“The fallout from this fire is all on you and you’re running around in Vegas marrying women who will bleed you dry of your money, Everett! Don’t you see how far off the deep end you’ve gone!?” Lucas yelled.
“Look at where you’re standing before you continue raising your voice at me!” I shouted.
“Enough!”
All of us whipped our heads over to look at Andrea. She had tears in her eyes and my father was practically looming over her, like a predator staring down some useless piece of prey. And it made me snap. If I had to pick a side in that very moment, then Andrea’s side was the side I would stand on. I strode over to him and ripped him back, forcing him to stumble on his feet. And his angry glare he had hooked onto her quickly turned itself onto me.
“You will not yank your father around like that,” he said.
“And you won’t walk into women’s apartments whom you don’t know and intimidate them with your posture,” I said.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on right now and I don’t care. What I do know is this. Obviously, you guys have been living a life that gets you what you want when you want it, no matter what. You think your money makes you special and you think it gives you the right to do and say whatever you please. You think you can charge into my apartment and start calling me things like ‘gold-digger’ and ‘reckless’ and ‘useless’,” Andrea said.
“Useless? Who the hell called you useless?” I asked.
“Your father, while you and your idiot brother over there were having your little pow-wow,” she said.
“You watch your mouth,” Lucas said.
“You talk to her like that one more time and you won’t have a tongue to speak with,” I growled.
“I don’t know what story you two know, but the only story I know is mine. Everett and I woke up in Vegas one morning with no recollection of what had happened the night before,” Andrea said.
“Because you got him drunk,” my father said.
“No. Because we both got drunk together,” I said.
“Neither of us would have even known we were married had it not been for the breakfast brought up to Everett’s room that congratulated us on our nuptials. What I can tell you is this: you better be glad you raised one son with decorum, because I may not come from much, but if my father ever saw me treating someone the way the two of you just treated me, he would have snapped out of his drunken haze long enough to put you in your place. And if a raging, angry alcoholic knows how to act better than you and your son do? Then your money and social status isn’t doing much for you, anyway,” Andrea said.
My eyes fell onto her as she stood there, tall and proud. Lucas had his arms crossed over his chest in the doorway of her apartment and my father was panting he was so angry. She stared him down. She went toe-to-toe with the man who had built the Wilder empire. She had no idea the shark she was staring down in the face. But she did it anyway.
My heart swelled with pride at her strength. But inside, I was irate with my family. And they would pay for the nonsense they had kicked up because they felt they had a right to.
“Out. Now,” I said.
“I have more I want to say to her,” my father said.
“Well, you can say it some other time. Right now? We’ve got bigger issues to sort out. And it’s not happening here,” I said.
“Yeah. Issues you created,” Lucas said.
“I’ve heard just about enough blaming of this business and fire situation on people,” my father said.
“Funny, because I’m pretty sure you just tried to pin some of it on me,” Andrea said.
I grinned over at her, but her eyes were still hooked onto my father.
“Of course, you’d marry the one with attitude,” my father murmured.
“Damn right, he did,” Andrea said.
Holy hell, this woman was perfect. And somehow, she still wasn’t mine.
“The two of you.
Out,” I said.
“I don’t think we’re finished. I haven’t gotten to speak with her yet,” Lucas said.