“Tortuous.” I move into his arms, flopping my head on his chest. “I have to go inside for dinner. It’s with LJ and his family.”
Dax’s body constricts. “LJ?”
I pull out of the hug and meet his eyes. “I don’t want to go, but my mother’s up to something.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she said I could get out of it, and it was so unlike her it made me suspicious.”
Dax smirks. “She said you didn’t have to go? Why didn’t you call her bluff, and then we could be together?”
“It’ll only be an hour, two at the very max.” I swing his hand, smiling. “Then it’ll just be you and me.”
“Well, if your family will be there, I guess LJ can’t be a total creep.”
“I’m just there to make sure my mother doesn’t lead him on. I want to make it clear, LJ and I are not going to the gala together.”
Dax squeezes my hand and pecks my cheek. “Okay. You do what you’ve got to do.”
Leaving him again is like wading through quick-sand. When I freshen up for dinner, I can’t help yawning through the entire process. My mother’s yammering makes me sleepy during the day, and too stressed to sleep at night.
Am I the luckiest daughter in the world, or what?
Forcing myself awake, I make it downstairs for dinner.
Before I get to the dining room, Ash pulls me aside. “What’s Mom playing at?”
My gut squirms. “What?”
He lowers his voice. “It’s like she’s trying to win me over. Or, it’s an alien in her skin.”
“Agreed. She said something at lunch that didn’t sound like herself.”
“She told me she’d get me out of business meetings with Dad,” he whispers, throwing his hands up in disbelief. “Since when am I allowed to miss that stuff? She always pushed me into it because it benefited the family.”
“Dad wouldn’t go for that.”
“That’s what I said. She said she’d take care of it.”
I fold my arms, watching everyone move about the dining room. “She told me I could get out of dinner tonight because she knows I don’t want to be with LJ.”
Ash’s brow furrows. “No way.Shewants you to be with LJ.”
Ijab a thumb toward the hallway. “Is it because Dad will be here? Is she trying to upset him by letting me miss an occasion with Prince LJ?”
Ash twists his lips in concentration. “Maybe? But I don’t buy it. Our parents are usually a united front when it comes to advancing the family’s interests. Even when Mom was away.”
I press a hand into my churning stomach. “I know. I usually know our mother’s angles, but this one has me stumped.”
Ash puts a hand on my upper arm. “You look wrecked. You could just take the out and leave.”
I shake my head. “No way. I’m not letting her win.”
“It’s never one battle with her. You know that.”
“It’s easy for you to say. You’re the golden child.”
Ash lets out a loud laugh, grabbing the attention of everyone around the table. He waves at them with a goofy smile. “Sorry.”
