Page 81 of Smoke and Glitter

"Yes, Bex." I push the schedule away from me. "I know I could've done more. I know I should've gone to her. I'm not sitting here pretending I handled this well."

"Then what exactly are you mad about?"

"That she didn't come either."

The complaint is out before I have time to make it sound any better.

Bex opens her mouth, but I don't let her have it yet.

"I'm not saying this is all on her, but she is the one who left. She had nine days. She knew where I was every night. She knew what time I came downstairs, where I'd be behind the bar, everything. At some point she could've walked in and said something."

"She did."

I stop.

Bex goes quiet, and whatever replaced the irritation in her face makes me straighten.

"What?"

"What happened when Autumn came up to your apartment?"

I frown. "What do you mean? You know she came to talk to me."

"I know that part."

"Then what are you asking?"

Bex watches me, then some of the color leaves her face.

"Did Autumn ever tell you she overheard us?"

It takes me a second to understand what she's asking. "Overheard us when?"

Bex closes her eyes. "Fuck."

My chair scrapes against the floor when I stand. Whatever irritation I was carrying into this conversation disappears. "Bex, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Before she came back to talk to you. You and I were in the storeroom talking about her."

I know the conversation immediately. Bex asking me what Autumn was to me, what I thought would happen if she wanted more. Me giving her every reason I had for why things worked exactly as they were.

My hand closes around the back of the chair. "Autumn was here for that?"

"She came in sometime before we opened. I didn't know she was there while we were talking." Bex sets the schedule down on the corner of my desk and looks at me. "I only realized that she was there afterward. I came out and saw the front door moving. I went to the window and she was outside propped up against the wall."

I picture Autumn against the wall outside, alone with what I'd said.

"How much did she hear?"

"I don't know when she came in, Sam, but I'm certain that she heard enough."

I look away, but Bex keeps going.

"She heard you call it casual. No strings, no labels. She heard you say you weren't serious." Her voice drops before she adds, "And she heard what you said when I asked what would happen if she wanted more."

I already know which part she means. My hands flatten against the desk as I stare down at the paperwork spread across it.

"You don't have to say it."