Tess set her fork down with a sigh. “Andy, knock it off. Brian didn’t do anything to deserve your attitude.”
Andy flushed red, his jaw tightening. “I don’t have?—”
“Yes, you do.” Her tone left no room for argument.
Andy pushed his pasta around his plate for a minute or so, sulking more than eating. Brian waited until he’d taken another bite before speaking again.
“You hear about the Rad-Robot Wars event coming up at R.L. Vaughan Center in a few weeks?”
Andy glanced up, his brow furrowed as if he were suspicious of another attempt at conversation. “Of course. It’s been all over social media. I tried to get tickets, but they went on sale during school. Sold out before lunch.”
Brian smiled, reaching for his soda. “Lucky for you, one of my buddies is working security for the event. He handed me four free tickets this morning. I thought maybe you and Tess might want to go.”
Her brother’s head snapped up, eyes wide. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously.”
“Can I bring a friend?” he asked quickly. “Kelle—she’s really into robotics.”
The grin on Brian’s face widened. “Sure. Four tickets, right? That leaves one for me, unless your sister has someone else in mind.”
Tess gave him a stink-eye at the suggestion that there was anyone else she’d rather be with before raising an eyebrow and addressing Andy. “Kelle, huh? Should I assume she’s your girlfriend?”
His face went red immediately, and he shrugged. “She’s just a friend.”
“Uh-huh,” she teased, her smile softening at Brian’s amused expression. For the first time all night, the tension eased out of the room.
By the time they finished dinner, Andy’s sulk had vanished. He even cracked a smile when Brian told him about the time he and his younger brother Sean had taken their uncle’s beat-up Ford out onto the beach at low tide.
They’d been seventeen and fifteen and convinced the old truck could handle anything. It couldn’t. One wrong turn into soft sand, and the rear tires sank fast. By the time they realized the tide was creeping back in, seawater was already swirling around the hubcaps.
“Dan didn’t yell,” Brian said, amusement tugging at his mouth as he wiped his hands on a napkin. “He just called his buddy with a tow truck and said, ‘You boys better hope he takes payment in manual labor.’ We spent the next two weeks cleaning out the guy’s auto shop until it was spotless—not an easy feat, I can tell you that—and repainting his porch. That was on top of working at the hardware store.”
Tess laughed, trying to picture Brian at seventeen, with that same stubborn glint in his eyes, sunburned, sandy, and guilty while his uncle looked on.
Even Andy looked impressed. “So you almost drowned a truck?”
“Almost,” Brian admitted with a grin. “But hey, we learned a few important things that day—never underestimate the ocean, not all truck tires can drive on sand, and don’t borrow your uncle’s keys without asking.”
That earned a genuine laugh from Andy, breaking what was left of his earlier mood.
After the dishes were done and a bowl of popcorn sat waiting on the coffee table, Brian flopped down on the couch. “Hey, Andy—you picking the movie tonight, or what?”
Tess blinked, surprised by the invitation. She’d assumed Brian was only here to spend time with her, not win over her brother.
Also looking a little stunned, Andy hesitated, testing the offer. “Really?”
“Sure,” Brian said with an easy grin. “Your pick—as long as it’s not something your sister disapproves of. I’m not getting on her bad side.”
Tess shot him a mock glare. “You say that like there’s a long list of things that would get you on my bad side.”
“There is.” Andy gave her a teasing smirk as he picked up the remote. He scrolled through the streaming options, eventually landing on an action-adventure movie. “This okay? I haven’t watched it yet.”
Tess nodded. “Sure. I haven’t seen it either.”
“Same,” Brian said. “But I heard it’s good.”
The movie started, and somewhere between explosions and one-liners, Andy finally relaxed—laughing at a few of Brian’s dry comments and tossing back popcorn like it was oxygen. Tess sat back, watching them both. Something in her chest shifted—warm, unexpected. She’d thought Brian’s interest was only in her, but the way he treated Andy—with patience, humor, and quiet respect—made her heart twist a little tighter.