“Don’t do that. Jenny will build a fortress to keep you out, aided by Sadie, and every groveling apology you give her will be another brick she’ll stack on top of it. Push her buttons right back. Don’t back down; don’t let her freeze you out.”
“You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.” Dan flipped the light back off and led the way back to the entryway. “I’ve been married a long time, dude. There’s only so much apologizing a woman can take. She just wants you to be better. That’s how you apologize.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t make me lose another bet to Sadie.”
I groaned. “Of course she’d bet against me.”
“Darn, tootin.” Dan stopped us again before we reached the kitchen. “One last thing. Please don’t leave Sadie and my wife alone together in a conversation for any reason. It’s a long story I’ll tell you about later.”
The doorbell rang, and we stopped to let in a smiling older couple who had apparently known Dan long enough to rub his bald head like he was a rascally little kid. I smiled at Dan’s obvious embarrassment until I saw Sadie and Jenny coming up the walkway behind them.
Jenny’s eyes met mine and narrowed. She was wearing a light blue dress with lacy straps that showed off her freckled shoulders, and I had the insane urge to lean down and press my lips against one of them. I’d have to sweep her hair out of the way first. She’d worn it down and straightened it, every strand smooth and silky.
“You look beautiful.” The words slipped out of my mouth of their own accord.
“Drop dead.” She swept past me and kept going.
Sadie stopped in front of me and fixed my collar. “No compliments for me?”
“You look great, Sadie.”
“Thank you.”
“You thank me. Jenny tells me to drop dead. I thought you said she didn’t have a level ten.”
“I guess we’ll see.” Her eyes glittered with amusement.
“So, this was why you invited us? We’re your entertainment for the evening?”
Sadie nodded, not the least bit sorry. “But I’m also trying to help you out here. I told her she needs to face you head on and get you out of her system. Toy with you. She hates the idea, but it got her here. With you. This is literally your last chance to not screw this up. Don’t screw this up, Noah.”
She glanced left and right, and assured no one would overhear us, leaned into me. “Don’t you dare approach her tonight. Don’t even make eye contact. Wait and let her come to you. When in doubt, apologize.” She nodded, satisfied I got her message, and stalked off into the kitchen.
Her advice had been the exact opposite of Dan’s, and yet I saw the merit in both, and the holes in both, because this was a family dinner full of strangers and not exactly a great place to talk to someone, especially someone bound and determined to hate me. There was so much pressure and so much behind-the-scenes double-dealing that my head felt like it would explode, but I reminded myself that measuring up to the two meddling siblings’ standards was not my goal. Jenny was my goal. Her happiness was my goal.
I didn’t see a way for us to get to talk about anything meaningful tonight. No declarations of my love, groveling apologies, button pushing, or anything else I’d been told I had to do.
But I did need a game plan. Patience and trust building. That had been my initial plan before Dan and Sadie messed with my head, and I wasn’t deviating from it. That’s what I had to show tonight. No matter what happened, I had to show Jenny I wasn’t going anywhere. But not in a stalker way.
Oh man. My stomach churned with nerves and I took in a shallow breath. The last time I was this nervous, I’d been staring down a ghost pepper after losing one of my brother’s stupid bets. I’d gotten away with taking one small bite of that little red horror, but I wouldn’t back down from this. Nothing halfway would cut it.
I hurried after Sadie and went to stand next to her in the doorway of the kitchen, where we were met with two sets of glares from across the room. One from Jenny, who was glued to Dan’s side, and one from Dan’s wife on his other side.
“Okay, what happened with you and Kim?” I asked. “Give me the short version.”
Sadie frowned. “I’m bad with kids. And the one time I tried to be the fun aunt, it didn’t go over well, okay?”
“Okay.” Now I had more questions than answers, but that would have to wait because an overly enthusiastic woman with spiky brown hair was headed our way at full speed holding Curly under one arm.
“Smile,” I reminded Sadie.
She plastered on a smile at the last second. “Hi, Gina.”
“Sadie! You made it. Is this handsome man your date?” The woman put Curly down and wrapped up Sadie in a tight hug, which Sadie had no choice but to return. Sadie’s hands patted the woman’s back in a please-surrender-me sort of gesture, and then finally she was free.
