“At least you’re honest.”
“I try to be.”
“Your father is bringing some new bimbo named Brandi with an i.”
“You asked the spelling?”
“No,” his grandmother said. “I jokingly asked if she was old enough to drink. Your father laughed and said yes, that she was a fine dining server and bartender. I just assumed it’s with an i after that. It’s probably how he met her too.”
It made his skin crawl when his father dated women his age or younger, but to each their own. The younger the better was Eric Crest’s new motto.
His mother was doing it now too. At least not as young as him. Or if that was the case, he’d rather not know.
One less parent he’d see next weekend.
“What is Courtney being a pain about?” he asked. “I thought for sure that Nick would be the one getting on your nerves.”
“He’s laid back about the wedding.”
“You mean he’s letting Courtney do it all and his favorite words are ‘yes, dear’?”
“That’s always been his personality,” his grandmother said. “You and Nick are as different as night and day. Nothing wrong with that. He’s always been timid and Courtney enjoys wearing the pants.”
“Nick is just like Uncle Justin,” he said. “Dad and Uncle Justin are opposites too.”
“Don’t remind me. I’m not sure what is wrong with your father. He can’t settle for anything. Always has to find the next best or great thing, whether it’s cars, cases, or women.”
“At least he’s got a good career,” he said sarcastically. His father was an attorney. Made great money but spent just as much. First in support to Arik’s mother, then on all the women in his life.
“It’s the only thing he stuck with. Proves he can, I guess.”
“Is that a shot against me?”
It was not the first time he’d had that thrown at him.
He didn’t think it was a big deal since he’d had two full-time jobs. He stayed at them both for several years and they made him his fortune. The time he put in was enough for him to know it wasn’t the life for him.
But the past few years spent traveling and trying to find something he could latch onto to call his own wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Whether it was a place that felt like home, a woman to call his own, or a career that made him happy.
Nothing caught hold.
“No. Though I will admit I’d like to see you settled somewhere and feel as if you’ve got a purpose. Right now, you’re coming off more as a drifter.”
He laughed. “Considering I’m not asking anyone for anything and am worth more than you all, I don’t know what the problem is.”
“Arik, that’s crude.”
“Then why are you laughing so hard?”
He smiled when she laughed even harder. He was more like his grandmother than most would give him credit for. It was something she’d said behind closed doors to him so she couldn’t dispute it too much.
“Because I find crude things funny.”
“I get it from you.”
“Are you going to be okay next weekend?”
