“It was,” Capri agreed. “But I get where it came from.”
“That’s what makes it worse,” Lana said. “Everyone keeps understanding and I just want someone to tell me I’m an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” I said. “You did an idiotic thing. Those aren’t the same.”
“Has he said anything?” Lana asked. “About the car.”
I laughed. “Um, yeah. It’s not like it’s not obvious. He hasn’t fixed it.”
She groaned.
“That might be your way of making things right,” I said softly. “I know it’ll be expensive, but I think offering to make it right would go a long way.”
Lana stared at me. “How much does that cost?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m such an idiot,” she said and buried her face in her hands.
“You’re not.”
“He’s out there fighting for us and I’m making his life hell.”
“Hey.” Capri reached over and put her hand on Lana’s forearm. “You didn’t know he was going to turn around. Nobody knew. We all thought he was the enemy.”
“He was,” I said quietly. “And then he wasn’t. People can do that. They can change course.”
Lana looked at me again. “Are you sure you’re not going to tell him?”
“I told you already. That’s your secret to tell.”
“I’m not ready. I know I have to. I know I owe him that and I’m going to do it. I just need a little time to figure out how to say it.” She swallowed. “Please.”
“Okay,” I said.
She let out a breath. “Thank you.”
It felt wrong the moment I said it, the same way it had in the alley. Not because I thought she was lying about her intentions. I believed her. I believed she was going to do it. But I had just agreed to keep something from Colt, and after everything we’d spent the last several weeks building with each other, the idea of a secret sitting between us felt like a crack in new plaster. Small enough to ignore. Not small enough to forget. And if and when he found out I knew and didn’t tell him, I wasn’t sure how that was going to sit with him.
“Soon,” I added. “Lana, don’t sit on it too long.”
“I won’t,” she said. “I promise.”
Capri smiled. “For what it’s worth, I think the fact that you’re sitting here feeling terrible about it says something.”
“It says I have a conscience that showed up too late,” Lana said.
Capri shrugged. “Better late than never.” Capri drained the last of her iced coffee and set it down with a decisivethunk. “Okay,” she said, looking between me and Lana. “I need retail therapy and I think you both do too. Who’s with me?”
Lana looked uncertain. “I don’t know.”
“That means yes,” Capri decided. She stood up and grabbed her bag from the back of the chair. “Come on. Moping in a coffee shop only works for so long. After that you need a dressing room and a credit card.”
I laughed and pushed back my own chair. She wasn’t wrong. I needed to do something or I was going to embarrass myself by showing up on his doorstep in the middle of the afternoon begging for some afternoon delight.
“Fine,” I said. “But I’m not buying anything I don’t need.”
Capri winked. “Sure you’re not.”
