s supposed t

at one of Chicago' s top

r friends, I knew it wasn't about me. It was a

tion. Not because she believed in my talent, but because it sounded

lked in. R

heart, a music producer just back from London, and he moved wi

ignoring everyone else. He

in the passenger seat of th

, a direct

t the curb, the exact same model they used to drive

n me, waiting f

look at me. She blushed, a girlish, flu

he key fro

ple just know h

me, but her eyes were fill

get it. Too serio

aze, a heavy weight on my shoulders. I looked at Ryan's smug face,

ed my

the p

I could feel Nicole's stunned silence behind me. Her shock quickly

rom the restaurant, a place where no one knew my name

n hour later. He slid into the booth without a wo

ppened," he said

ed, staring i

, Matt. Head Chef. Your own kitchen. You

time. For Nicole. Because her life, her career, her friends

ly in front of everyone we knew, something inside me finally

arse. I looked up and met Andr

st nodded, a grim satisfaction

Aust

the deal r

ll it a night, Nicole burst through the

een texting you for hours! You

me out of the booth. I was a little

ed, her voice low and sharp. "

ang. She glanced at the screen, and her entire deme

god,

ice frantic. I could only hea

ere is he

hout a second thought. S

I have to go bail hi

ne on the sticky floor. The door swung shut behind her, an

The final, un

ack. She smelled of stale coffee and the sour air of a police station w

er purse on

your hangover breakfasts. Th

well," I mumble

ontempt. "Useless. You're always so

t tired anymore. A strange sense of calm washed ove