Page 71 of Double Fault

The textfrom Ebba is a surprise, but it’s a welcome one.

Ebba: Would you and Maddie like to meet me for breakfast?

Her next text includes a link to a restaurant.

“Maddie?”

Bent over the sink, she spits. When she straightens, she turns her toothpaste smile my way. “Yeah?”

“Would you want to go have breakfast with Ebba?”

“Sure.” With a shrug, she tugs the hand towel off its ring and wipes her mouth. “She’s nice. Is she your friend?”

I purse my lips and hum. “Not yet, but she could be.”

The sigh she lets out is pitiful. “It would be nice to have friends.”

Chest aching for her, I squeeze her shoulder. “You have friends.” It’s true, even if she doesn’t see it. She’s spent plenty of time with the other kids on the tour, and they all love her.

She shrugs. “I guess, but not abestfriend. I’ve never even had a sleepover.”

I spray detangler into her sleep-ratted hair. “Never?” I ask as I gently guide the brush through her waves.

“Nope.”

I eye her in the mirror and give her a little smile. “Would you want to have a sleepover with me?”

Her lips turn down, and her brow furrows as she studies my reflection. “But we live together.”

I laugh, working even more carefully when I hit a particularly tangled knot. “That’s not what a sleepover is. We could get face masks and pizza, and we could watch girly movies. That kind of thing.”

Lips pressed together, she scrunches them to one side, as if in thought. “That would be fun.”

When I’m finished brushing out her hair, I shoo her back into her room to dress for the day. While she’s changing, I head back to my room to get ready, shooting off a response to Ebba as I pad down the hallway.

Thirty minutes later, Maddie and I are ready, and I’m just pulling up a ride share app when Ebba texts me again.

Ebba: Do you need a ride?

Me: Perfect timing. I was about to get an Uber.

Ebba: Uber is banned in Monte Carlo, just so you know.

Banned?

Me: Oh, wow. Really?

Ebba: Yeah, they can drop you off here, but no pickups.

Me: Interesting.

Ebba: Text me your address. I’ll be there in a few.

I do as she asks, and only a few minutes later, a sleek black car pulls up out front.

“That was fast.” I peer through the back door as Maddie gets buckled, then slide into the passenger seat.

“Elias’s house is just over there.” She points in the direction of several nearby homes, then turns around to give Maddie a smile. “Hey, Maddie Girl. How are you?”

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