Winning the Heir Who Bullied Me Chapter 104

**APRIL’S POV**

“Oh, it was magical!”

*I just had the most awful date ever.*

“It was perfect. *He* was perfect.”

*When historians recount the world's worst tragedies, they will start with this date.*

“He was finding the littlest excuses to touch me.”

*I’ve since scrubbed my body with bleach.*

For every lie Valerie gushes out to whoever has ears to listen, I mentally rebuff it with Nathan’s truth he whispered in my ears last night.

She’s been yapping about the date since breakfast, going on and on about how he couldn’t stop staring into her eyes and promised to take her to Paris for their honeymoon.

More proof that Valerie is a delusional, lying snake.

“Lucky you,” Bea muttered. “Peter couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Can you believe it? He called me *dull*.”

Eliza tenses beside me, and I shoot my friend a sidelong glance. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself. It never occurred to me that we were going through the same thing when Peter picked Bea instead of her.

I elbow her gently, drawing her attention. “No girl excites him like you do.”

She blushes. “You don’t know for sure.”

I grin. “But you do.”

Before she can answer, Easton appears, once again flanked by the Ashford brothers. It’s time for another selection.

My nerves are worse today. Last time, I had three chances out of three. Today, I have two.

Lucas picks first—Jamie Wallace. She lets out an audible sigh of relief—she doesn’t have to worry anymore; she’s still in the running.

Nathan is next, and when his lips purse, my heart drops. “Eliza Kinsley,” he calls out.

A confusing emotion bubbles up in my belly. Never for once did I think I would be competing with Eliza for Nathan, but this damn haphazard date system is ruining everything.

She shoots me an apologetic glance, and I squeeze her hand. At least I know she won’t be putting the moves on Nathan, and I can relax instead of fidgeting all night like I did when he was with—.

“April Farrah.”

My head snaps to the stage, eyes wide. Peter lowers his paper and shrugs at me like, *What are you going to do?*

I glance back at Eliza, and the unfortunate humor of the situation glints in her eyes. We both wanted to be selected and, just like I feared, we got picked by the wrong brother.

***

After the meeting in the ballroom, Eliza and I spend most of the day in my room, bemoaning our fates.

“If only we could Freaky Friday our way out of this,” she groans, spread-eagled on my bed.

“I know,” I huff, dropping cross-legged onto my carpet and laying my head against the bedframe. “I mean, I wanted your life before this, but now I *really* want your life.”

Eliza turns so her head dangles over the side of the bed, her long, dark braid dropping into my lap. “It feels…incestuous, doesn’t it?”

I snort. “What?”

“If it all works out, Peter will be your brother-in-law, and Nathan will be mine.” She sighs, her arms hanging off the bed in a way that makes me worry that she’s about to slide off completely. “I just really, really want to spend some alone time with Peter.”

I can’t say I share her sentiment. I’ve spent *plenty* of alone time with Nathan. Especially in this room…

I bite my lip, remembering the feel of Nathan’s body pressed against mine, his hands hot on my skin, his tongue flat against my—

“Are you blushing?”

I sputter. “Wha—*no*.”

Eliza’s eyes narrow, “Are you blushing at the thought of dating Peter?”

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.

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?”

I tap his nose. “Ding ding ding.”

He holds his hand to his chest in mock hurt. “You wound me deep, CQ.”

“CQ?”

His eyes twinkle. “Chaos Q—”

“Queen. Got it.” I roll my eyes. “Can we just go?”

He holds out his elbow, and I 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.

“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.