Lara-Jean POV
"Stop fidgeting."
I glared at Peter across the backseat of the town car. "I'm not fidgeting. I'm preparing for battle."
His lips twitched, fighting a smile. "It's just dinner. My mother is... difficult, but—"
"Your mother looked at me like I was a cockroach at the engagement party. I'm not naive."
Something shifted in his silver-blue eyes. Respect, maybe. Or pain. Probably both.
"Fair enough." His voice softened. "Then prepare for battle. But know this: I'm with you. Whatever she says, whatever she does—I'm on your side."
I met his gaze, searching for the lie. Found none.
"Promise?"
"Always."
Cordelia's townhouse loomed like something from a gothic novel. Georgian architecture, perfectly preserved, every brick screaming old money and colder hearts. The kind of plac
