Page 76

Curled up beside me in the corner of the bench seat, legs tucked under her, hands wrapped around a small glass of limoncello she hasn’t touched.

She’s smiling when Sam jokes. Laughing when Lucas makes a face. She’s doing all the right things.

But I feel the shift.

She’s quiet. A little too quiet. Her smiles don’t reach her eyes, and when I slide my hand to her thigh like I did during dinner, she doesn’t flinch—but she doesn’t lean in either.

It’s small. Subtle.

But I know her now. I know the way she looks when she’s thinking too hard. When she’s trying not to show it.

And it guts me.

Her phone buzzes on the table.

She barely glances at it before silencing the screen and flipping it face down.

A few minutes later, it buzzes again. And again. Still, she doesn’t check it.

The third time, I brush my thumb gently across her knee. “Everything okay?”

She smiles, soft and too quick. “Yeah. Just spam.”

I nod like I believe her. I don’t.

The fourth buzz comes as Nico is asking Lucas something about a venue in Dublin, and I catch the way her fingers tense around the glass.

“Laney,” I say, keeping my voice low. “Answer it.”

She hesitates, then finally picks up the phone and unlocks it. An unknown number flashes across the screen.

Just as she goes to tap it, the call drops.

She sighs and sets it down again, face tight.

I lean in. “That the same number?”

She nods, still avoiding my eyes. “Yeah. Keeps changing, but… same energy.”

“Same person?”

She shrugs, playing it off. “Probably. Doesn’t matter. I’ll block it.”

My jaw tightens. “Is it Randy?”

She doesn’t answer right away. That tells me it is.

“Laney,” I say again, quieter now, “is he bothering you?”

She finally glances up at me, and the expression on her face is a mix of apology and exhaustion. “It’s nothing. He hasn’t said anything. Just calls. Hangs up. I’ll block them.”

Across the table, Nico’s eyes flick to me. Just a glance.

I meet it, and there’s a second—barely a breath—where no words are needed.

Nico gives a single, short nod.

It’s handled.