Sophia stood as well, her blonde hair in a sophisticated twist, wearing cream slacks and a cream sweater that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent. She was smaller than Emmy, more delicate in appearance, but Zander had seen her angry and knew better than to mistake elegance for weakness.
There was a coat rack near their table, and Zander helped Emerald out of her parka, hung it alongside Spencer’s, and then removed his wool overcoat while Emmy moved toward her parents.
Emerald’s shoulders were tight with tension beneath the warm, practical sweater. Nothing about her screamedtrust fund party girl, and Sophia would notice that immediately.
The hug with Sophia was awkward, Emerald’s arms circling her mother with careful restraint, as if the embrace might bruise old wounds neither wanted to reopen. Sophia’s return hug was much the same, and Zander’s heart broke a little.
But the one with Aaron was truly heart-wrenching — the old dragon embracing his oldest daughter with thetentative reverence of a man cradling fragile glass, his massive arms loose enough to let her pull away if she chose, while Emmy clung to him, her arms tight around him as though anchoring herself to a long-lost memory.
Zander didn’t need to read minds to see the tension radiating from all three.
“Mom. Dad.” Emmy’s voice was steady, at least. “You remember Spence.”
“Of course.” Sophia’s smile was warm when she looked at Spencer, and she pulled him into a hug that looked far more natural than the one she’d shared with her daughter. “It’s good to see you again. You look good.”
“And you are beautiful, as always, but if I ask who you’re wearing we’ll annoy our companions,” Spencer said with an easy grin.
“It’s Piana,” Emmy said, and then looked a little mortified.
Aaron bridged the awkwardness by shaking Spencer’s hand, his expression friendly.
Spencer and Sophia had been genuine friends back in Chattanooga, neighbors who’d bonded over recipes and gardening, and their friendship might be the thing that kept this dinner from becoming a complete disaster.
Unless Sophia took offense at Spencer submitting to her daughter.
Now it was time for Zander’s individual greetings, and he gently hugged Sophia, then gave his old friend a firm handshake and shoulder clasp.
They settled into their seats with Emerald between Zander and Spencer on one side of the table, Aaron and Sophia on the other.
And Sophia once again clocked her between them, her eyes narrowing. Her gaze moved from Emerald to Zander to Spencer and back again, and Zander saw the exact moment something clicked in her expression.
“We need to talk,” Zander said before she could speak. “There’s something I … something the three of us need to tell you.”
Aaron’s expression didn’t change, but his hand moved to cover Sophia’s on the table. Sophia had likely telepathed her suspicions.
“Mom, Dad,” Emerald started, but her voice faltered.
Zander took over, his tone calm and matter-of-fact. “Emmy and I have developed feelings for each other. Naturally, Spencer is also part of the relationship. It’s new, but it’s real, and none of us are ashamed of it. That’s why I thought it was important you hear it from us directly, rather than through gossip.”
The silence that followed felt like standing at the edge of an erupting volcano.
Sophia’s face went white, then red. “You—” She zeroed in on Zander, and her voice rose. “I trusted you to take care of my daughter, and now you’refuckingher?”
“Sophia,” Aaron said quietly, his hand tightening on hers.
She ignored him. “She’s barely twenty-four! You’re — God, you’re older than most civilizations! And you were supposed to beprotectingher, not seducing—”
“Mom!” Emmy’s voice cracked like a whip. “I’m an adult! Stop treating me like a child you must protect!”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I can say!” Sophia said, rounding on her. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. He has thousands of years on you! You have no idea the machinations and manipulations he’s capable of!”
Zander opened his mouth to respond, but Emmy beat him to it.
“No one manipulates me.” Her voice was ice. “I learned from the best security expert on the planet, not to mention the factyoutaught me how to shield. Howdareyou suggest someone could twist my mind!”
Sophia blinked, some of the fire in her eyes dimming as Emmy’s words hit home.
“This wasn’t Zander’s idea,” Emmy continued. “It wasn’t even something either of us planned, but it happened, and I won’t apologize for it. For the first time in my life, I’m happy in a way I never understood was possible. I had no idea what it would mean to have people in my life who support me without trying to control me.”
