Page 74 of Liar's Point

Cassandra picked up her order and glanced around the café. The Island Beanery was packed today. She was about to take her food to her car when a woman with a stroller got up from a table near the window.

Cassandra swooped in. “Is this free?”

“Yep. Just leaving.” The woman frowned down at the crumbs all over the table. “We made kind of a mess, though.”

“No worries. It’s fine.”

Cassandra set her plate down and then grabbed some napkins from the condiment bar as the woman navigated her stroller through the café. Cassandra wiped up the crumbs and then settled into the chair facing the window with her back to everything else.

She took out her phone and checked her messages. Nothing new from Reese. Late last night Paula had sent a text informing the staff that classes were canceled for the remainder of the week. Both the yoga studio and the martial arts academy were closed in the wake of Danielle’s death.

Cassandra’s stomach knotted as she reread Paula’s message. Then she reread her back-and-forth with one of the other tae kwon do teachers who said that Danielle had had a seizure while driving and crashed her car into a utility pole.

Cassandra was still trying to absorb it. She couldn’t. Beautiful, bright-eyed Danielle, the vision of health, was suddenly gone.

“Hi.”

She jumped.

“Whoa.” Alex Breda smiled down at her. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“You didn’t. I was just... reading.”

“Are you alone?”

“What?”

He gestured to the three empty chairs. “They’re crowded today. Mind if I...?”

She blinked up at him, at a loss for words. He wore a dress shirt and slacks, and a computer bag was slung over his shoulder. On the plate in his hand was a ridiculously large muffin.

“If you’re meeting someone—”

“No. It’s fine.” She slipped her phone into her purse and gestured to the empty chair across from her. “Please sit.”

He set down his plate and pulled out the little café chair. He was too big for it, and he turned sideways to make room for his long legs.

He smiled at her. “So, you’ve figured out the secret, huh?”

She just looked at him.

“It’s eight,” he said. “By nine, they’ve usually got a line out the door.”

“Oh. Yes.”

She glanced down at her untouched croissant and tore it in half.

“Double shot cappuccino with extra foam.”

She turned around as Leyla Breda reached over her and placed a cup of coffee in the center of the table. Then she set a pastry bag beside it.

“And two of our fresh-baked oatmeal cookies, on the house.” Leyla winked at Cassandra. “Y’all can share. It’s good to see you again, Cassandra.”

“You, too.”

“Thanks, Ley,” Alex said.

She smiled and sauntered off.

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