Page 36

Stuart stands and gives Claire a hug and a peck on the cheek. “Nice to see you again, Claire. This is my girlfriend, Brianna. She was at Stanford as well but graduated a few years behind the rest of us.”

Claire's eyes light up as she turns to Brianna. "Stanford? Oh my gosh, what year did you graduate? What house were you in?" She slides into the seat next to Brianna, completely pivoting her body away from me.

"Class of 2015. And I was a Kappa," Brianna answers with a smile.

"No way! I was a Kappa too!" Claire squeals, clapping her perfectly manicured hands together.

"And what are you doing now? Please tell me you're putting that Stanford degree to good use," Claire asks, leaning in.

I take a sip of my drink, trying not to let my annoyance show. The contrast between Claire's dismissive "Charmed" to me and this enthusiastic interrogation of Brianna couldn't be more stark. Charlie catches my eye from across the table and gives me a small, apologetic smile.

"I'm in biotech research at GeneForm," Brianna says. "Working on some promising cancer treatments."

"That's fascinating!" Claire gushes. "I'm in finance myself—managing director at Richmond Capital. My father's firm, but I've doubled our portfolio in three years."

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Damn, this woman is a piece of work.

After bragging more about how fucking incredible she is, Claire quickly refocuses on Charlie.

Claire swirls her wine glass, her ice-blue eyes never leaving Charlie's face. "You know, I was just thinking about you the other day," she says, her voice dropping to an intimate pitch.

Charlie raises an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

"No, silly." Claire laughs, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I was remembering that insane spring break trip to Maui. Junior year, remember? When we all rented that beach house?"

Charlie's expression shifts to recognition. "Oh God, that trip was wild."

"Two straight days without sleep!" Claire exclaims. "Beach parties, cliff diving, that ridiculous karaoke bar..." She leans toward Charlie, placing her hand on his forearm. "Remember how we all ended up skinny dipping at sunrise after the bonfire?"

Her eyes glitter with the memory, and she suddenly leans in close to Charlie's ear, her lips practically brushing his skin as she whispers something I can't hear.

Charlie's face breaks into a wide grin before he throws his head back, laughing so hard his eyes crinkle at the corners. Claire joins in, her laughter melodic and so damn fake.

"I can't believe you remember that!" Charlie gasps between chuckles. Claire joins in laughing, her hand landing on his thigh as they share their private joke.

I take a long sip of my wine, trying to ignore the knot forming in my stomach. There's something territorial about the way she's leaning into him, something that screams 'we have history.' And it’s really pissing me off.

"Sounds like you all had quite the college experience," I say, aiming for casual but hearing the edge in my voice.

Claire barely glances my way. "It was epic. Charlie was always the life of the party, weren't you, Charlie Bear?”

Charlie Bear? What the hell? The knot in my stomach tightens. I drain my wine glass, wishing I could disappear into the plush velvet of the hotel bar's seating.

Charlie's eyes dart to me, widening slightly when he catches my expression. He shifts in his seat, subtly angling his body away from Claire while removing her hand from his thigh.

"I’m pretty sure I wasn’t there for the whole Maui trip—I had to fly back early to be at some event my mom was having. I missed most of the craziness."

Claire's perfect smile falters for a millisecond. "Oh, but you were definitely there for the bonfire night."

"Was I?" Charlie furrows his brow. "I thought that was the night after I left.”

No, sir. I absolutely remember you being there. I even remember what you had on—khaki shorts and a royal blue polo. And, your Stanford hat of course.”

I’ve had enough at this point. This bitch is as rude as they come. For all she knows, Charlie and I have been dating for years instead of fake dating for 2 weeks. Where the hell does she come off flirting like this with somebody else’s date?

"I'm going to get another drink," I announce, standing up abruptly. "Anyone else need anything?"

"I'll come with you," Charlie offers quickly, already half-rising from his seat.