Speaking of Georgia, she barely seemed to be paying attention. She was bolting down a large helping of lemon pie, a spot of cream on her nose. I’d never seen her eat so much. One had to wonder how she maintained such a good figure, even with all that yoga she did.

The next note was another short one. Before I could read it aloud, my eyes were scanning the single sentence, absorbing the words on the tiny card.

KEEP HIM SEXUALLY SATISFIED SO I DON’T HAVE TO ANYMORE.

There was a blinding flash; Mara snapping more photos for social media.

I let out a small gasp, and quickly reached for the next.

The second note wasn’t as jarring as the first, but it still sent a shockwave through me.

I KNOW ALL OF YOUR SECRETS AND SOON YOUR HUSBAND WILL TOO.

“What is it? What do they say?” Elizabeth asked, hawklike and smiling from the other end of the table.

“Nothing. Just more sage advice. Thank you all so much. I hate to be a party pooper, but I think I ate too much. Is it okay if I go and lie down for a bit?”

I didn’t wait for an answer as I scooped up my basket of ‘well wishes’ and pushed my chair back which resulted in a loud screech on the old, wood floors.

“Of course. It’s been a long day,” Tinsley said, touching my elbow. I felt a flicker of something—recognition and safety; she was one of the few people in this world I could trust and that truly knew me.

I glanced once more at Elizabeth. She was watching me, eyes calculating. Did she write that to stir up drama … or could it really have been from Georgia?

As I tucked my chair in, I looked over at Georgia, searching for a hint that she wrote one of those awful, mean sentences.

But something else was going on with Georgia. Her face was beet-red, her eyes dark black holes in her head. She had her hands up near her throat area, fingers fluttering with panic.

“Georgia?” I placed a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away from me, coughing and sputtering so hard that I had to grab the back of her chair to keep it from falling to the ground.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Delfina and the waiters rushed to Georgia’s side, shared looks of alarm on their faces.

Georgia was gasping for air. She pointed at the cake. “Did that have coconut in it?” she croaked each word painfully between rasping breaths.

Delfina’s eyes grew wide as quarters. “Oh no, are you allergic?”

But before she could say any more, Georgia had slithered out of her chair and onto the floor, lungs whistling as she struggled to take in air.

I looked over at Tinsley and Bri, panic fluttering through my chest. Oh my god, someone had to do something!