The Edge (Book 5 of The Claiming Series)

Chapter Fifteen

We're barely ten minutes into our meal when a guard steps into the dining room, whispers something to Oliver who stands by the door, and then Oliver walks over on silent feet and passes on the message to Eli. Eli sits at the head of the long dining table, and we were trying to figure out the best time to finally tell our guests the news. But as Oliver continues to disclose whatever information the guard had given him, something hardens in Eli's face, and he begins to glower at the table's surface.

"When are you going to tell us the news, Mave?" my mom says.

I tear my gaze from Eli and face my mom. She sits directly across the table from me, cutting up a piece of chicken for Aria who is more than capable of doing it herself but will never admit it. "In a moment," I say.

"You're stalling," Aria says, leaning back in her chair with an unnecessary sigh. "Are you going to tell us that you're having twins? Because that would be crazy. You can barely take care of yourself, so I don't know how you'd handle two babies, let alone one."

I plaster on a sarcastic smile. "Gee, thanks, sis."

She starts jabbing her fork into the cut-up chicken. "Just sayin'."

"Ignore her," Mom says. "She's in a mood today." Then she leans a little over the table and whispers, "There's this boy at school she's been crushing on, and it seems he won't return her affection."

"Mom, I can hear you," Aria says, whining.

I laugh. "Oh, so you finally found your heart?"

My sister glares at me. "I don't have a crush on anybody. Mom's making stuff up."

"Oh? Then what about the love letter I found in your backpack?" Mom says.

Aria nearly chokes on her food. "That was my friend's. She wanted me to hold onto it so her parents wouldn't find it."

"It was in your handwriting," Mom says, now trying not to laugh.

"We have the same handwriting!" Aria retorts.

"Sure. Sure," Mom says. Then she looks at me, and we both know she's doing a horrible job at lying.

By now, Oliver has returned to his post by the door. I reach over and take Eli's hand, tapping on the table's surface with full-fledged anxiety. He glances up at me from where his eyes remained locked on his half-finished plate. Immediately, he puts on a pleasant expression, but it looks a tad forced. "Shall we tell them all now?"

Before I can ask what he just heard from Oliver, my mom says, "Oh, yes. Please tell us! We're all dying. Angel wouldn't even tell us why we were coming over."

Eli lifts his eyebrows at his mom, sitting all the way across at the other end of the table. "Really?"

She shrugs.

Eli chuckles. The others at the table start murmuring amongst themselves for a brief moment. My grandparents on both sides, my cousins even, Eli's sisters, Eris, Charlie, and his family all showed up with my parents and sister. All at the same time, which was even more overwhelming. Eli addresses them. "We just wanted to let you all know that we found out the sex of our baby today."

Chattering erupts along the table all at once, and I hear bits and pieces of people trying to guess—boy or girl? Eli squeezes my hand tighter, and he nods at me, giving me the opportunity to tell them myself, but I shake my head. "I had the chance to tell them that I was pregnant. This is all you."