Chapter2

I took a breath and smiled.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I was out of line."

Paige blinked. She clearly hadn't expected me to fold. But she recovered fast, squeezing my hand, her voice warm as honey.

"Okay, everyone, leave Claire alone. She didn't mean it. Let's not ruin the trip. Ethan found the most amazing seafood place for tonight. He spent days researching it."

Everyone cooed about how thoughtful Ethan was, how sweet Paige was, and the group drifted back toward the boardwalk without another glance at me.

The restaurant had a private room overlooking the water.

Paige took the menu and ordered like she was celebrating a lottery win. Stone crab claws. Whole lobsters. A seafood tower. Two bottles of champagne.

"Go crazy, guys," she kept saying, while her eyes slid toward me.

Then she tapped her glass.

"Also, Claire wanted me to tell you all: dinner's on her tonight. It's her way of saying sorry for earlier."

I hadn't said that. Nobody seemed to notice.

I checked my phone under the table, and there it was in my email. A booking confirmation from the reservation app, private dining for twelve, Claire Bennett, guaranteed with the card ending in 4417.

Of course. Paige had spent months holding my phone. She knew my passcode better than I did.

I knew this routine by heart. Four years of "Oh no, I left my wallet in my other bag," and "My Venmo's being weird," and those big, apologetic eyes turned on me. I used to think best friends didn't keep score.

I ate my crab legs. Then I counted out $140 in cash, which covered my plate plus a good tip, and tucked it under my water glass.

"Bathroom," I said.

In the hallway, I called my bank, reported an unauthorized reservation, and froze the card.

Then I opened the vacation rental app, found the six-bedroom beach house I'd booked for the group the week before, because Paige had asked me to "since you already have the app," and pressed "Cancel reservation."

Then I walked back to my hotel.

I'd just gotten out of the shower when my phone started buzzing like it was possessed.

Paige. Paige. Paige. Seventeen missed calls.

I put it on silent.

Then the texts started.

Paige: Claire where are you??

Paige: The card got declined. The bill is $2,400. I only have like $300 and Ethan doesn't have it either. Come back and pay.

Paige: Please stop being dramatic. Everyone is waiting.

I stared at the screen and laughed out loud.

Paige's family didn't have much, and she was proud about it. So I'd always quietly picked up the check for meals, movies, concerts. Anything good that came my way, I thought of her first. I never once asked her to pay me back.

And she'd decided that meant I owed her.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway. Then someone hammered on my door.

"Claire! Open the door! Claire!"

I opened it. Paige stood there, flushed red, and the instant she saw me, her face crumpled into hurt.

"How could you just leave? Everyone was waiting. What am I supposed to tell Ethan? What am I supposed to tell everybody?"

Behind her stood the rest of the group, every one of them glaring.

"That was so selfish. You eat and bail and leave us with your mess?"

"Paige stuck up for you! She said you wanted to apologize and treat everyone. And that's how you do it?"

I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms.

"I paid for what I ate. Did any of you hear me offer to pay for yours? Did anyone see me book that room?"

Silence. They looked at each other. Nobody had an answer.

Paige squeezed out two perfect tears.

"You did say it, Claire. Why are you pretending you didn't? If you didn't want to pay, you could've just said so. You didn't have to humiliate us."

Ethan pulled her into his side and glared at me.

"Fine. We'll cover it. Lesson learned. But listen to me, Claire. Don't even think about riding Paige's connections into Meridian. A company like that doesn't need freeloaders."

That almost made me laugh again, because I remembered a conversation from freshman year.

Paige, sitting on my bed, twisting her hands together. "Claire, can you not tell people your dad runs Meridian? It's just, my family's not like yours. If people find out I'm best friends with the Meridian heiress, they'll think I'm, like, your assistant. Your sidekick. They'll look down on me."

I felt so bad for her that I agreed on the spot. For four years, I never told a soul.

And all that time, she'd been building a story where Meridian belonged to her.

I looked at Ethan's superior little face, then at Paige's wet eyes, and decided I was done talking. I started closing the door.

Through the last few inches, I said, "Instead of worrying about whether I get into Meridian, you might want to worry about where you're sleeping tonight."

The hallway exploded.

"What do you mean?" Paige's voice cracked. "Claire, did you cancel the house?"

"Are you serious right now? You did this on purpose!"