“You don’t understand. It’s art. I did nothing wrong. I didn’t sneak into her house or snoop around, like you did to me. All I did was take candid photos of a friend. It’s an art project. That’s all. Something I could enjoy. You’re the one who’s a criminal. You had no right to look through my things.”

“So call the police.”

He glared at her and went on. “Now she won’t even talk to me. She fired our firm as well. It’s all your fault.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? My fault? How about you stop spying on other people? You’re lucky Kate doesn’t expose your creepy little habit to your partners. What do you want from me? Why are you even here?”

“If you hadn’t butted in, everything would be fine. You need to fix this. Talk to Kate. Tell her I’m sorry. That I would never hurt her. I didn’t kill Lily. She has to know that.”

“This isn’t about Lily. It’s about you not understanding proper social boundaries, Gordon. I can’t help you. I would recommend that you seek help elsewhere—the professional kind.”

His eyes held more than a hint of anger. “Your sarcasm is insufferable. Just like you.”

She regarded him with distaste. “Are we finished here?”

He leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his fists clenched. “I never liked you, Blaire. You didn’t belong back then, and you still don’t. You’ll never be one of us.”

“Looks like you’re the one who’s out in the cold.” She looked down as her phone buzzed. A text from Kate. Can you come over right now? Something’s happened. Blaire typed back immediately. Of course, be right there. “Gordon, I have to go.”

She stood, as he sat there, looking shell-shocked and a little ridiculous, the whimsical bow tie with little yellow crabs on it at odds with his sour expression.

“The police know all about you, Gordon. Stay away from me. And from Kate. Don’t ever come near either of us again.” She spun away from him and marched off.

She went back upstairs and quickly packed her bag, still rattled. Kate had invited her to stay over after Christmas Eve dinner that night. She closed down her laptop, checked to make sure everything was off, and left the suite. While she was waiting for her car to warm up, she fiddled with the radio. Despite the reason for it, there was something so comforting and familiar about having a sleepover with Kate again. It brought back her Mayfield days in a rush, when she’d escape the dorms some weekends to stay with the Michaels family.