Cody let out a dramatic sigh and pushed himself up from the chair. He walked over to my closet and started rifling through it. “You know what your problem is?”
“Yep, I have too many fucking brothers.”
“You’re overthinking it.” He pulled out a dark green henley and held it up. “This. Simple. Fits you well. Brings out your eyes, which I’m sure she’ll appreciate.”
I stared at the shirt. It was perfect, which annoyed me because Cody was right. “Do guys wear shirts that bring out their eyes?”
“Yes.”
I pulled the henley on and paired it with dark jeans. I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to see what she would see. I didn’t want to look like a rich prick. I also didn’t want to look like I rolled out of bed and threw on whatever smelled the best.
“You look good,” Cody said. There wasn’t any teasing in his voice. “Stop spiraling.”
“I’m not spiraling.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “She invited you to family dinner. That’s a good sign. She wouldn’t do that if she didn’t want you there.”
I nodded, trying to convince myself he was right. I checked my watch. Four forty-five. I had ten minutes to walk next door. Plenty of time. I took a breath and headed for the door.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Cody called after me.
I stopped in the hallway and turned back. “What?”
He was holding up the bottle of sparkling cider I’d bought specifically for tonight. I couldn’t show up with nothing. A bottleof wine was the go-to. But since that was off-limits, I had to get creative.
“You really are stressing out about this,” he said.
I walked back and grabbed the bottle from him. “Thanks.”
“Sure you don’t want to change again? Maybe the pink polo? Really make a statement?”
“I will murder you in your sleep.”
He reached out and pinched both my cheeks like I was five years old. “Have a good date, sweetie. Don’t stay out too late.”
I had half a mind to knee him in the nuts but resisted. Instead, I shoved him backward and headed for the stairs.
“Use protection!” he called after me.
“There will be children present,” I shot back.
His laughter followed me all the way down the stairs and out the back door. I was a nervous fucking wreck. Worse than being seventeen and picking up my prom date with her father standing on the porch with a shotgun.
I could do this. It was just dinner.
I walked past the Mercedes on my way out of the garage and made myself look at it. The long, ugly scratch caught the late afternoon light and glittered like a scar. Someone had put real anger into that gouge. You could feel the rage in it. I did feel it, which was why I was done with the project.
Judd wasn’t finished. The war was just getting started. It was sure to be a long, drawn-out battle, but I would deal with it later. Tonight was mine.
I knocked and stepped back. The door swung open and the small human tornado that was Ocean Banks nearly took me out at the knees.
He pulled up short when he saw it was me. “You’re back,” he said.
“I am.”
“You’re going to eat dinner with us?”
“That’s the plan.”