Chapter 87

Claire replied, "Okay." She debated whether to warn him—Gary definitely had something up his sleeve tonight, clearly trying to drag Julian into some wild party scene. And she, for one, wasn’t on board with that. But then again, with his level of intellect, did he even need her reminder? She shot a message to Shay, passing along Julian’s response. “It’s still early,” Julian said on the side, “let’s take a walk.” Claire looked up from her phone. “Nah, let’s not. It’s almost dark, and walking alone in the mountains? That’s nightmare fuel. I’ll stay in the villa.” Then she saw the look on his face—and it clicked. “...Wait, you mean, you want to go for a walk?” “It’s kinda creepy, walking alone.” His voice carried a hint of tragic gloom. “…I’ll come with you.” Claire gave a resigned smile, the kind that looked like she just bit into raw ginger. Couldn’t he just say directly, “I want to go for a walk, come with me”? Talking to him felt like doing reading comprehension questions—so sure she h