Page 19 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

"Nope." But her expression grew concerned. "Should I be worried? About you? About him?"

"No," she said quickly. Too quickly. "Mrs. Becker got a flat tire right in front of the shop and he helped her change it."

Claire frowned as she processed that bit of information. Juno could practically see the puzzle pieces in her friend's mind being shuffled around to create this new scenario. Finally, she said, "Well, that explains that loud noise I heard. I had just chalked it up to The Gray Lady." Claire told anyone who would listen that her bookstore was haunted. Sometimes, Juno thought Claire actually believed it, herself. "But honestly, now I'm even more confused. Why on earth was that darling old lady up at this hour and here at your shop before you even opened?"

She dunked her biscotti into her coffee, then shoved a large bite into her mouth before it fell off into her cup. "And that still doesn't explain why Alex was here, too. Half an hour or more before you open. Sitting in the dark. Across the street. From your shop. Watching you." She paused between each sentence fragment. "Like a creeper."

Juno gave her a withering look. "Are you done?"

"Not even close. Not unless you spill the tea. Or the coffee, in this case." Claire's voice softened. "What's going on, Juno?"

"Honestly, I don't know," she admitted. "This isn't the first time I've seen him out there, either. The Beast is hard to miss, even in the dark."

Claire snorted and shook her head. "The Beast. Of course Alex named his truck."

I named it.Juno pressed her lips together, catching the rogue admission before it leaped out, but Claire noticed, and her eyes widened.

"What?"

"What, what?"

"What are you not saying?" Claire demanded. Then her eyes got even larger. "Wait. That's what you called his truck back in high school!" she exclaimed, smacking the countertop with an open palm. "He named his truck after you."

"Gee, thanks," Juno said dryly.

Claire chortled. "Ha! I'm not calling you a beast, silly."

"And it wasn't his truck back then. It was Jason's." Juno watched Claire's face to see what her reaction would be to Jason's name.

Claire nodded solemnly. "I remember." She tipped her head and gave Juno a gentle look. "I think you forget sometimes that I was there back then. I remember how you two were together, before—"

"Before I left?" Juno's voice came out sharper than she intended. She took a deep breath and modulated her tone. Claire knew good and well that Juno hadn't left of her own accord. Her friend didn't mean it that way. "That was a lifetime ago, Claire. We were kids."

Claire's expression didn't change. "Were we, though? You, especially, June-bug, were far older than your years. I could see it in your eyes; you'd lived a lifetime by the time we met."

"Prolonged childhood trauma does not automatically equate to maturity," Juno retorted, but she wasn't really angry at Claire. No, she was remembering how real, how… howforeverher feelings were for Alex back then, and the shame that welled up in her for being so naive to have given him her heart threatened to overwhelm her if she let herself dwell on it. "We were kids," she repeated. "With kid problems, kid emotions, and kid behaviors. And it's all in the past now."

"But is it? I mean, I still don't know exactly what he did to you all those years ago, but you two are barely on speaking terms, and I know that's mostly your decision." Claire rested her forearms on the counter and wrapped both hands around her cup. "Maybe it's time to forgive him, Juno."

"What makes you think that he's the one who wronged me? What if it was the other way around and I'm the bad guy?" Juno sounded belligerent and antagonistic, even to her own ears, but the emotions bubbled hotly inside her, and she was struggling to keep them in check.

Claire shrugged one shoulder. "Then maybe it's time to forgive yourself." She didn't say it flippantly, but it still stung.

Juno shook her head and turned away, crossing to the display case where she straightened a row of ginger crinkle cookies on a cream platter. "You know, I don't really feel like talking about all of this right now. I'm open for business, remember? But since you're here, and you're obviously not going to let this drop, then let me ask you something."

"Of course."

Juno swallowed hard, then crossed her arms and looked her friend directly in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me about Jason?"

10

Juno

"Jason?"Claire'sexpressionshiftedfrom confusion to surprise. "Alex's brother?" She stared at Juno across the counter. "What about him?"

"His suicide," Juno said, the word still feeling strange in her mouth. "Mrs. Becker told me this morning." When Claire still looked perplexed, she went on impatiently. "That he killed himself, Claire. About six months after I left town. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, Juno." Claire set down her cup, realization dawning. "I thought... I mean, I guess—well, I just thought you knew too. People don't sit around talking about it or anything, but it's not a secret."

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