My rebuttal is believable this time. “Eww, no!”
“Hey!” She smacks my arm. “You don’t see me shuddering at the prospect of spending an entire evening with your brooding beau.”
I snort, imagining shy Eliza and reserved Nathan trying to have a conversation over dinner.
“Maybe we can go to the same restaurant,” I say, “Like a double date, and then we could switch. No one would have to know.”
Her eyes light up. “Yes.”
Yes.
Why didn’t I think of this earlier? The four of us on the same table, actually having dinner with who we want.
“How do we tell the boys?” she asks.
“I’ll suggest it to Nathan,” I say, feeling my chest lighten.
Eliza beams–and then her smile falls. “It wouldn’t matter. According to Easton, I’m going on a date with Nathan, and you with Peter, which puts us on track to marry the other brother.”
Crap.
Nathan, my future brother–in–law.
45
The thought makes me queasy.
Evening comes sooner than expected, and the entrance of my stylist team ushers Eliza’s exit.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she whispers as she hugs me, “but I hope your date sucks.”
I laugh, squeezing her. “Ditto.”
The stylist team puts me in a gorgeous baby blue sundress with a sweetheart neckline and tie straps at the shoulders. The fitted bodice flows seamlessly into a flowy, asymmetrical handkerchief hem skirt. They complete the look with white, strappy, heeled sandals and style my hair in a half–up, half–down style.
By the time they’re done, there are a million butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I don’t want to waste this look, these nerves, on Peter.
“Master Ashford is waiting for you downstairs,” Jessica informs me.
“Wow, April,” Peter says as I descend the stairs. “You could at least pretend you don’t hate the idea of going on a date with me.”
I snort. “No actress has yet been discovered who can pull off such a feat.”
Peter grins. “Aww, are you catty because I’m the wrong brother?”
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Chapter 127
I tap his nose. “Ding ding ding.”
:
He holds his hand to his chest in mock hurt. “You wound me deep, CQ.”
*CO?”
His eyes twinkle. “Chaos Q-”
“Queen. Got it.” 1 roll my eyes. “Can we just go?”
He holds out his elbow, and 1 grudgingly slip my arm into his.
“You might want to wipe that scowl off your face,” he says, opening the door to his cherry–red Cadillac.
I slide into the passenger seat. “I like the scowl. I’ll keep it, thank you very much.”
“That’s not the attitude you want to go into your first date with, is it?”
My cheeks burn. I don’t even bother refuting his claim. This is, in fact, my first date.
“You don’t count,” I tell him instead.
45
“Ouch,” he says, driving out of the estate. “You’re going to regret being so mean to me in a couple of minutes.”
“Why? Is the sun scheduled to crash into the Earth soon?”
Peter presses his hand to his chest. “I cherish you, April. I can’t wait till you’re my sister, and we can bicker like this for the rest of our lives.”
My mouth falls open. His words–the sincerity of them–render me mute.
Peter chuckles. “Heartfelt words shut you up. Noted.” He pulls over onto a shoulder. “We’re here.”
I pull my gaze away from Peter, squinting at the empty road stretched in front of us. Except-
It’s not empty.
Parked on the other side of the road is a familiar black Tesla–famous for mysteriously dead batteries that strand people in the middle of nowhere.
And outside, casually leaning on the car, is Nathan.
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Winning the Heir Who Bullied Me
Chapter 128
