Her words really depressed me. “Jeez. I should’ve never brought this up.”

“Oh, no. I’m glad you did. Because you can always count on me to set you straight.”CHAPTER THREE* * *GAVIN“So where did you and Raven really go today that it took you so long to come back with those drinks?”

Fuck. Really?

Weldon was an A-one asshole. If he wanted that information, he could have asked me earlier. Instead, he chose this exact moment at the dinner table so he could witness my mother exploding like it’s a spectator sport. Weldon lived for stirring up trouble.

“Excuse me?” my mother asked, the vein in her neck popping out.

“He’s full of shit,” I said.

Her eyes narrowed. “Watch your language.”

Weldon laughed and threw me further under the bus. “I’m full of shit? Were you or were you not gone with her for almost an hour and a half when Starbucks is right down the road?”

“What’s this?” my mother asked, her face getting red.

I turned to her. “Raven came out to the pool area to find out if we wanted anything this afternoon. Everyone placed their orders for a coffee run, and it was going to be too much stuff for her to carry back alone, so I went with her. It’s as simple as that.”

“He jumped at the chance,” Weldon said, stirring the pot. “I don’t see you accompanying Fred when he goes to pick up heaps of dry cleaning. How was this any different?”

I tried to pull an answer out of my ass. “Fred works for us. No one works for the boneheads who come over here to hang out by the pool. I wanted to help.”

That was a crock of shit, but I hoped my mother bought it. There was but one reason I’d wanted to go with Raven to get the drinks: from the moment I’d met her, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was gorgeous with her smooth skin, wild black hair, and striking green eyes. But more than that, her down-to-earth personality was a breath of fresh air. I found myself drawn to her in every damn way. I couldn’t remember the last time a girl had captured my attention like this.

Weldon laughed. “Yeah, sure, it has nothing to do with her nice set of—”

“Weldon!” my father shouted.

He chuckled. “Sorry. I’m just calling it like I see it.”

My father turned to my mother. “What’s wrong with Raven, anyway?”

I had to give my dad credit. He must have known that was a loaded question. My mother’s expression grew harsher, and I knew she was gathering ammunition in her brain.

She squinted at him. “You can’t be serious.”

And so it starts.

“Don’t ask a stupid question like that again, Gunther, or you can expect to sleep on the couch.”

My father raised his voice. “That girl is hardworking and respectful, just like her mother, who’s been a workhorse for this family for over a decade.”

“There’s nothing wrong with her,” my mother said. “She’s perfectly welcome to work here, so long as she doesn’t get any ideas about our son.”

“I’m the one who offered to accompany her to get the coffees,” I interjected. “I didn’t give her a choice, so how was it her idea?”

She turned to me. “Well, let me rephrase, then. Don’t you get any ideas about taking up with that girl. Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you were lingering around her in the kitchen the day you returned from London—with your shirt off, no less.”

“So, I’m not allowed to be friendly to our staff?”

“I think we’ve had enough of this conversation,” my father said smoothly. “You’re making a mountain out of a molehill, Ruth. Now eat your dinner before it gets cold.”

Several seconds of silence ensued. My mother played with the salmon on her plate. Dad flashed me a sympathetic look. Weldon smirked at me, and I had to restrain myself from dragging him out of his seat and knocking his head against the wall.

My mother finally put her fork down. “I’m just going to say one more thing.” She pointed her perfectly manicured finger at me. “You may not realize how easily your entire life could be ruined by one bad decision, Gavin. At twenty-one, you don’t know what’s good for you. You’re thinking with something other than your brain. I was young once and understand how foolish people your age can be. If you do something to ruin what your father and I have worked so hard to build for you, I assure you, I can make it far worse. I’ll see to it that you have nothing. You’ll have to find your own way to pay for law school. Do you understand?”

This whole conversation was ridiculous. I hadn’t done anything at all with Raven—except have one of the best conversations I’d had in a long time. My mother had taken this too far. It made me angry that she constantly held money over my head.