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She passed Natalie, then Cody, and found her spot between him and her father. Miranda sat across from Nate. Haley sat across from Summer. And Brooke and Alex sat across from Cody and Natalie.
Cody stood and held out her chair.
Her dad watched with a slight frown on his face.
Cody’s sister, Brooke, smiled hugely at her brother and covered a laugh with a small cough. Apparently, everyone knew Cody was interested in her. Not that it was difficult to see. Neither of them could hide the sizzling attraction.
“So, do you have a boyfriend or husband?” Natalie asked.
Cody took his seat between them. “No. But not for lack of her mom trying to set her up.”
“What?” her dad asked, and passed her a platter of pork chops.
She put one on her plate and handed the rest to Cody, then explained her mom’s unhelpful matchmaking and how she had mistaken Cody for yet another setup.
Natalie frowned. “Like Cody needs help finding a date.”
Summer bumped her shoulder to his. “I’m sure he doesn’t.”
“I have one with you next Friday.”
“You’re taking her to the benefit?” Natalie asked, perturbed though she tried to hide it.
“Yes,” Cody said, making his intentions perfectly clear. “I thought your dad would like to have her there to spend the evening with us.”
“Then she can go with him.”
“Natalie,” Miranda scolded. “That’s enough.”
“What? All of a sudden she’s part of... everything.” Natalie folded her arms over her chest and sank into her seat.
Summer knew coming into the family wouldn’t be easy, but she didn’t expect one of her sisters to be outright upset about it. “I don’t have to go if—”
“You’re going,” Cody and her dad said at the same time.
Her dad touched her arm. “I’d really like you to come. We go as a family every year.”
Cody scooped a pile of rice pilaf onto her plate. “Besides, you can’t let me go alone.”
Brooke grinned at her brother. “If you do, he’ll be swarmed by women who will drape themselves all over him. He’ll have such a miserable night,” she teased.
“Please save me from all that,” he mock-begged Summer.
She laughed. “And take you away from all your adoring fans?” She liked getting in on razzing Cody. It made her feel a part of things.
“You and my sister are going to get along great,” he grumbled, and filled her salad bowl before passing the serving bowl behind her to her dad.
She bumped his shoulder again. “I’m not backing out if you want me to go.”
Cody grinned and nodded, then filled her glass with white wine.
She looked to her father to be sure he wanted her to go.
“It’ll be the perfect evening to have all my beautiful girls with me.”
She thought it sweet that he looked across the table at Miranda to include her, too. They obviously had a close relationship that had sustained them for about twenty years.
She wanted to get to know her stepmother and asked, “How did you two meet?”
