"Shay, are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Ashley Bowen opened her mouth, but her voice was terribly hoarse. She lifted her eyes to her best friend, who was staring at her blankly, her expression a mixture of anxiety and concern. Ashley forced a smile. "I'm really fine."
"How could you be? Last night, when Miles came back in the middle of the night, his face was ghastly pale. He went to the front desk right then and demanded a separate boat, and then he left alone under the cover of darkness. What on earth happened? It feels like something huge went down." Elise Tate stood up from her chair and walked over to Ashley Bowen. She had a bit of a crush on Howard, so she was particularly worried about his situation.
Ashley Bowen puffed out her cheeks, trying to calm herself down, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she found the words wouldn't come out.
"It's nothing. I'm just going to grab my things and leave, too."
