“I’m retaking them on the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh,” I responded. “The Dean wanted me to retake them all on the fifth, but that’s just impossible. It’ll be in front of the school’s board, too. The Dean and a handful of people from the board will be overseeing it.”
“Who?”
I shrug. “No idea yet.”
“Alright,” Dad takes a sip of the red wine, and Mom follows suit. Sawyer and Avalon are chatting, and he’s listening intently to whatever she’s telling him. He’s always treated her like a little addition to the family, and since she doesn’t have the best relationship with hers, I’m glad we get to be her found family.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out. I got an email, and thankfully, it’s not from that godforsaken site. Instead, it’s from Elliot.
“No phones during dinner,” Mom warns, putting her glass down.
“Sorry, it’s from Elliot. I just want to check on the guest list for tomorrow.”
“Alright, fine, I’ll excuse it once.”
I open the list, my eyes skimming through it. Small get-together, my ass. The list has fifty families, and each family is bound to have at least two people, if not more. This is the shortened list, with the surname only. The bigger one has everyone by name, age, and family occupation.
My finger stops at a random surname, my brows skyrocketing to my hairline. I blink a couple of times, then narrow my eyes as I look up at mom, then at dad.
“Care to tell me why the Fords are invited?”
Mom sighs, gulping down the rest of her wine. “I ran into Elena Ford after your father, and I visited you at the academy.”
“You ran into her? Where? You two are like oil and water; you don’t mix. I don’t know any common places you’d attend, with the exception of balls and such events.”
“At the jewelry store,” Mom rolls her eyes. “She was eyeing the piece I already preordered. She wasn’t thrilled when she saw me take it.”
“Oh, and how did that lead to you inviting her?”
“She got snappy with me,” Mom crosses her arms. “But since we weren’t alone in the store, I decided to be the bigger person and take the high road. I extended the invitation just to put her on the spot.”
“I can’t believe she said yes.”
“She didn’t,” Mom deadpans, “she told me she’d think about it. She only RSVP’d yes two daysago.”
“What do you think about this?” I turn to Dad.
“I think Edward Ford has something up his sleeve. After the scandal their boy put them through, he’s likely plotting something. We’re keeping our friends close, our enemies closer.”
I blink. “You own oil companies. You’re hardly two rival mobs.”
Sawyer snorts from across the table. “Would that mean Dad’s Al Capone?”
“Nah,” I laugh. “I think he’s more of Louis Campagna.”
“Wasn’t he Al Capone’s bodyguard at some point?”
“Yeah, but he was a very good gunman, better than Al Capone,” I wink at Dad, and he merely rolls his eyes at me.
“Did Mrs. Ford RSVP yes for all of them?” Sawyer asks, and I’m immediately drawn back into that conversation.
Mom nods. “Yes, all five of them.”
“Aw, they’re bringing little Nina, too?”
The Ford family consists of five main members. Elena and Edward Ford and their three children. Soren’s the oldest, his sister Astrid is only a year younger, and they have a little sister, too. She’s about four years old now, and no matter how much I hate Soren, I can’t lie. The girl’s the most adorable kid I’ve seen in a while.
“Stop fawning over the child,” Mom chuckles. “But yes, they’re bringing her, too. They’re not the only family bringing a child, so I have suitable childcare.”
