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A mysterious envelope.That could be added to her story. And maybe a short scene of the interaction with the postal carrier and kidnapper. Maybe the postal carrier could be an unwitting participant in delivering a message.

Mack glanced back up at Ben’s worry line that cut across his forehead. Clearly, the envelopes contained something unpleasant. Whatever it was, it was none of her damn business. She returned to the keyboard flushed with the adrenaline of drafting a fresh scene.

SEVEN

CHARLIE’S DRINK SPECIAL: NAKED CAPPUCCINO WITH FAIRY DUST SPRINKLES

Charlie’s eyes glazed over the bills scattered across her desk.Final Notice,third time trying, andsending to collectionsscreamed at her. All the financial planning articles she’d devoured over the past two years in preparation for opening Sugar Mugs battled one another for space in her head. Pay off the lowest bill first. Pay off the one with the highest interest first. Consolidate. Move money. Invest in your business.

God, she missed Rosie. After running a successful insurance company out of her home for forty years, Rosie knew everything about small businesses. It would’ve taken Rosie exactly ten minutes to look through the bills and give Charlie solid gold advice.

She misted the air with the lavender calming spray she kept in her desk drawer for a temporary reprieve. After paying each company a little bit, hoping to buy time before the creditors confiscated everything not bolted down, she closed her laptop and exhaled.

Let it go.She refused to allow the impending threat of her life crumbling around her take away from glitter, naked bike riders, and funnel cake.

In the bathroom she wiggled into her rainbow fairy wings for the Solstice Parade. After an extra dash of cheek glitter and heavy eyeliner, she confirmed in the mirror her look was complete. She turned sideways to avoid crushing her massive wings against the narrow door frame and headed for the café.

Ben’s freakishly loud, high-pitched sex whistle cut against the empty shop. “Aren’t you just a bucket of fabulousness? You look like Tinker Bell’s sexy lesbian older sister.”

Charlie twirled and held out the side of her dress for a curtsy. “I’d dress like this every day if I could.”

“I actually believe you.”

“You have everything you need, right?” She sifted through her silver crossbody for her flaming magenta lipstick. “I turned my cell to max volume. Promise you’ll call if things go sideways.”

“Seriously? Go. I got this. Lena’s coming in about ten minutes.” He grabbed a dark chocolate muffin and peeled the paper back. “She told me yesterday she’d wanted more hours.”

“She told me the same.” Ben’s younger cousin was on the docket if Charlie ever had the means to hire. But for now, Lena would have to settle for Saturday morning shifts only.

“Everyone’s gonna be at the parade anyway. A break’s good for you. Working seven days a week isn’t healthy. Pretty soon, you’re gonna get all cranky and stressed and do something stupid like think bangs would work with your face frame and curly hair.”

“You’re such an ass.” She threw a straw at him. “For the record, I like being here. Besides, I have limited time with you and want to squeeze every last drop.” She pinched his face like a baby.

“I smell bullcrap.”

It wasn’talllies. Her lifelong quest for a sense of family was like trying to capture steam in a mug. The small community she builtwith her regulars helped fill that void, and she woke up more grateful every morning than the previous day.

Besides, if she didn’t keep working daily to pay bills, the contractor was gonna rip out her flooring.

“Does it feel weird going to Solstice without…”

He didn’t need to say who.

She focused on her bright orange nails, not the dull ache that, for the second time in a decade, she’d be flying solo at the parade. “Nah, it’ll be fine.”

“Do you think you’ll run into her?”

“According to her latest post, she’s in Prague right now.”

Ben stopped mid-bite and lowered his sugary breakfast. “You haven’t unfollowed her yet?”

She shrugged. “Why? It’s not like we hate each other.”

Bad blood didn’t exist between Jess and her, other than she’d been proven right that she shouldn’t trust anyone besides Ben. Everyone else in her life disappointed her on a macro level. Her mom, whom she hadn’t seen in twenty years. Her dad, who looked her up every few months and asked her to spot him a fifty. Jess, who fell into another woman’s bed the moment Charlie suggested they think about a family.

“Real talk for a second, ’kay?” Ben set the muffin on a napkin.

Nooooo.Talking about feelings with Ben was as pleasant as a steam burn. “Okay.”