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“So what are you thinking?”

“That,” she said, taking another sip, “I’m not so sure about. I know a lot about retail, from Birdie and Uncle Jim—”

“Ooh, so maybe a store?”

Toni shrugged. “Once I have some of the basics down, I figure I can enroll in that small business thing from SHU’s Development Office—”

“But not college.” Alessandra’s eyes crinkled at the corners.

“Definitely not.”

This time, she meant it.

Alessandra jumped up from the barstool and hugged her. Toni refused to cry. This was a girls’ trip, after all, not a funeral. So she squeezed her back and fought the tingle in her cheeks.

“I am so, so happy for you.”

Sitting back down, Alessandra looked around the bar and gestured outside.

“Let’s go out. It’s too nice to be cooped up in here.”

Taking their drinks, they stepped out into the night. Four fire pits surrounded by seats lined the small patio, and they sat in the only open area.

Toni watched the fire rage, feeling a matching fire within her, but she eventually tore her eyes up to the starlit sky. She’d been surrounded by these mountains her whole life but barely took time to appreciate them.

“To some, these are just baby mountains,” she said, thinking of a trip she’d taken to Colorado.

“That’s just because they’re old. And there’s something to be said for having a history.” Alessandra leaned back as they both stared off into the dark. “I really am excited for you. I think opening a business is a perfect fit. I don’t know why I never thought of it before. But you must have?”

Toni took a sip of the drink her mother had preferred. She and her dad had teased her mom about her preference for alcohol over beer, which she “just couldn’t handle.” Of course, her parents had been busy, and it had been rare to see them cut loose.

“Surprisingly, no.” She’d wanted to avoid the topic, but that probably wasn’t realistic. “It was actually Lawrence, and the bar he was planning, that first gave me the idea.”

Alessandra peered at her over the rim of her wine glass, her gaze cautious. “Really?”

She snuggled into the cushion beneath her. “Really. And for the record, I’m fine to talk about him.”

A bald-faced lie.

“I mean, I get it,” she added. “He’s used to being the leader. The protector. But his brother and sister have begged him to let them take control, and I know Laria is quite capable. Lawrence was so excited about his plan. I just don’t get it.”

Alessandra was quiet, and Toni couldn’t read her face.

“You really care for him.”

It was as if she were being pressed deeper into the seat by an invisible force. Her cheeks tingled again, and this time, she didn’t think she’d win the battle.

“I don’t know how it happened so quickly. We didn’t even have a firm relationship status.”

“Oh boy.” Alessandra swallowed. “It’s that bad?”

She looked up, waiting, knowing what was coming next.

“I’d say falling in love with Lawrence Derrickson was probably a pretty easy thing to do,” Alessandra said, her voice flat.

And there it was. Out in the open. No use denying it.

“I don’t even know where he is,” Toni added.