The dining room glowed with the soft amber of the chandelier, casting warm pools of light across the mahogany table and crystal glasses caught the flicker of candles, scattering tiny rainbows across the white linen tablecloth.
My mother's roast lamb filled the air with rosemary and garlic, and the silverware against porcelain provided a steady rhythm to the conversation flowing around me.
I sat between my two siblings and my cousin, across from Dorian. My stepdad. My mother occupied the seat to his right and her wine glass was never far from her lips. She'd been quieter than usual all evening, with her eyes tracking movements around the table with an attentiveness that made the skin between my shoulder blades prickle.
Dorian was recounting some anecdote about his studio's latest acquisi
