Chapter 26. Under the Table

Sienna

At the table, watching Alex laugh with Mom and Dad did something strange to me—something warm and unsettling in the best way.

I’d always been protective of my parents. The kind of protective that borders on jealous. If anyone else got too close—if they joked or shared some soft moment that wasn’t with me—it rubbed me the wrong way. Always had.

But watching Alex with them…

Watching him blend into our tiny family like he’d always belonged at that fourth chair…

Watching him laugh, shoulders loose, eyes bright…

It rubbed me the right way. All the right ways.

I loved it.

I loved the way he smiled—wide and unguarded. I loved how his eyes lit up every time he tasted a new dish and complimented Mom, and the way Mom playfully ruffled his hair like he was her second son.

Well… that description definitely didn’t fit, given the things between us.

But it was how it looked from the outside.

And I couldn’t bring myself