“Go get her,” I say to Lainey. “Call us an Uber. I’ll be right there.”

Lainey gives me a confused look. “Wait. Are you going to tell him off?”

“No. I just need to settle up—”

“Tyson! You can’t pay!”

“Can I at least get my beer?” I say, raising the glass in my hand.

“No! Transfer it to the table.”

“It’s one beer, Lainey. I’ll look like a jerk if I walk out. Just go get Hannah—” I say. “I’m right behind you.”

As Lainey runs after Hannah, I make eye contact with the bartender. When he comes over to me, I explain the situation as tactfully as I can, discreetly gesturing toward our table.

“Call me if he gives you any trouble with the check. He might. The guy’s an asshole,” I say, handing him a twenty, along with my business card.

The bartender nods, smiles, and says, “Got it. Thanks, man.”

“No problem,” I say.

On my way out the door, I make a point not to look back at Grady.

—

“SHE DID IT! SHE TOTALLY DID IT!” Lainey shouts as I join them in the back of our getaway car. Hannah is in the middle, and I give her a hug as Lainey giddily debriefs me.

“I’m really proud of you,” I tell Hannah.

“I just followed the plan,” she says with a shrug.

“Still. That must have been really tough.”

She nods, looking shell-shocked as Lainey continues to whoop it up, replaying all the highlights. Hannah feeds off Lainey’s energy, even laughing at moments, but by the time we get back to her apartment, I can tell her adrenaline is wearing off—and that she is about to fall apart.

“Why don’t you change into something comfortable, and Lainey and I will order a pizza?” I suggest, settling onto the sofa.

“Unless you want to go out?” Lainey says, wildly misreading the room.

Hannah shakes her head and says no, she wants to stay in, and pizza sounds great. She then turns and walks to her bedroom.

The second she’s gone, Lainey picks up Hannah’s phone, enters her passcode, and starts looking through her texts.

“Uh, what are you doing?” I ask.

“Nothing.”

She keeps scrolling, then takes a photo of Hannah’s screen with her own phone.

“Lainey! Get out of there.”

“I’m just getting Grady’s number.”

“Why?”

“I have some follow-up bidness,” she says.

“Have you ever heard the expression ‘Quit while you’re ahead’?”

“Have you ever heard the expression ‘Nevertheless, she persisted’?” she fires back at me. “I know what I’m doing here. Just order our pizza.”

When Hannah returns to the living room, she’s in pajamas. Her eye makeup is gone, her face red and blotchy. It’s clear she’s been crying.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I gently ask her.

She shakes her head. “No. Can we just talk about something else? Will you distract me?”

I nod, give her a smile, and say, “Okay. So, funny story. You’re not the only one who broke up this weekend.”

Hannah looks back at me, wide-eyed. “You and Nicole broke up?”

“Yep.”

“When?” she asks.

“Last night.”

She gives me a worried look. “Why have you waited to tell us?”

“Because we had bigger fish to fry,” I say.

“Gosh, Tyson. I’m so sorry,” Hannah says.

“Who did it?” Lainey asks.

I tell them it was mutual—that we have different priorities—hoping that they won’t press me on the details.

Of course Lainey does, and I finally just admit what happened. “She didn’t approve of my decision to quit my job.”

“Oh my God!” Hannah says. “You quit your job and broke up with Nicole? What on earth is going on?”

I shrug and say, “It was time to make a change.”

Hannah stares at me, wringing her hands. “Did either thing have to do with you coming here?”

“Not really,” I say. “I mean, the trip may have been a catalyst, but both things needed to happen—”

“Shit. I knew it,” Hannah says, shaking her head. “I feel awful.”