Collapsed.
Claire had been collapsing somewhere in Toronto while Bea had been off falling in love. Getting married. Sailing around the Mediterranean like life was a postcard.
Her best friend had been alone with this.
I should have noticed.
Bea pressed her palm to her mouth, chest squeezing painfully, wishing she could reach through the screen. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What could you have done?” Claire’s voice broke a little at the end. “You weren’t here. You had London, the breakup, and then Rafael.”
I should have asked.
“But I could have just been there for you. Or at least listened.”
Claire sniffed, pressing her sleeve to her eyes. “It would have been better with you here,” she confessed. She cleared her throatonce. A second time. Then she forced a small smile. “But that’s going to change. Rafael obviously won’t let you move back now, so you’re going to have to get used to me being in the UR.”
That was clearly the end of the crying. Bea knew better than to press for now. She dabbed at her nose with a napkin, then crushed it in her fist.
“When are you coming?” she asked, reaching blindly for a peach. “Please tell me it’s soon.”
“I mean, I’ve already passed the interviews and assessments.”
“Even the personality one?” Bea joked.
“Shocking, I know. I must have been mildly sedated that day.”
She bit into it, juice dripping down her chin. “So it’s just the health tests left?”
Claire nodded, reaching for her hair brush. “Then I wait for the visa.”
“Okay, well I’ve already scoped all the best croissant spots and I’ll take you to every single one,” Bea promised. “Have you quit your job yet?”
“No way, not until everything’s confirmed. Do you know how hard it was to get into that graduate program?”
“Fair.”
“That being said, it’ll be nice not risking bumping into Marco every damn time the elevator doors open,” Claire muttered as she tied her hair back. “Remind me not to date another guy from the office, please.”
“Is he why you applied?”
“Not the only reason, but when things started going sideways, it accelerated my decision.” Claire’s mascara wand paused midair. “Does that sound…cowardly?”
“No way,” Bea said, chewing. “You’re not running away from him. You’re running toward something better.”
Claire snorted. “Nice try, Beya Slaya.”
Bea smiled, licked her sticky fingers. “So how long before you touch Westhaven soil again?”
“If everything goes normally, I’ll be in the Republic by Christmas.”
Perfect. Claire in the UR meant Bea could finally do the basic job description of best friend properly again.
Bea broke into a grin. “We are going to haveso much fun.”
“I’m counting on it.” Claire rubbed her hands together gleefully. “Speaking of fun, I should get ready for work.”
Bea’s phone buzzed in her hand. Messages appeared in quick succession.
