“I’ll have water,” he says tightly.
An awkward silence falls over the table once we’re all settled. Every single Royal boy is sporting a deep scowl. Callum watches them, looking disappointed.
What did he expect, though? His sons have barely spoken to him since the baby announcement. I’ve seen the twins cringe every time Brooke flashes her shiny diamond around. Easton’s drunk more often than he’s sober. Gideon apparently needs to be bullied into coming home. And Reed slept with Callum’s girlfriend two or three or a hundred times.
So yeah. Callum’s out of his mind if he thinks this big, happy family dinner will be anything other than a total disaster.
“Thank you so much for inviting me tonight,” Dinah chirps to Callum. “It’s been ages since I visited the Royal palace.”
The bite to her words reveals exactly how she feels about the lack of invitations rolling her way. She looks beautiful tonight, despite the venom in her green eyes. Her golden hair is swept up, and two diamond earrings dangle from her earlobes. She’s wearing a white dress with a deep-cut V that shows off both her tan and her cleavage.
I can see why my father was drawn to her. Dinah looks like a sexy angel. I wonder how long it took him to realize she was actually the devil.
Callum must have hired caterers for this dinner, because three uniformed women I don’t recognize sashay onto the patio and begin serving us. It makes me feel awkward, and I have to pin myself to the chair so I don’t jump up and help them.
Then the nine of us settle in to eat. Is the food delicious? I have no idea. I don’t pay attention to what I’m shoving into my mouth. If anything, I’m trying not to throw up. Brooke is gabbing away about the new Royal baby and it’s making me sick.
“If it’s a boy, I’d like his middle name to be Emerson, after Callum’s father, God rest his soul,” Brooke is telling Dinah. “Don’t you think that has a nice ring to it? Callum Emerson Royal the Second.”
She’s planning on naming the baby Callum? Why not Reed? I want to crack. Then I clench my fingers around my water glass, because the thought of Reed actually being this kid’s biological dad is rage-inducing. And nauseating. And just plain awful.
Reed claims that the last time he was with Brooke was more than six months ago, and she’s definitely not that far along. So maybe they didn’t have sex the night I walked in on them. He says they didn’t. Brooke says they didn’t.
Maybe they’re telling the truth?
Yes, Ella, and Mom’s last boyfriend was totally holding hands with his sister. Idiot.
“Ella?”
I lift my head and find Callum eyeing me. “Sorry, what?”
“Brooke asked you a question,” he prompts.
I reluctantly glance at Brooke, who winks at me. “I asked if you had any suggestions for girls’ names.”
“No,” I mutter. “Sorry. I’m bad with names.”
“Boys?” she asks the Royals. “Any ideas?”
Not a single one of them answers. The twins pretend they’re too focused on stuffing their faces, but Reed, Gideon, and Easton flat-out ignore her.
Since I’m the only one who contributed to the conversation—if you can call six measly words a contribution—I quickly become the focus of the adults.
“I’m disappointed that you don’t visit the penthouse more often,” Dinah tells me. “I’d really like to get to know my husband’s daughter.”
She says daughter as if it’s a dirty word. Callum’s features tighten, but his mouth remains firmly shut.
“I haven’t been invited.” I strive for an equally cool tone.
Dinah’s gaze darkens. “You don’t need an invitation,” she answers sweetly. “The penthouse is half yours, remember?”
“I guess.”
At my cloudy expression, she shrugs and turns to Gideon. “How’s college, darling? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you. Tell me everything you’ve been up to.”
“College is fine,” he says curtly.
“You have a swim meet coming up, no?” Dinah runs her fingers over the stem of her glass. “I think Brooke might have mentioned it?”
A muscle in his jaw flexes before he answers. “Yes, that’s right.”
Brooke speaks up, her eyes twinkling. “Maybe we should all drive up to cheer him on. What do you think, Callum?”
“Ah…yes. That sounds…great.”
Reed snorts quietly.
Callum throws a warning glance in his direction.
I pretty much hate everyone at the table right now.
The tension thickens and thickens, until I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I’m suffocating from the inside out. And we’re outdoors, dammit.
“I wish you’d gotten to know your father,” Dinah says. “Steve was such a…formidable man. And loyal. So very loyal. Right, Callum?”
Callum nods and pours himself another glass of wine. I’m pretty sure he’s on his second bottle. Brooke, meanwhile, is drinking sparkling water because of the pregnancy.