“Event planner?” my mother’s voice was tight.
Not wanting to get Serena in trouble, I said, “No. That would be wrong. She could lose her job for that.”
Bri smirked. I hadn’t fooled her.
“You know, Devin, we all know that young men like to play the field a bit, but it’s time for you to get serious. You need to be more discriminating. There are women who’ll pretend to love you just to get at your money.”
I looked at my mother. “What do you think marrying Evie would be about? Pretending to love for money.”
“Not money. Breeding. Status. I know you think that’s not important, but it is.”
“They might be gold diggers,” Bri said.
“Thank you.” Maybe Bri was on my side after all.
“They might like him for his other assets.”
I choked on my potato.
“Are you being vulgar again?” my mother asked Bri.
“The point is, I’m not an idiot. If I can run a multi-million dollar business, I can probably pick a wife.” I shook my head. “Which I’m not doing, at least not anytime soon.”
“Why not?” my father asked. “There’s nothing wrong with settling down, son.”
“I’m not going to get married just to be married. You make it part of a job, when it’s a personal thing. To be honest, I’m not sure I ever want to marry.”
“I agree,” Bri said. “It’s more hassle than it’s worth. Plus, there’s lots of fish in the sea. How can you settle for just one?”
My mother looked like she might pass out. “We did everything right with these kids, why are they so ungrateful?” She asked my father.
“I wasn’t much different at his age. I just had more respect for my parents and the responsibility of the business,” my father said with a sharp eye on me. “You’ve come a long way since when you first went to Europe, but you still have a ways to go, starting with giving up this club idea and focusing on what has made Roarke restaurants world-renowned.”
“What’s that?” Bri asked deadpanned.
“Oh for goodness sake.” My mother patted her eyes with her napkin, a sure sign that she was getting teary. “Why can’t we just have a nice family dinner. Why do you have to ruin everything with your snark, Bri?”
Bri inhaled a breath. “Sorry Mom.” I could see her withdrawing into herself. For the rest of dinner she’d likely only give yes or no responses.
“This is a family dinner, right?” I said.
“Yes. That’s what I want.”
I shook my head. “No. What you want is a dinner in which Bri and I toe the line. If you want us to give lip service and placate you, we can. But if we’re having a family dinner, maybe you can let Bri and me be who we are, not who you want us to be.”
My father’s gaze cut to my mother. “They’re not wrong, Katherine.” Then he looked to Bri. “At the same time, you could learn some manners and respect.”
“I didn’t realize I was so difficult,” my mother said passive abrasively.
“Daddy, how did your appointment go today,” Bri asked ignoring my mother.
He shrugged. “Everything is about the same.”
“Is it really?” I asked. “Be honest, Dad.”
He glanced up at my mother.
“Your father is doing great,” she said in that way mothers did to hide just how bad things were.