CHAPTER TWENTY

Rayna slid into her usual seat at the lunch table the next day, balancing her tray precariously. David was right behind her, grinning like he'd just won a jackpot. The group was already gathered: Maeve absently scrolling through her phone, Isabel taking careful bites of her salad, Ashton mimicking a teacher’s nasally voice, and Chris leaning back in his chair, laughing at Ashton’s antics.

“Rayna, you’re late,” Ashton teased, raising a brow. “And you brought David. Should we be worried?”

“Worried?” Rayna smirked, setting her tray down. “About what?”

“About the two of you plotting world domination, obviously,” Ashton replied, earning a chuckle from Isabel.

David slid into his seat beside Rayna, still grinning. “Oh, if we told you what we were actually up to, you’d wish it was world domination.”

Rayna snorted. “True. But they wouldn’t understand.”

“That sounds suspicious,” Chris said, leaning forward. “Spill. What’s going on?”