Divided (Unguarded #2) - Ivy Stone Page 0,78

felt from being a part of such treachery.

Now I look forward to that special day of the week. The one I spend with people who are quickly becoming something scary and beautiful.

Family.

My family.

Sundays are still filled with love, loyalty, and honor. But of a different variety to what I’d become accustomed to. The kind that warms your heart allows you to breathe easy and trust without hesitation.

Laughter lights up Mason and Lindsey’s home. The racket coming from the tall bar table over the far side of the living room where the boys are roaring over something Trey said. Roamyn’s doubled over, his shoulders bobbing. Eli’s head is thrown back, his longish hair reaching down his back. Oliver’s shaking his head and Mason’s hiding a smile behind his bottle of beer. Lindsey’s leaning over the stove in the kitchen frazzled because, well, she can’t cook and all that. Charlotte’s standing beside her listing off everything she’s doing wrong and what she should be doing instead.

Meanwhile, Cassidy and I are relaxing back into lounges that are comfy enough to sleep on. Aww’s come from beside me where Cass is scrolling through Pinterest boards full of baby room designs because that’s next on my pregnancy to do list, right after I take another nap. And then there’s Rocky, the not so delicate Labrador, who’s just living life, stealing one biscuit at a time from the kitchen counter covered in enough pre-dinner snacks to feed a small army. A smile tugs at my lips as I take it all in. It’s alarming how fast this is becoming my normal. Even before a month ago when Roamyn and I decided to leave our pasts in the past and move forward, together. At least, that’s what I thought we were doing. But something happened with Roam and I still don’t know what it is. He’s deflected me every time I’ve brought it up. Either brushing it off, making a joke or offering up his cock to shut me up. He’s all but moved in with me, and while I’m giddy with excitement over the fact we’re finally in a good place I can’t help the worry tightening the knot of unease I feel whenever I see him drift off into his head.

“Dinner’s almost ready, guys,” Lindsey yells out.

My tummy churns. Cass and I give each other a look of good luck and head over to the dining table. Mase smiles at me as he walks into the kitchen. He circles his arms around Lindsey’s waist and whispers something in her ear that makes her gush. My heart swells seeing my sister finally happy. She deserves it. After everything we’ve been through in our short lives already, no one deserves happiness more than her. She’s spent her whole life being the strong one. At some point, strong turned into steel and no one could break down those walls. But Mason and Charlotte had. My eyes wander to Roamyn, the only one left at the bar table. I let out a heavy sigh. He’s staring out the window, the wrinkles around his eyes bunching as he bottles up whatever’s going on. Mason pulls up beside me, lips pinched together in the same look he wears almost twenty-four seven. Broody and intense but undeniably handsome.

“Something’s going on with him, Mase. I don’t know what it is and he won’t talk about it. I don’t want to push him, but it’s eating him up inside. He’s trying to hide it but he can’t. Which means whatever it is it isn’t good.”

Mason’s eyes tighten as we worry over someone we both care so much about. “Yeah. I’m getting that feeling.”

Dinner is crazy. There’s no other word for it. Three different conversations are flying across the table. Everyone’s growing louder to speak over the top of one another. And surprisingly, the food isn’t just being pushed around plates in an effort not to offend my sister and her lack of domestic skills. It’s being eaten and enjoyed which means Charlotte must have done most of the food prep. Knives and forks are scraping plates and Elias and Roamyn are already digging into the salad for seconds. It’s chaos. The perfect kind.

Lindsey clears her throat over the noise. Nobody except Olly and I take any notice. Oliver sniggers beside her and she backhands his chest with a light slap. She does it again. Still nobody hears her.

“Hey, people!” she says, her tone loud and snappy.

Well, that gets their attention. Every set of eyes