Kings of Linwood Academy - The Complete Box Set: A Dark High School Romance Series Callie Rose (i read a book TXT) 📖

I’m lying or hiding something. But I just gaze blandly back until he shakes his head and reaffixes his smile.

“I’m glad to hear that. Keeping her spirits up is so important. She’s lucky she has you.”

“What do you need, dad?” Lincoln asks, draping an arm possessively around my shoulders. He doesn’t seem to like his dad talking to me, and although our reasons might not be the same, I agree with him wholeheartedly.

“Well, I thought I’d ask Harlow if she’d like to join us for dinner.” The strands of silver hair at Samuel’s temples gleam as he inclines his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Gwen’s making lamb. I know it’s a little late to do the whole ‘meet the parents’ thing, but I thought since you two are dating now, we should all get to know each other a little better.”

I go still in Linc’s embrace. Fuck no, I don’t want to have dinner with Samuel Black. But I don’t know how to get out of it without making it awkward or suspicious, so when his gaze lands on me, I nod.

“Sure. I’d love that. Thanks for the invite.”

“Wonderful! I’ll tell Gwen to set an extra place at the table. We’ll eat at seven.”

He strides toward the kitchen, and Lincoln tilts his head to look down at me. “You don’t have to, Low. Those dinners are usually boring as fuck.”

“No, it’s okay.” My arm went around his waist when he draped his around my shoulders, and I grip him a little tighter before stepping back. “I didn’t know what I was gonna do for dinner anyway. I should study a little before we eat though.”

I press a quick kiss to his lips before escaping upstairs, but I can feel his gaze on my back as I hustle up the steps. He knows something is bothering me, and it’s only a matter of time before he demands to know what it is.

We arrived back at the house at 3:30, so I do some serious studying for the next few hours. Finals are right around the corner, and I’m honestly not prepared for them.

At 6:30, I change into a nicer outfit—I’m not really sure what the protocol is for these things, but I want to look like I at least made an effort—and at a little before seven o’clock, I make my way downstairs.

The dining room is in the west wing of the house, separated from the grand foyer by a large, arched doorway. There’s a fireplace on one wall, and a mahogany table in the middle of the room.

I’m a few minutes early, and the only person in the room when I arrive is Audrey. She’s seated at one end of the table, and she looks up sharply as I enter. I’m so used to her movements being slow and languid, like there’s a half-second time delay between her brain and her body, that I blink.

Maybe I’m just imagining it, but her eyes look a little clearer than usual, more focused.

It often seems like Audrey Black isn’t quite all there, but tonight, she’s definitely here, and she’s definitely pissed.

Super.

Is she mad because I’m having dinner with them? Maybe she really didn’t know that Lincoln and I are sort of together until she saw us kiss last night before the party. I was shocked at how little Mr. Black seemed to care—maybe it’s asking too much for Linc’s mom to be okay with him dating the help too.

“Hello.” She gives me a curt nod.

“Um, hi.”

I smile awkwardly, hovering in the doorway because I have no idea where to sit. There are four table settings laid out, and I’m positive the one at the head of the table is for Samuel, so that gives me a fifty percent chance of guessing right between the other two. Still, I don’t like those odds enough to try.

And fortunately, Lincoln arrives less than a minute later, followed almost immediately by his father. Mr. Black takes his expected seat at the head of the table, and Lincoln holds a chair out for me before sitting in the other one.

“So, are you two getting excited about winter break? It’ll be here before you know it.”

Samuel glances from me to Linc as Gwen emerges from the kitchen with what I’m guessing is the first of a few courses. She shoots me a look as she sets the dishes down, and I can’t tell if it’s approving or disapproving—but she definitely has an opinion on me joining the family for dinner.

“I haven’t even thought about it much,” I admit honestly.

“Ah, yes.” He grimaces. “Of course.”

There’s a small noise from the other side of the table, and I shoot a subtle glance over, expecting to find Audrey glaring at me. But she’s not. Her glare is fixed firmly on her husband.

Oh.

So maybe she’s not pissed about me after all. Maybe this has to do with their fight yesterday. It didn’t really seem like it ended well, even though they looked like the picture of a happy couple when they walked down the stairs to the party.

Lincoln’s dad must be able to see it—must be able to feel the burning heat of it—but he ignores Audrey’s death glare, beaming jovially as he asks Linc and me more questions about school and other harmless topics.

Gwen comes back a little while later to take our dishes and replace them with new ones. The lamb smells and looks delicious, but it feels like rubber in my mouth as I force myself to chew and swallow. I wish I could enjoy it, but everything about this dinner is making my nerves prickle.

It’s like Audrey and Samuel Black are in different dimensions—the energy coming from each end of the table is so diametrically opposed that it’s hard to believe they can exist in the same room.

Audrey is furious.

And Samuel knows it, but he refuses to acknowledge it.

The tension gathering in the room makes my stomach twist and clench around every bite of food I take,