Page 5 of Claimed By my Frenemy

A breeze is coming off the ocean, and it’s playing with our hair. I can’t believe how at home I feel even though I’ve never visited this tiki bar in my life. I was barely old enough to drink by the time I left Oak Island, so we always met at our favorite coffee shop instead.

A cocktail waitress comes over wearing an apron and a friendly smile. “My name is Audrey. I’ll be taking care of you this evening. What can I get you started with?”

“Margarita,” Stella answers first.

Madison and Aurora have already ordered, so the waitress looks at me. “I don’t know. I don’t drink very much. Is there something you recommend?”

“Do you have a certain base you like for your drinks—vodka, whisky, wine, gin, rum.”

I stop her. “Nothing that tastes too strong. Something fruity.”

“Then, I’d recommend…” She leans toward the colorful menu standing in the middle of the table, “Hey Ladies is a good one. It’s got a lemon-lime taste.”

I smile at the name, then shrug. “Sure, I’ll take your recommendation. But if it isn’t good, then…”

“Then, I’ll bring you something else you’ll like. But trust me, Leo doesn’t make a bad drink.”

The waitress disappears, and Zoey appears right behind her. We all greet her, Stella squealing more than any of us.

“Nice hair,” Zoey comments to Stella before taking her seat. “I don’t think I’ve seen that color on you before.”

“I’ve gone through all the colors that come in a box. This was a special, hand-mixed color that I got from that salon next to the Food Lion. They’re actually pretty good.”

Before Stella can go off on a tangent about a hair salon she was in last year that absolutely ruined her hair, Aurora takes control. “Are we still calling ourselves the Spinsters Society? Because we need to take a moment to recognize that our ten-year high school reunion is coming up, and none of us are married.”

“I almost was,” Madison points out.

“True, but it never actually happened, so that doesn’t count.”

All of us laugh, even though I don’t feel like laughing. I thought I would meet someone in Raleigh and settle down. I thought I might even have a kid at this point. But I haven’t, and I don’t. And I’m okay with that, especially considering that I have this new project up my sleeve.

There’s another part of me that thinks I might be too messed up to have a kid anyway. What happened with my mom really messed me up, and my dad and I were never close after that.

Aurora continues to keep us focused. “Before we get into our normal talk, we need to know what’s up with Mia. She’s back on Oak Island, but she hasn’t told any of us why. So…did you lose your job?”

I shake my head, though she isn’t far from the truth. I did hear whispers that the company was going to do some layoffs in the next couple of months, but I got out before the whole place could tank. The work environment was pretty toxic anyway, but I don’t tell my friends that. They may be my friends, but I’m notas close to them as I once was. I want to test the waters and see how comfortable I feel telling them about my life

I look down at the menu, concentrating on the picture of an orange drink with a fancy umbrella hanging over the side of it. “My grandma gave me her house in the will.”

“What?” Madison shrieks first. The others follow her. They start asking rapid-fire questions, and I try to keep up with them.

“Did youknowshe was going to do that?” Stella leans forward, eyes trained on me like she thinks I might try to lie.

“No, I had no idea. I mean, I knew we shared a special bond, but I haven’t visited her much these last couple of years.”

“What’s the house like? We only knew your parents’ house growing up,” Aurora explains.

“It’s… I mean, I’m not going to lie. It’s an old property. Built in the seventies or something.” I hate that I’m pulling out the information Theo gave me in order to answer her question. “But it’s got good bones. It just needs some redecorating.”

“So, are you going to live there or resell it?” Madison asks.

“I’m…going to live there, but…it’s a big house. It has four bedrooms and an office area.”

“So, you’re going to invite us to live with you rent-free,” Stella jokes.

Everyone laughs, and I shake my head, appreciating her ability to lighten a situation. “No, I… I’m actually thinking of opening a bed and breakfast. People can rent rooms and have a nice breakfast every morning before heading out onto the beach. It would be like a hotel but more personal. And I’m only a block off the beach.”

I receive different reactions from that declaration, but they’re interrupted by Audrey, our waitress, coming back. She delivers our drinks with a flourish. “Enjoy!” She smiles at me. “And if you don’t like your drink, you let me know.”

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