She smiles, and her fingers wrap around my hand. “Good, now let’s go inside, eat, and get out of here without bloodshed.”

The door is yanked open before we can say anything else, and my father is standing there. “Are you planning to come in or make us wait on you?”

And so it begins.

He takes a step back, indicating his question didn’t require a response and we’re to enter. We take a step forward, my hand on the small of Jessica’s back, guiding her into the family room.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Your mother is in a mood. A lot is going on, and . . . well, it’s better we get this over with.”

I have no clue what the hell that means, but he looks irate and not just because he had to come let us in.

It’s been almost fifteen years since she’s been here, but the place is exactly the same. My mother had this ridiculous house built when she was pregnant with Joshua. It’s exactly as she wanted it and completely over-the-top.

There is a grand staircase that can either be climbed from the right or the left with a huge open balcony that you can look down from. As we walk under those stairs, we descend the two steps into the grand family room. I don’t know why we call it that since no one is ever in here, but I guess the grand part is true.

Large triangular windows allow maximum light in, and the entire back of the house is windows. The entire thing. Aside from the two front guest rooms, every room has a mountain view. Where the house is positioned there is one hundred percent privacy. My parents ensured as much.

My mother rises to her feet with the grace of a ballerina. “Hello, Grayson.”

“Mother,” I say as I kiss her cheek. The hair on the back of my neck stands as I look around.

“Jessica, it’s lovely to see you. I’m glad you could make it.”

Jessica smiles warmly. “It’s nice to see you as well.”

“Dinner is ready, we were hoping to have drinks first, but since you were late, we’ll just have to drink during.” She looks at me with obvious disappointment.

“Amelia took a bit longer to get settled with Stella.”

She purses her lips. “Yes, well, I can understand that, I guess. As much as I hoped you’d bring her, it’s probably best she’s not here.”

“Oh, good, so there will be bloodshed tonight on the menu.”

Jessica’s eyes flash with anger as she looks at me. I shrug. It’s true, and I’m not going to let her or my father say anything disparaging where Amelia might hear. She has no idea about my last dinner here, and I’d like to keep it that way.