Page 103 of Mr. Aster
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Isn’t that what your brother said to Mickie when they were dating before she didn’t see him for a year?” I whispered into his ear after he bent to hug me.
“I’m not my brother, lover,” he said before he gave me a quick kiss on my neck. Then, all three Asters were marching out of the room, leaving my parents and me staring at each other with wide eyes.
“What in all creation is that boy up against with his parents?” my dad questioned.
“I don’t think any of us want to know,” I answered.
“And you’re okay with marrying into that, sweetheart?” my mom asked, somewhat annoyed. “Don’t get me wrong, I see that your love has grown since the last time I saw the two of you, but it’s gonna take something a whole lot stronger than love to keepyouwanting to remain with him andthosepeople.”
“You’re positively right about that,” I answered, biting into the now-cold vegetables on my plate. “I swear, how can anyone live like that? Ordering your child around as if they are your property?”
“You feel that way because we raised you the opposite,” my dad said, leaning back with his wine glass after finishing every last bite on his plate, not allowing the tense atmosphere to derail him from enjoying his dinner. “If you marry this young man, you must promise yourself that you willnot conformto that strange family’s controlling behavior.”
“Or the next thing you know,” my mom added, sipping her wine, “you’ll be an alcoholic, prescription drug abuser and probably snorting cocaine just to care for my precious grandchildren in all that chaos.”
“Let’s not be wildly outrageous, Mom, okay?” I said, smiling at my parents and picking up my plate. “Now, I’m going to the kitchen to heat this up and finish eating there. If you both want to know how Mexico was, ditch that French wine and come get the real booze flowing with me, Antonio, and Ines.” I laughed when my parents shot up from their seats, giggling and pretending to scramble to beat me inside. “I’ve missed you guys like crazy. Are the kids here, or are they still at summer camp?” I asked, not having seen Antonio and Ines’ kids since school let out.
“They won’t be back until next week. They met some friends at camp who invited them to another camp at Big Bear,” Mom said. “I’m sure they’ll hate to have to come home one of these days, but when they do, they’ll sure be surprised to learn what their favorite person has been up to.”
“I’m thankful they’re not around any of this bullshit,” I said, placing my plate in the microwave and heating it up. “I have a feeling that things won’t be getting any better.” I looked at Mom and Dad while I rummaged through the fridge, looking for some leftover carne asada or carnitas…any protein because I was starving. “Besides, I want to know why the hell you guys were up in San Francisco with those two and how all of that went.”
God only knew what was going on between our parents before we came home, but if Sebastian’s parents had been anything like they were tonight, I would be fucking livid. My parents were very good-natured people and didn’t deserve anything but kindness in return.
Sebastian’s parents, on the other hand, seemed to hand out death sentences to anyone who dared to speak to their children without their permission, so I could only imagine what they had in mind for someone who was attempting to marry one.
Chapter Forty-Three
Sebastian
Ididn’t stop walking until we reached the rooms I had remodeled. I was pretty impressed with the finished product, which must’ve happened while Darcy and I were in Mexico.
The rotten, exposed wood ceiling beams had been restored instead of replaced, which I knew the Burkes would appreciate since keeping with the Spanish style and heritage of the home was so important to them. New terracotta floors had been laid, which was why this remodel had taken so long to complete. I’d sent off for the floors and had them specially designed for this wing in the hope that Tina would want to replace the remaining broken and cracked original floors throughout her home.
I know now I’d seemed like a complete dick for insisting all this be done for my personal comfort. Still, I justified my actions by spending the money from one of my accounts used to donate to various charities. In that way, I turned it into an act of benevolence in my mind.
Until I witnessed and experienced my parents’ audacious behavior tonight, I didn’t realize how rude and pretentious I’d been. No wonder Darcy hated me and referred to me as the devil.
“I can see all your wasted money on this home,” my mother said, scowling at the rooms. “I do not know how we plan to stay in this, Sebastian,” she scolded my father.
My father ignored her disgust with the rooms and looked directly at me, “The pressing question is not about surviving a short stay in this home with these ridiculous people, but that our son has chosen to unite us with his ludicrous thoughts of matrimony.”
I rolled my eyes at my parents’ dramatics, shocked that my mother hadn’t gone into hysterics at the thought of staying on this property.
“You believe this is all a game?” my mother nearly questioned with a shriek. “Because, my dear boy, I assure you this isfar from that.”
“Do not speak at me like a child,” I snapped. “I’m a grown man who can make decisions independently.”
“Dear God,” my father growled. “I had to endure this bullshit frombothof your brothers. I refuse to deal with it with you.”
“Which do you prefer, father?” I retorted. “Would you rather I end up in the early grave I found myself in while grieving?—”
“There will be no more using Melissa’s death as an excuse to avoid your familial duties. That was over a year ago, and it is no excuse to do…” he paused, flustered, then pointed back toward the newly refurbished original wooden door of the bedroom. “It’s no excuse to do anything you’ve been doing with that woman. This is absurd, childish behavior, and you know it.”
“No, what is childish is sending me out here to build up a vineyard, which makes no sense for you to have bought in the first place,” I snapped, “and then expecting me to hold ontoour family values when you’re not even doing that yourself after making this investment with James Mitchell.”
“Are you insulting your beloved fiancée’s home?” my mother said with a smirk.
“I already did that when I first arrived, and you are both doing a fine job of picking up where I left off,” I returned. “All I’m trying to say is that the rules only apply to me and not you,” I looked back at my dad. “How can you fall out of line and purchase this, yet I cannot date or marry whomever I please?”
