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Chapter 82: The Family Dinner

Author: Nuella King
last update Last Updated: 2025-08-02 01:37:50

Emma’s POV

Xander’s parents had been pestering us for a visit.

Not subtly. Not kindly.

Pestering.

I’d dodged the last two Sunday invites with excuses so flimsy even I wouldn’t have believed them. First, I said we had a business dinner. Then, I claimed I had a 48-hour stomach flu—which was suspicious, considering I was on Instagram two hours later, laughing in a restaurant with Bella.

Now, they were done asking.

“We’re coming over Friday night,” Natasha had declared over the phone, her voice honey-sweet but steel-lined. “And we’re staying for dinner. No arguments, no last-minute emergencies.”

Translation: We’re coming to inspect your marriage and possibly your ovaries.

I sighed, phone still pressed to my ear. “Of course, Natasha. We’ll set the table.”

---

“Do you think they’ll ask again about grandkids?” I asked Xander as I tried to balance two trays of mini desserts and a bottle of wine at the kitchen counter.

He didn’t look up from the oven, where he was meticulously plating rosemary
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