Page 86 of Shattered Mind

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Savannah picks me up at exactly three PM the next day and we arrive at Reigns school twenty minutes later. I decide to wait at the car while she goes in and collects Reign so I can surprise her when she comes out.

Within minutes I see my nieces blonde pigtails swinging side to side as she walks alongside her mother. It takes a while for her to spot me but when she does, her eyes light up and a wide smile takes over her face as she runs at me. “Aunty Livvy!”

I open my arms and catch her with an oomph. “Hey, baby girl.”

“I missed you,” she says against my neck as she holds onto me for dear life.

“I missed you too my girl.”

“Are you coming to our house?” she asks as she pulls back, her tone hopeful.

I nod with a smile. “I am.”

“Yay!” she exclaims loudly, punching one fist in the air and earning the attention of passerby’s. My heart warms in my chest at her excitement over simply spending time with me.

“Let’s go then,” I say, returning her excitement as I place her on the ground and usher her towards the back of the car.

I strap her in her car seat and climb back into the passenger side before Savannah takes off in the direction of the ranch.

Unfortunately for me, the drive is only ten-minutes and before I know it, we’re turning onto the gravel road leading to the main house. Nervous butterflies take flight in my stomach as the Calloway’s farmhouse comes into view and Savannah slows the car to a stop.

She climbs out and rounds the car to retrieve Reign from the back seat and I take several calming breaths before following behind her.

“Mummy, I thought Livvy was coming to our house?” Reign asks as we climb the steps to Grayson’s parent’s house.

“She can come to our house later. We’re having dinner here first,” Savannah responds, and I send up a silent prayer that this dinner will be over quickly so I can spend some time with my favourite girl in the world.

“Okay,” Reign says, satisfied with that answer.

The two girls enter the house, and I follow behind, dragging my feet a little as though that’s going to delay me having to face the Calloway’s after their son ghosted me.I don’t want to see the pitying looks on their faces. Or for them to dance around the subject of Grayson altogether to avoid making things awkward for me.

We follow the sound of light chatter and round the corner into the kitchen where Amelia stands with Roman, Hunter and Noah. Amelia spots me first and her face lights up as she walks towards me, wrapping me in a hug. “Hey sweet girl.”

“Hey. Something smells good in here,” I reply, returning her embrace.

She pulls back and gives me a proud smile. “I’m making chicken parm tonight.”

My stomach grumbles in response and we both dissolve into a fit of giggles. She slings an arm over my shoulder. “Come on, I’ll get you some wine.”

“That might be the best thing I’ve heard all week,” I say, allowing her to steer me toward the fridge, giving the others a quick hello as we pass.

Once I’ve got an oversized glass of wine in hand, Amelia shoos us towards the dining room to take our seats as she dishes up dinner and begins bringing out the plates of food. Savannah and I offer our help but are quickly shot down as Amelia insists she is perfectly capable of doing it on her own and the two of us decide it’s best not to argue with her.

She lays the food out family-style, with large plates and bowls of food spread across the table for us to help ourselves. We each take turns piling food onto our plates before digging in. It’s a little harder for me to cut my food with only one hand without drawing attention to myself and after I drop the knife for the third time, I give up on the utensil altogether.

Savannah takes pity on me and leans over, cutting the chicken on my plate for me and my face flames with embarrassment.

A door slams somewhere in the house, and I feel the air shift as Grayson enters the dining room behind me. My stomach plummets as his heavy footfalls come to a halt.

Reign… my sweet, beautiful Reign, chooses that exact moment to speak up. “Don’t worry Auntie Liv. Mummy cuts my dinner for me, too.”

Noah chokes back a laugh. Hunter coughs into his fist to conceal his amusement. Savannah pulls back slowly, her eyes flicking between me and the man behind me. The entire room falls into an awkward silence as I close my eyes and pray for the ground to open up and swallow me whole for the second timeat this dinner table.

CHAPTER 49

GRAYSON

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