Unconditional

“Oh Cal, relax. She’s at home,” Aria interjects as she walks back through the room and runs a hand through her hair.

“You okayed this?” He stares at her.

She shoots him a look back like I know what I’m doing, and did you want to calm her sassy ass down or no?

I roll my eyes at them both and take another long sip.

His cocoa eyes bore into mine. “That’s your one, Madeline, and I mean it.”

Stop using my full name!

“Oh, calm down, Cal.” Margie takes her seat and her drink looks even clearer than mine, making me wonder if Aria’s plan to make her a weak drink quickly got derailed when I left the room.

“Calm down? Am I the only one that forgets she’s not old enough to drink? Let alone not even eighteen?”

I try to keep the question off my face as I hear his choice of words given what we’ve been doing the past few days, which in some ways may be more damaging than just a few drinks. I didn’t see it that way, but I knew other people would feel very differently.

“She’s at home with her family. Would you rather she was out in the street doing it?” Aria asks.

“I’m not condoning this.” He points at me. “I’m a cop for crying out loud. So are you.” He looks at Aria and she rolls her eyes.

“Not to Maddie, now pass the potatoes.” She holds her hand out.

“As much as I’ve enjoyed being talked about while I’m right here, can we talk about something else?” I hand her the potatoes from in front of Cal, who’d refused to pass them, when Grant speaks up.

“Yes, let’s. Let’s talk about what we’re doing for your birthday, sweet pea.” Grant grabs my hand and squeezes. He’s sitting diagonally from me at the head of the table, much to Henry’s annoyance.

“We?” Henry perks up and Margie, who’s within arm’s reach, smacks his arm and glares at him.

“Don’t start,” she warns.

“We already have some plans in place.” Aria points at me before pointing around the table.

“Yes, we will be taking down the Meadowfield Casino. I’ve got my poker face, ready!” I put my hands up.

“I don’t believe this.” Cal groans. “Is anyone in this family planning to be a good influence on Maddie?”

“You are.” I take a sip of my drink and raise an eyebrow at him. “Someone’s got to corrupt me a little.”

Only he knows the true meaning of my words, and while I thought it might throw him off, he doesn’t miss a beat. “I think Grant meant maybe a nice family dinner, you heathens.” He looks at all of us and Margie shrugs.

“I’m going with them to Meadowfield. I was invited.” She winks at me.

I point back at her and do a dance in my chair. “I need my coach.”

“Fine other than going to the casino…” He shakes his head. “Dinner?”

My eyes flit to the only person at this table who better not be invited before turning my gaze back to Cal. “We can talk about it another time. We still have a few weeks.”

“You’ll be eighteen, that’s really exciting.” Penelope perks up. She smiles a smile that is probably genuine, and for a second, I feel bad. She’s the nice girl in this situation and I’m the bitch. If this were a book or a movie or TV show, I’d be rooting for her to get the guy and not me. But life isn’t a book or a movie or TV show, and she doesn’t have a prayer at landing Cal.

“Thanks.” I smile before turning back to Grant without another glance. “We’ll be in touch. Just…six, right?” I look around the obvious table of seven and no one says anything, though I feel Aria’s glare on me.

“Never a dull moment at Thanksgiving.” Margie snorts from the other end and takes another long sip of her drink. “Okay, who wants pie?”

No Grayson holiday is complete without poker, which is how all of us are locked into a game at the end of the night. Penelope is long gone, having still felt the residual tension from me, and the fact that, besides Aria, no one really seemed to come to her rescue.

“Honestly, Aria, Henry, you don’t know anything about my boy, do you?” Margie says as she tosses out a card. “She was all wrong for him.”