“Of course, you are, darling,” he chuckled, kissing her cheek.
Katherine rolled her eyes. What a display. Her parents belonged together. Her father was morally bankrupt, while her mother wore diamond blinders and pretended not to see it.
“Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Chase,” the older waiter greeted. He turned to Katherine and nodded. “Miss Chase.”
“Hello, Harrison. It’s nice to see you,” Katherine returned.
Cape Cod was her mother’s favorite restaurant, and she insisted they go out in honor of Evelyn’s visit.
After greeting Evelyn and Maddie, the waiter placed menus in front of them.
“Lizzy?” a voice called from behind Harrison. Allison Crane stepped up to the table. She was wearing a tight, unflattering dress and a ton of makeup. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Allison, hello, darling. It’s good to see you. Are you dining alone?”
She smiled and pointed a long nail in the direction of her husband, Jeffrey, just as he walked up with Larry, their abusive, bottom-feeding son.
“Why don’t you join us?” her mother offered.
“No!” Katherine objected in a loud whisper that surely everyone heard because they all turned and glared at her. Larry narrowed his eyes as some kind of warning.
“Don’t be crass,” her mother scolded before turning back to the Cranes. “Please, join us.”
Jeffrey pulled three chairs from a nearby table. Mr. and Mrs. Crane took a seat across the table, but Larry dragged his chair around the table to sit next to Katherine. Almost instantly, her skin heated. Her knees shook, and she was finding it difficult to breathe. Larry’s close proximity to her caused a familiar reaction. She needed to get away from him.
Katherine sat her napkin down and slid back from the table. The chair made more noise than she expected, causing everyone to look at her like she was insane.
“Excuse me, please.” She grabbed her purse as she stood and then hurried from the table without sharing eye contact with anyone. She’d nearly made it to the threshold to enter the hotel when someone grabbed her arm with enough aggression to stop her in her tracks. Katherine whipped around and came face to face with her mother.
“What in the hell is wrong with you?” her mother fumed. “How dare you behave like that?”
Katherine rolled her eyes and blew out a frustrated breath. “Larry attacked me, and I refuse to sit at a dinner table with him.”
Her mother closed her eyes and exhaled as if she were frustrated. To make matters worse, she continued to chastise her as if she hadn’t just told her that she was attacked.
“That was rude and embarrassing,” she scolded.
Katherine’s mouth flew open. With the same aggression, she snatched her arm away. “You are out of your fucking mind!” she seethed. “But I’m not surprised. Why would you be appalled by someone putting their hands on me? You never were before.”
With tears welling in her eyes, Katherine whipped around and tore out of the restaurant.
“Get back here!” her mother gritted under her breath, no doubt trying to avoid making a scene. Appearances were everything to her mother. How she survived under her parents’ roof for so long, she didn’t know, but it was definitely time to go, even if she had to live on the street.
Blinded by tears, Katherine rounded a corner and ran smack into the brick wall of a man’s chest. She bounced back, but the man caught her by the arms.
The voice was familiar. “Are you okay?”
Katherine dried her eyes and locked onto Joseph’s hypnotic, green gaze. “Joseph,” she whispered with relief.
“Are you okay?” he asked again.
Katherine held his elbows until she was steady on her feet. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
He frowned. “Are you sure? Because you look like you’ve been crying.”
Katherine wiped her face and forced a smile. “What are you doing here?” she asked, changing the subject.
“My family and I are having dinner.”
