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“Is that—is that Justine Dawson? Glaring at me?”

“Oof,” Eli breathed. “No, no. Not you. She’s definitely glaring at me.”

Whoever she was glaring at, Justine’s expression was caught somewhere between fury and disbelief. She was as polished and intimidating as Molly remembered her: a sleek sheath dress, perfectly executed burgundy lipstick, and massive pearl studs peeking out from her shoulder-length black bob. She looked like the kind of person who could litigate a multimillion-dollar venture capital merger before lunch.

“Justine,” Eli greeted as they approached. “Imagine, uh—imagine running into you today.”

She leveled him a positively lethal look as she said, “Imagine.”

When Justine’s focus shifted to Molly, her anger dissolved into something closer to confusion. For a moment, it looked like Justine’s eyes glassed over, watery in a way Molly had an unexpected reference for. She’d seen that expression once before, commiserating in a Laburnum bathroom.

“Just having a little afternoon out,” Eli said, voice sounding strained.

Justine returned her focus to Eli, glaring once again. “I’m sure you are. Anything else, while you’re at it?”

“Nope. Nothing else. Just wanted to let her see this place.”

Molly didn’t care for the prickling discomfort of being left out of a conversation. It was obvious Eli and Justine were taking detours around the thing they were actually talking about: Molly, and all the things she still didn’t know about her own life.

“How good of you, cherry-picking which requests you ignore so they work exclusively in your favor. Some of us have chosen to respect Aster’s wishes.”

“Counterpoint: Sometimes Aster’s wishes are dumb.”

“What if we just—” Molly started, fed up with being talked around.

“You know what,” Justine cut in. “You know that vacation I have scheduled? I think I’ll be extending it. That won’t be a problem for you, will it, Eli? If I have to be the only respectful one between us, I’m going to do it somewhere with a Michelin star.”

Eli remained silent for a beat, then finally said, “Nope. No problems here.”

“Great.” Justine looked anything but pleased. She met Molly’s eyes, mouth pinching to a frown. “See you around, Graham.” And with that, she brushed by them and disappeared around a row of shelves.

Molly waited, and when Eli neither spoke nor moved, she asked, “Are you going to explain?”

Eli hesitated. “Justine has a point, which is so annoying. She always has a point. But I’m definitely taking a lot of liberties today, so could we maybe stick to the schedule?”

Molly’s heart pounded, aggravated by her own helplessness. But even she had to admit this had already been a lot of newness to take in, a lot of ground gained, even if it was obvious there was even more ground right within her reach. “And what is the schedule, exactly?” she eventually asked.

“I was thinking a table at the Mexican place. The rest of the docket isn’t really a street conversation. The peasants might overhear.”

Molly put substantial willpower into not rewarding him with a smile as she followed him out of the shop. “Peasants? Really? That’s grotesquely classist.”

“And it’s a joke. I know you think it’s funny, Graham,” he said, chuckle unmistakable. “You’ve laughed at it before.”

Molly eyed Eli as he slid a Corona across the table to her.

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon,” she said.

“It’s the weekend. And it was beer or margaritas. Tasty as the blended peach marg sounds, I didn’t think I could get away with serving you liquor this early in the day, so you’re welcome. I’m very thoughtful.” Eli clinked his bottle with hers. Molly rolled her eyes and pushed the lime wedge into her drink.

“You might not realize it, Graham, but you’ve definitely missed me.”

Another eye roll. Begrudgingly, Molly had to admit there was something easy about being in Eli’s company, peculiar as that unearned ease felt.

“So, what’s this tough love you’ve kidnapped me for?” she asked, cutting to the point.

Eli set his beer down, looking unsure of himself.

He cleared his throat. “First I’d like to start by saying: fuck Aster.” A pause, presumably for effect.