Ava squeezes Dahlia’s hand.
And the whole room shifts—from the seconds of shock to understanding to fierce protection.
Dad clasps Dahlia’s hand between his and squeezes. “Welcome,” he tells her gently. “We’re so glad you’re here. Both of you.” He looks over at Chloe. “And who is this beautiful little girl with the unicorn?”
She lifts her head from my shoulder, clutching her unicorn like a shield.
“I Chyoe,” she says softly. She holds up her unicorn. “And Uni.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Chloe and Uni,” Dad says.
Goldie comes over, introduces herself to Dahlia and Chloe, and opens her arms wide. Dahlia reluctantly steps into them, and they hug. “How in the world did Dylan manage to hide you? You’re a total smokeshow!”
Dahlia’s shoulders relax, and she starts laughing, somewhat hysterically. And then we’re all laughing our asses off.
“The way this guy has thought he was being so secretive,” Tully says, cracking up. “We all knew it was someone.” He introduces himself, and then it’s Camden and Juju’s turn.
“Whatever the reason for all this secrecy, we’re in,” Camden says.
“All in,” Juju adds, hugging Dahlia.
“Oh my God, I just realized. Ava!” Goldie yells.
Ava nods, tears spilling onto her cheeks. “Dahlia and I finally met a while ago. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s…a long story.”
Noah smiles at Dahlia and Chloe. “I’m Noah.” He then crosses his arms like he’s preparing for battle. “Tell us what the hell we’re dealing with here. What’s the emergency?”
I glance at Dahlia and then my family. “Okay,” I say, voice steady. “Let’s sit down. There’s a lot to tell you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
OFF THE HOOK
DAHLIA
The Whitmans are blowing my mind.
Not even half an hour ago, we were strangers, but they’ve opened their arms to me—from the enemy camp—with no hesitation.
I’m completely overwhelmed.
There’s an air of excitement as we move into the living room. I’m still a little shaky, my nerves at an all-time high about my dad, but I’m so happy to finally meet everyone that that’s taking a back seat right now. They’re being so wonderful.
Bill and Kevin are so cute with each other. They chase each other and then circle the room for ear scratches.
Grayson appears from down the hall, holding a plastic bin in his arms.
“Chloe, you wanna see my toys?” he asks shyly.
Her eyes go wide. “Yes!”
She practically launches off of Dylan’s lap, which makes everyone laugh.
The house smells like coffee and cinnamon bread. It’s beautiful and cozy, and each person around this table is so warm and lovely.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Milo says, elbowing me.
He’s sitting next to me. He and Ava playfully argued about who got to sit by me, and Milo won when he realized Ava and I had spent time together recently.
