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Nancy looked away, her hands tightening in her lap. ‘You’re taking this risk for no reason. And I helped you, Ari. I wanted this for you.’

Ari felt her mask slip. ‘Iknowthat.’

Nancy’s expression softened ever so slightly. For some reason, that made Ari feel worse.

‘You know what?’ Ari pushed back from the table, chair scraping against the floor. ‘I need a drink.’

Nancy didn’t stop her.

She knew why she’d put the necklace on. It was a fuck you to Nancy. Because she was hurt. Andshockedby that hurt. Somewhere in the middle of that kiss, she’d wondered if it could be the start of something. Because Ari wanted Nancy. Deeply. Ofcourseshe did.

Nancy was the only person she’d ever been able to trust. It didn’t matter if she worked for her. You couldn’t buy what they had. Ari was realising that, more and more.

And now they’d kissed, and Nancy was angry with her. Ari didn’t know what to think. She only knew that while they’d kissed, everything had felt so fucking right.

But it was the beginning and the end, it seemed. Because Nancy, very clearly, did not feel the same. She thought Ari was a child who didn’t know how to handle delicate things. Necklaces, love, whatever.

Doesn’t matter.Ari rolled her shoulders back, smoothing the irritation from her expression as she weaved through the crowd towards the bar. It was a wedding, after all. Drinks were free, and she fully intended to take advantage.

She was halfway there when she bumped—hard—into someone.

‘Oh, for—’ Ari stepped back. Her words cut off as she looked up.

Paris.

Her sharp, perfect features twisted in slow realisation, her gaze dropping to the delicate chain around Ari’s neck.

‘Youdidn’t,’ Paris said, voice dripping venom.

Ari smirked. ‘Surprise.’

Paris’s nostrils flared. ‘Youstolethat from me.’

‘Oh,Istole it?’ Ari let out a short, incredulous laugh. ‘Bit rich coming from you, babe.’

Paris’s eyes darkened. ‘You absolute little—’

Before she could finish that thought, she lunged. Ari barely had time to react before Paris’s hand curled around the chain andyanked.

The thin clasp bit into the back of Ari’s neck. For a moment, she thought it might hold, but then—

Snap.The chain broke.

Paris stumbled back, triumphant, the necklace clutched in her fist.

‘Oh,you’vedone it now,’ Ari muttered.

Paris barely had time to laugh before Ari surged forward.

The next few moments were a blur. Hands grabbing, a stumble, thecrashof a champagne flute hitting the floor. A gasp rippled through the crowd as tables jostled, cutlery clattering against plates.

‘What the hell is going on?’ a voice cut through the noise.

Nancy.

Ari twisted in time to see Nancy shoving her way through the onlookers, her expression shifting from annoyance to horror in real time.

Paris, ever the picture of elegance, straightened her dress and tossed her hair back, lifting the broken necklace in display to the room. ‘There’s been a crime!’