Page 535 of Lodestar

That had me turning to the head of the table to find her father shooting me a wary smile.

Ah, Dagger, ever the peacemaker.

“I’ve been focused on bringing down the organization that enslaved me, Dagger. It hasn’t been a picnic.”

To give him his due, he didn’t cringe away from my answer. “I think you should speak with Lorelei’s publisher. The world needs to read your story.”

“Why? Do we want to make the world manically depressed? Mine has a happy ending, but ninety-eight percent of the women like me didn’t have a happy ending in sight until I escaped.” I glanced at Lorelei. “I’d appreciate reading an advanced copy of the manuscript before you send it to the publisher.”

Savannah’s mother studied me over her wine glass, and while I saw the dislike she had for me in her eyes, she surprised me by stating, “That’s only fair.”

“A biography would be good exposure for the charity,” Savannah mused, her tone thoughtful. “I could write it for you.”

I sighed—no matter what I said, she’d tell Rachel, who’d never shut the fuck up until I did it.

Allowing these two harridans to meet to discuss the upcoming gala and the coverage Rachel wanted Vana to write in her new column in theCity Timeswas the stupidest thing I’d ever done.

“If she doesn’t want to revisit it on the page, you shouldn’t pressure her, Savvie,” Aidan stated.

Savannah just hummed, which told me she was going to ignore Aidan no matter what he said. “Where’s Misha, Aspen?”

Aspen narrowed her eyes. “Why are you asking, Savannah?”

Like a cat poised to strike a mouse, Savannah pinned Aspen to the ground. “We’ve brought our significant others. I was just wondering why you didn’t bring the Forgotten Boy with you.”

“The what?” Lorelei queried, her confusion genuine.

“Forgotten Boy, Mom,” Savannah chirped.

“Is that like aPeter Panthing?”

I hid a snort but Aspen took control of the situation surprisingly fast. “Mom, it’s nothing. Misha and I had a fight.”

“I warned him not to hurt you,” Aidan rumbled as he stared down at the pastry rose on his plate like it was a puzzle in need of solving. “Just give me the word, and I’ll break his balls.”

“You mean bust them.”

“I know what I said, Savannah.”

“Just use your fingers, Aidan,” Lorelei encouraged, mimicking how the, well, whatever it was should be eaten.

“To break Misha’s balls or to eat the canapé?”

As Lorelei scowled at her eldest daughter, Aspen argued, “Misha didn’t hurt me. His balls don’t need to be busted or broken. Anyway, can we not talk about this right now, please?”

I picked up my own appetizer, took a bite, and sighed in delight at the harissa-infused meatball. “This is delicious, Lorelei. Thank you.”

The other woman didn’t look at me, just nodded. “You’re welcome.”

“I don’t understand why this is so awkward.” Camden skewered his mom with a glower. “It’s Star.Star. Why are you making it weird? It wasn’t like that when Vana, Star, and I got together.”

“Idon’t understand why we weren’t invited,” Paris muttered.

Aspen sniffed. “Just another instance of us being excluded.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be brats.”

As the twins turned toward me and began bickering, I almost missed Aidan telling Conor, “Need to speak with you later.”

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