"Please everyone, have your seats. Let's have dinner."
Gianna distinctly heard Isaac speak, his voice cutting cleanly through the room with the ease of command—but she remained rooted to the ground, her mind still tangled tightly around his earlier question, unable to move past it.
What did he mean by that?
Didn't he know her parents were late? That her grandfather was gone too?
The thought sat heavy in her chest, confusing, unsettling.
She barely felt Noah's hand slip around her waist again, grounding and warm, tugging her gently toward her seat.
He pulled the chair out with practiced courtesy, guiding her down with a hand at her back, easing her into the seat before settling into his own beside her, as though everything were perfectly normal.
She barely registered Mason taking the seat on her right, effectively intercepting Sarah, who had been clearly aiming for that spot—to Esme's visible chagrin.
