Page 45 of Knight

“Hey, you two wait,” Hugo calls, stopping us in our tracks. “If you want me to be a father, how about you and your date join us for dinner?”

“Dad, you don’t have to.”

“C’mon, Christian,” Hugo says, turning around and walking to where he came from. “I got a steak with your name on it.”

Christian looks like he’s about to protest again but before he can, his mom pipes up, her brown eyes on me, “Help me in the kitchen.”

Glancing at Christian, he already looks defeated. I see the little shake of his head when our eyes meet but if this takes my mind off my woes, I’m down. “Sure,” I say, winking at Christian before he groans again. “I’d love to.”

“I’ll remember this,” he says when he passes me, but the smile he gives when he looks back tells me it’s nothing to fear. Not like Damien.

Bianca leads me to the kitchen, Christian following his dad as his mom babbles on about the renovations she did. The more I move through this house, the more in awe I become. Bianca’s gone with a brown and green theme, the ceiling filled with thick wooden beams, adding to the rustic vibe.

“We can head back upstairs,” Christian’s voice is lower as we get closer to the kitchen near the back of the house. I can see some of it through the large rounded arch from where we are. Marble counters. Wooden cabinets and copper fixtures.

With a glance over my shoulder, I smile, waving him off. “It’s fine.”

“What’s fine?” Bianca asks, stopping in front of a stainless steel gas range.

Christian’s response is quick, “Whatever you’re cooking.”

Bianca smiles, “See what I mean? He’s got the charm of his father, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”

“Ma!”

She smiles again, pulling me over to the cutting board before she starts giving us orders. Christian’s dad calls him out to the back porch, telling him to bring the steak and salmon with him. This leaves me alone with Bianca, a small room with a sofa and some candles off to the side. With the stories she tells me about Allie and Christian as kids, and the way she bosses me around like my mom in the kitchen, it’s easy to feel at home.

“You’re a natural,” Bianca says when she sees my knife work.

“Who’s natural?” Allie’s voice comes from the foyer. “No one in this town is.”

“Alejandra! Come meet Jo!” Bianca calls.

“Jo?” Allie’s quick to the kitchen, still in her uniform albeit more rumpled than I expected. A smile spreads on her face before her brows knit. “What are you doing here?”

“I—”

“Steak’s almost done!”

“Dad?” Allie sounds surprised to see her father manning the grill. “Okay, what the fuck is going on?”

“Language, Alejandra,” Bianca snips, and I can’t help but laugh. “And we’re having dinner is what’s going on. Hurry up and go change, we’re almost done.” Grabbing an apple from the large bowl on the big dining table, Allie gives me another questioning look before she walks up the stairs.

It’s not long before she’s back in a hoodie and shorts and dinner’s on the table. Steak, salmon, potatoes, grilled vegetables and rice. Bianca lights candles in the middle of the large wooden table and throws on some Bossanova. Allie sits at the table in a hoodie and bike shorts, cross-legged on her chair. I’m sitting beside Christian on the other side, Bianca and Hugo at each end. My plates piled high with veggies and starches, poking at a piece of broccoli with my fork.

“So, I didn’t know ERA started doing scholarships,” Bianca pipes, a forkful of veggies in her hand. She looks at me, then at her kids.

“What do you mean?” Allie asks, poking at her salmon with her hair in her face.

“Well, Jo’s obviously not from around here.”

“Jesus, mom,” Allie replies, dropping her fork.

“It’s okay.” My words are a mess, trying my hardest to chew through this broccoli so I can answer. “I’m from The Grove.”

“Really …” Bianca smiles, looking down at her plate before she meets my eyes. “So am I.”

I almost choke, “What?”

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