t help but notice how tall he was—maybe six two or six three—and solidly built. I found myself wondering when he even had time to work out, considering our schedules.
“I saw there’s a glass-enclosed balcony on the fifth floor,” he said.
“I know.”
