I scanned the room once before saying, “Nope.Savannah, we don't have time.”
But any perfectionist knows that's not exactly how it works.Which is how I wound up spending the next ten minutes doing a mini-clean.I was almost through when the doorbell rang.
My brows creased.
Nerissa had a key.
Mama V would’ve called.
And Jaxon… would he—
I straightened slowly, brushing my hands down the front of my top as if that would somehow prepare me for whatever was on the other side of the front door.
The bell rang again, sharp and impatient.
I exhaled once, steadying myself, then turned and made my way downstairs.
When I reached the door, my hand hovered over the handle for half a second before I pulled it open.
And it was the last person I wanted to see.
Perfectly put together as always with soft brown waves cascading over her shoulders, pink glossed lips curved into something that resembled a smile but didn’t quite reach her eyes.Her presence filled the doorway like perfume—sweet at first, but cloying the longer you stood in it.
“Well,” Lori said, her gaze sweeping over me slowly.“You look… busy.”
I didn’t move from the doorway or offer her a response.Silence stretched between us, thin and brittle.
Then she tilted her head.
“Are you going to invite me in, or are we doing this out here?”
I held her gaze for a moment longer, weighing my options.Part of me wanted to shut the door in her face and walk back upstairs, but creating a scene on my doorstep wasn't ideal.
So I stepped aside.
“Make it quick.”
She walked in like she owned the place.
Of course she did.
Her eyes moved around the space, taking everything in—the polished floors, the neutral tones, the carefully curated calm.
“Well, you've clearly downgraded,” she commented.
Lord give me strength,I thought as I took a deep breath and closed the door behind her.“What do you want, Lori?”
Her fingers traced lightly along the edge of the hanging mirror before she turned to face me.
“I came to talk.”
I let out a quiet, humorless breath.
“That’s new.”
Her smile didn’t falter.
“Seeing as your boyfriend hadmy fiancéarrested last night, I figured it was better this happened now,” she said, smoothing a hand over her dress.“You know, clear the air.”
