Chapter 858
It was blatantly obvious that this newly arrived couple was not to be messed with!
“Good. Now get the hell out of here,” Tilda snapped mercilessly.
Buzz knew better than to argue and scurried away immediately.
“Since we’re all here, Claire, why don’t you join us for a late-night bite?”
Claire was actually pretty full from dinner earlier.
“I’m good, actually…”
She started to decline, but Cami cut her off. “Yes! You absolutely have to come. We haven’t even properly thanked you yet.”
Cami grabbed Claire’s arm and gave it a playful shake.
Tilda and Van immediately chimed in to persuade her.
“We won’t go anywhere fancy. Just some street-side BBQ ribs. Van and I know a spot that’s incredible.”
“Come on, please! I love their ribs too. It’s the best,” Cami pleaded, completely refusing to let Claire off the hook.
Feeling cornered, Claire shot a helpless look over at Owen.
Tilda and Van didn’t know him, but knowing he was with Claire, they quickly invited him along.
Owen could tell that this couple had some serious clout, but he didn’t overthink it. He was a businessman, after all. More friends meant more opportunities.
So, he looked at Claire. “I’m down if you are. It’s up to you.”
Not having an objection was basically a yes.
Claire simply nodded in agreement.
Van had already been discharged from the hospital and was practically fully recovered.
They ordered a mountain of BBQ ribs and even tried to grab a couple of beers to toast Claire for her help.
“That’s really not necessary. We can just toast with water,” Claire suggested.
Claire knew enough about Van’s medical history to know that skipping alcohol and avoiding anything too spicy was the smartest move for him right now.
But Van was built tough, and his recovery had been remarkably fast.
If he hadn’t bounced back so quickly, there was no way he’d be sitting here tonight.
“I was given three months of medical leave, and it’s almost up.”
Following Claire’s advice, Van raised his glass of water instead.
Out of the whole group, only Tilda and Cami ended up having a beer.
Owen skipped the drinks entirely because Claire had mentioned she was too tired to drive them back.
Fair enough. If she was tired, she was tired. He was more than happy to step up and be the reliable designated driver.
Bringing up his time off, Van tried to express his gratitude to Claire yet again.
This time, Claire shut it down without hesitation. “We already. settled the compensation when I did the surgery There’s really no need to keep thanking me.”
“If we kept keeping score like that, wouldn’t you owe me your life?”
Van paused, a serious look crossing his face. My life really is all thanks to you if someone hadn’t stepped in to do that surgery in time,
probably…”
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He would have been gone. He certainly wouldn’t be sitting here now, enjoying a
recent promotion and finally building a life with Tilda.
“Stop, stop. Just make sure I get an invite to the wedding.”
“I basically played matchmaker for you two, didn’t I?”
Claire asked with a playful grin.
Tilda was much quicker on the draw than Van. “Deal. You’ll definitely get a massive thank-you gift at the wedding.”
Cami only knew that Van had been
injured previously, but she was completely out of the loop on the
details. Even though she was
confused, she was starting to prece
the puzzle together.
But how old was Claire? It was crazy to think she had actually saved Van’s life.
It must have been some kind of wild, right-place-right-time accident, right?
Meanwhile, Mina spent the entire meal completely zoned out.
When it was finally time to say goodbye, she even forgot to ask for Claire’s number.
Since Cami had her cousin there, she didn’t need Mina to walk her back.
But Cami was worried about letting Mina head home alone.
So, she decided to ride back with Mina first and then have Tilda pick her up from there.
“Cami, just go home. I’ll be fine by myself.”
The second she heard Cami’s plan, Mina turned her down flat.