Katy’s excited chatter was moving along non-stop as the three of them walked into the kitchen. “And then Marc and Michael decided to punk Thad …. oh, good morning Aerin!”

I fixed a smile that even I knew was contrived. I caught a disappointed look cross Harley’s face, and squeezed my eyes shut briefly. Will you get it together, Aerin? You said you’d work hard at this, didn’t you?!

“Hi,” I answered Katy, and stepped over to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, as if trying to make up for my initial reaction. She gave me a genuinely warm smile. Again, I mentally kicked myself.

“Sorry … had a … um … tiring night last night,” I said. I turned to Annie and gave her a mini-wave, “Morning.”

Katy rubbed both of my forearms quickly, “That’s ok, Aerin. You must still be feeling worn out.”

At her mention of my feeling worn out I saw a naughty look of mirth cross Harley’s face and swallowed the response that popped into my head about what had really caused me to feel worn out about last night.

Harley walked around Annie and unconsciously brushed the back of a hand on my hair when she walked next to me. “Poor Aerin,” she whispered and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

Katy beamed at me, her eyebrows raised slightly. Annie’s eyes narrowed as she observed Harley and me.

A penny dropped in the back of my mind and I stepped away casually from Harley as Harley turned her back to us to face the massive, complicated espresso-cappuccino maker that hulked over everything else around it in the middle section of the wall-to-wall countertop built-into the long end of the open-space kitchen.

Harley asked over her shoulder, “you girls want the usual before you head out?”

Annie answered, “thanks, would love one. No café makes a cup like you, Harley.”

Her tone sounded friendly enough, but she was still looking at us suspiciously, shifting her eyes from me to Harley and back again.

Katy continued to chat, asking me a question now and then. It sounded like she and Harley were talking about something that involved punking Thad. Only half of my attention was on her and Harley. My antenna was way up, concerning Annie, who had fallen mostly silent as she eyed Harley with suspicious eyes. I answered Katy’s occasional questions with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.