The long dining table gleamed beneath the chandelier, its polished wood reflecting gold from the candles set down the middle. Bowls of vegetables, roasted chicken, and a bottle of red wine stood waiting. For a moment, Emma felt out of place, like a child trespassing in a dollhouse that belonged to someone else.

But then Eliana’s voice rang clear.

“Why aren’t you sitting?,” she asked, not unkindly.

Emma obeyed, sliding into the chair opposite Ross, who had already ...