I needed to stall until Tom arrived.
“Tom, I need you to come over. Now.”
I filled a glass with water and walked back into the dining room. Daniel and Grace were leaning toward each other, their heads nearly touching as they laughed at some private joke.
Seeing them like that made a hot, sharp bitterness rise in my throat.
I sat down and sipped my water. “Grace, tell me about your mother.”
Grace tensed.
Daniel’s smile faded into a frown. “Mom?”
“Grace, tell me about your mother.”
“I’m just curious. If you two are getting married, I want to know who I’ll be sharing holidays with. It’s only natural.”
Grace and Daniel exchanged a quick, loaded look. Daniel gave her a small, encouraging nod.
Grace swallowed. “You won’t be sharing holidays with my parents, Clara. My father passed away a few years ago. And I don’t talk to my mother.”
“Is that so?”
“Mom…” Daniel said, his voice dropping into a warning register.
Grace and Daniel exchanged a quick, loaded look.
“I have a right to know more about the woman joining this family, Daniel.”
