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“Are you nervous?”
I shrugged. “Not really.”
“Okay,” she said, looking out the window. She was fidgeting and chewing on her bottom lip.
I leaned over and rested my hand on top of hers. She jumped.
“Hey, it’s okay. They will love you. You’ve already impressed my mom, and who cares about my dad? You know Will, sort of, and Duke is like a big, adorable puppy. You’ll like him right away.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Ready?”
Kat nodded. “Let’s go.”
Before we could get out, a loud smack on my window caused me to jump and Kat to scream. Will laughed and bent forward, holding his gut. Kat’s hand was over her chest, and her eyes were wide.
“Holy shit,” she said.
I busted out laughing. Kat sneered at me before joining in. Will was close enough to my door that I knocked him back when I threw it open.
“Asshole,” I muttered as I walked by.
He held his gut where the door had hit him but chuckled as he followed behind us. I reached down and grabbed Kat’s hand, winding my fingers between hers. It felt natural and eased the tightness in my chest that I hadn’t realized was there.
I’d stayed away from here for good reason. My dad and I did not see eye to eye and hadn’t since I was a teen. I’d never done things the way he wanted me to, and he picked on me a lot more than my brothers.
Plus, Ridge Point brought back painful memories that I’d tried like hell to forget about. It was hard to be back, especially with Kat. Introducing her to my family was a huge step, and even though it was fake, it felt wrong. I was lying to my family, but also to Kat. This wouldn’t ever be real, and it felt like I was giving her false hope.
We needed to have a talk. I had to make sure that we were on the same page with our arrangement and that I was doing this as a friend and nothing more. She wasn’t pushing me for more, so maybe she already understood.
The back door opened, and my youngest brother, Duke, stepped out. He smiled wide and opened his arms for me to step into. “The prodigal son returns.”
“Shut up.” I gave him a quick hug and stepped back. I loved my baby brother. He was the easiest person to get along with. He gave me shit, but it was all in fun.
“Damn, that was a good one,” Will said. “I should have used that, but I scared the shit out of them instead.”
Duke laughed and then turned to Kat. “This must be my future sister-in-law.” He pulled her into an embrace that had my hackles rising.
“Better let her go before you unleash the beast,” Will said. He slapped Duke on his back as he passed by and went inside.
Duke winked at me before letting Kat go. Even though Kat and I were pretending, it still caused my gut to burn with jealousy. Duke was a good-looking man. Both of my brothers were, but Duke looked like he could be an Italian model with his darker skin, like our mom, and brown hair and eyes.
He was tall and lean, the tallest of us three at six foot two. Will was in the middle, at six feet even. I’d always wanted to be taller than my brothers, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. Something they knew pissed me off, and they teased me often.
Duke turned and went inside, and I glanced at Kat. She wasn’t watching him with a smile and dreamy eyes as I’d expected. Instead, she looked almost pained.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded and smiled. “Yeah.”
We walked into my parents’ house, and Kat inhaled sharply. The place looked ridiculous. Like my parents were trying to fit in, but they couldn’t decide how to do that, so they went with one of everything.
There were stone sculptures, busy artwork on the walls, and crystal bowls and vases on tables. White carpet with off-white walls. A gaudy red rug in front of a stone fireplace and two brown leather sofas angled toward it.
“Jeez. It’s like the rich and ridiculous threw up in here,” I mumbled.
