Ouch. Essie wasn't sure what was worse, Bach calling her just another woman or the realization that it more or less was true. In theory, he was going to start working at her shop (if she ever got the guts to talke to him about it) and they'd slept together, but that didn't make them... something. Did it? Honestly the whole thing was giving her a headache. There was no solution to this that didn't end in tears for someone. Probably Isaac. She only wished that idea didn't break her heart as much as it did.

"I'm just a friend, Isaac. And you can't make dreams real just by, I dunno, asking for it? I'm sorry, sweetheart, it just doesn't work that way." She really shouldn't do what she was about to do, but the words were coming out before she could stop them. "But if you come by my shop sometime, I'm sure Dan would like to see you." The dog had been mopey since everything returned to normal, she should have realized why sooner.