I take Bunny’s hand in mine and follow after her father.
Let’s get this shit show over with.
Chapter twelve
Emma
Boys who play with sticks for the win!
Oh, God. I can’t believe Greyson said that. In front of my parents, no less.
I’m horrified. It feels good to have someone stand up for me, but I was not expecting him to saythat. I just want this dinner over with so we can go home.Where I feel good about myself and happy.
I knew my mother would make a comment about my clothes; anything that isn’t her style is ugly and not flattering in her opinion. It’s why I hesitated when Greyson told me I had to wear the dress. But seeing the look in his eyes when he saw me walking down the stairs in it was worth every insult.
We enter the dining room that has the table set for five as a staff member quickly enters the room and removes the fifthplace setting. I always hated how pretentious this house felt with all its staff, but I guess that’s just the norm when you merge two wealthy families together.
“Oh, no. We forgot to pack Gracie’s highchair,” I tell Greyson as I watch my dad sit down with her still in his arms.
“All taken care of, Sunflower. When you told me Little Tulip would be coming to dinner as well, I made sure we had one ready for her. Greyson, if you wouldn’t mind, it’s right behind the staff’s kitchen door over there.” He points in the direction of the door.
“Not at all,” Grey says as he walks over to collect the highchair.
“That was very sweet of you, Daddy. But we could have just sat her on our laps if anything, it would have been fine.”
Greyson returns shortly, opening up the chair and placing it at the corner of the table beside my dad, who settles her in as I look at the empty seats around the table. This is the smaller of the two dining rooms we have, with this table only seating six, whereas the other seats twenty.
In this dining room, my father always sits at one end and my mother at the other. The two place settings left are on the same side of the table, meaning someone has to sit by my mother and the other by my dad. Since Gracie is already seated between my dad and the free chair, I let Greyson take that seat and settle in beside the woman who sadly birthed me. At least I can somewhat be a buffer between the two.
I already have a feeling that Greyson isn’t a fan of my mom, and I don’t blame him. She hasn’t even addressed him once, except for her pitiful‘hello’.She also hasn’t introduced herself to him, which is just plain rude even if you don’t like the person, and that alone makes no sense to me. She knows nothing about Greyson, and yet she’s treating him like he’s garbage.
I never should have let him come. He doesn’t deserve this.
Once everyone is seated, food is brought out, starting off with a butternut squash soup. Greyson rolls up his sleeves beside me, exposing his ink as he prepares to eat. Most were covered up with his outfit, except for the one a little higher on the side of his neck. A snowflake.
From the corner of my eye, I see my mother looking at his arms with distaste. I glance down at my soup, twirling my spoon around with a quiet sigh. A hand appears in my line of sight just as Greyson pushes my loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I gaze into his eyes as they vibrate with affection, a small smirk dancing along his lips. The more time that passes, the more I think Morgan was wrong. Somethingisdifferent between us. I can’t stop thinking about him, no matter how hard I try to shake it, but I still stand by my decision not to explore this further.
I grin in return, then turn my attention to my dad, who insisted on feeding Gracie her soup. He’s making airplane noises as he travels the spoon through the air and into her giggling mouth.
“Lance, that is highly unacceptable behavior at the dinner table. Honestly, I don’t think this is an appropriate place for a child,” my mother scolds him.
I turn to her abruptly, anger boiling inside of me. I can handle her talking shit about me, but she has no right to disrespect an innocent child, certainly not my Little Tulip. “She’s a baby, Mother. You seem to be forgetting that I was once a baby too and sat at this very same table,” I say through my teeth, trying to control my rage.
“No, you didn’t. You were with Gretchen in the staff’s kitchen,” she calls back like it’s completely normal to have the nanny taking care of your child when you’re home doing absolutely nothing.
“Of course I was,” I scoff and roll my eyes.
“And anyway, where is this child’s mother? Why isn’t she with her, instead of here?” she asks, completely ignoring my remark.Jesus, she’s so self-centered, she won’t even acknowledge Gracie by her name.
“Her mom died.” It’s all I say, I don’t even bother looking at her.I just want this all over with.
“Well, that’s a shame. A child needs their mother.”
I lean back in my chair and slap my hand down on my thigh loudly. “HA!” I turn to her, bitterness shining through.I’vesohad enough of her shit.“That’s rich coming from you. Because from what you stated just seconds ago, all I needed was a nanny. Not a mother.”
“That is enough, young lady. I don’t know what is happening with you, but I won’t tolerate this attitude. We didn’t raise you this way,” she says, slamming a hand on the table.
