Dinner with the Rhodes (Chloe PoV)

I was pissed.

Jake. Lying bastard.

Well, he never really lied, but this was an omission that was as bad as a lie!

Jake could cook. Not just cook, but cook. What the hell! Why was I feeding him shitty sandwiches feeling all proud of myself when he could be feeding me.

I don’t know what he saw in my noise, but when I looked over at him, his head was tilted and his eyes flitted back and forth as if reading. Maybe he was confused? Good. I purposefully thought of some sad memories, then happy ones. Anything to try changing my emotional mood. Keep him guessing.

Conversation. Great food. Joyous atmosphere. It was perfect. …And crushingly guilty that I was enjoying this. Seeing Jake’s stare, I gave him a smile and tried to shift my emotions. I could deal with being a shitty daughter later.

Halfway through dinner, Daniel cleared his throat a few times before drinking his wine. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw Jake looking at him. Or how he immediately turned to Sophie.

“I need a new car.”

I frowned. Jake was particularly wooden. Sure, he normally was, but this was even more pronounced. And new car? The one he had barely had any miles on it.

Sophie was the model of calm as she continued to cut her chicken. “Is that so?” Looking up at him, she popped the small piece of chicken in her mouth and chewed. There was a long, tense silence before she continued. “And why, may I ask, do you need a new car when you barely use the one you have?”

Jake blinked. Then again. He sat up straighter, as if he was remembering something. “I want an electric one. An EV would be better for city driving.”

Daniel jumped in before Sophie could respond. “You know, we don’t need to buy you a new one. We have one Jake could have. I mean, we would need to replace it, but—”

“Jake, does your apartment complex have EV chargers?”

“No.”

Her eyebrow quirked. “Then how would you charge your vehicle?”

He said nothing.

“Did Daniel put you up to this?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately.

“Traitor!”

“Daniel?”

“Yes, Love?” He was putting a lot of effort into his expression, giving his wife a loving look.

“We are going to have words.”