"I turned him down, too," Claire admitted, not hiding anything from Shirley.
Bankruptcy or not, even if Pearce lost his job, Shirley's family would never truly hit rock bottom. Her mother's side had some money—Patti had a tidy little sum stashed away somewhere, Claire suspected.
Whether Shirley knew that detail, though, Claire couldn't say for sure.
"You did the right thing," Shirley said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe Latham would even ask for that. Grandma Pandora's house-her wedding gift to you—has nothing to do with the family finances. How could he expect you to mortgage it? That place is gorgeous! If you put it up as collateral and Latham couldn't pay back the loan, it'd end up at auction. What a nightmare that would be."
Claire wasn't the only one who felt a pang thinking about it—even Shirley winced at the thought.
"Don't worry, there's no way I'd ever agree to that," Claire promised. "Even if I lost my mind and said yes, do you think my grandmother would let it happen?"
Pandora wasn't naive. If Latham so much as looked twice at the house she gave her granddaughter, Pandora would flatten him on the spot.
"Thank goodness. My dad's basically living at the office now—he hasn't come home in days," Shirley said with a weary sigh. "He was supposed to head up that demolition project, but suddenly they got someone else instead. Honestly, I'm relieved. If something went wrong, it'd be our family feuding with Latham's, and who needs that kind of drama?"
She felt lucky just thinking about it.
"Let's eat here," Claire said, tossing her empty ice cream cup. She'd driven them around aimlessly before pulling into a handy little diner.
The place looked cozy enough, just a run-of-the-mill spot that served familiar comfort food.
"Honestly, I kind of want sushi," Shirley admitted, hesitating on the doorstep. "It's too hot out for anything heavy; the thought of steaming food just makes me sweat."
Claire considered, then nodded in agreement. The sticky heat of summer really did kill your appetite.
They quickly drove to their regular sushi haunt—a casual, all-you-can-eat spot with endless ice cream and desserts, where nobody cared if you lingered.
They settled in, ordering plate after plate and chatting endlessly, an hour slipping by before they knew it.
Halfway through, two men took the table across from them. One was stuffed into a tailored suit, towering and broad-verging on overweight. The other looked slimmer, sharp, and altogether easier on the eyes.
Shirley was about to give Claire a pointed look, but Claire subtly shook her head, signaling her to keep quiet.
The men had started talking, their voices carrying.
The larger man spoke first. "Otto, can you believe it? My mom's picked out another wife for me. Brand new-just turned eighteen, just got into college. Smart, beautiful, a star student Like that matters! My mother knows fuff well I've ever been into women. Does she honestly think the only thing I'm here for is to provide an heir?"
Claire's expression shifted-this sounded almost... familiar.
Shirley's eyes sparkled with undisguised curiosity.
But as the conversation continued, their interest turned to discomfort.
"You'd think that after I let myself get this size, she'd finally give up," the man complained. "Ever since she found out I like men, she's been hell-bent on setting me up with every girt under the sun ve told her a thousand times, I just don't like women. Otto, look at me what
woman wouldn't run the other direction? But this girl-she's pretty, she's got prospects-why would she ever go for someone like me?"
Otto murmured in agreement. "Yeah—why would she?"
The big man sighed dramatically. "Her family's about to go under. They're hoping for a bank loan, and my mom's taking advantage of that. But come on even the most desperate girl would take one look at me and make her escape.