“Yeah.” Lou propped her chin up with her fist. “I’ve decided he’s a proper villain and doesn’t deserve a first name anymore. It’s just Woodbridge from here on out.”

I laughed, choking on my beer. As I wiped my mouth with a bar napkin, I did some quick mental math. “Why did he throw her out? Juliet was an adult. Things happen. Was it the not-married thing?”

Juliet refilled our water glasses. “That was only part of it.” Lou opened her mouth to explain, but Juliet waved her off. “It’s okay. I don’t care if you tell people, especially Declan. I’m certainly not ashamed of Savannah.” She pointed at the glasses. “Hydrate, please. I’m not sending you two off drunk to Mama Ami’s.”

She wouldn’t continue until we both dutifully sipped our waters. “It’s pretty simple, really. My dad’s an important arcanist. The title, the power, it means everything to him. Van and I were supposed to not only live up to his image, but expand it.” She took a minute to pull a cloth headband off her wrist and pull her hair back from her face. “He’s always been harder on Van. No idea why. But he wouldn’t give her an inch. Then we both disappointed him. Van refused to follow in his footsteps, and I got pregnant and changed majors.”

“She’d told him she was going to be an arcanist,” Lou said, finishing off her water.

Juliet shrugged. “Most of the prerequisites are the same. I was already planning to switch—I just hadn’t drummed up the courage to do it yet.” She nudged my water glass closer, until I picked it up again. “Getting pregnant just sped up the timeline.”

I dutifully sipped more water.

“If I’d stayed in my major, I would’ve had to see Savannah’s father all the time.” She leaned against the counter. “He wasn’t my professor, but he was a professor. I never told Dad who Savannah’s father was, and I don’t plan to ever tell him.”

A guy dropped off his empty glasses at the bar and Juliet swiped them up, putting them into the dishwasher under the bar top. “I couldn’t afford to transfer schools, to avoid her dad completely, but I did what I could. Took online classes for a while. Anything opposite his schedule.”

She looked at my face and laughed. “Don’t look like that. This is much better, trust me. I’m starting a career I like.” She tipped her chin toward the customers. “I have a flexible job that supports me. I have awesome roommate-neighbors and the best daughter in the world. It didn’t feel like it at the time, but my dad throwing me out was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Dinner at the Larsen household was loud in the best possible way, which helped distract me a little from our real purpose of being there—Mama Ami examining our bond. I didn’t think she would do anything terrible, but fear doesn’t listen to logic. So I was grateful for the distraction the chatter provided.