“It is stupid.” Frazer said.

Eyes lit up at Frazer’s agreement, then Cora quickly narrowed them. “You’re mocking me.”

Maybe a little. But couples did this all the time. Hated their marriage, then loved it again. Had ups and downs. “Just the part that sounded like a teenager.”

The door opened, and for some reason, Frazer looked up. Her mouth probably dropped open. Everything stopped for a moment.

“Frazer?”

She could feel Cora’s eyes on her and the questioning tone in her voice. But Frazer still stared across the room at the group that had entered and wished she was anywhere but here. Her mouth now was strangely dry and Frazer licked her lips.

“Frazer!”

Tearing her gaze away, Frazer tried to give Cora a smile. She was fairly sure she just looked constipated.

“What’s wrong?” As Cora looked around, her brow furrowed. But she seemed not to notice anything out of the ordinary.

“Can we go?” Frazer asked.

She didn’t wait for an answer. The presence across the room was closing in on her. Cora was staring at her like she had no idea what was happening, which she probably didn’t. Frazer grabbed Cora’s hand and half dragged her up, her grip on Cora like a clamp as she wound around people.

“Frazer, we haven’t even finished our drinks.”

“They were overpriced anyway.”

The door was so close. She could almost escape.

“Isn’t that all the more reason to actually drink them?”

So close to the door. Hopefully, she’d get out before—

“Frazer, hi.”

Face-to-face with the one person she was trying to escape. Frazer closed her eyes for a moment. Of course she couldn’t just make a clean break out of here. And why was Naomi here, anyway? She’d transferred after leaving Frazer’s life in ruins and destroying her trust in humanity.

Maybe Naomi made Frazer mildly dramatic. Maybe.

She opened her eyes. Made herself smile. It was harder than it should be. She wasn’t a wreck anymore, but seeing her ex always brought up unwanted feelings of general grossness.

“Hi, Naomi.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Frazer blinked. Why step in front of her if there was nothing to say?

“How are you?” Naomi asked.

Frazer could have sighed. Why did they have to do this? “Really well. And you?”

“I’m great.” How nice for her. “I heard you’re getting closer to getting that little project off the ground. That’s fantastic.”

Frazer felt like she was treading uneven ground. Was that “little” condescending or had it just been said innocently? Condescending wasn’t something Naomi had ever seemed to do. But there had been a time Frazer hadn’t thought she would just up and leave either.

Also, people were starting to hear about the programme, and that sparked some excitement in the back of Frazer’s mind, excitement that was overshadowed by the panic that still had Frazer gripping Cora’s hand.

Attempting friendly, Frazer nodded. “Yeah, hopefully.”

Frazer could almost feel Cora behind her, watching the exchange.