He wanted to shoot back that he didn’t have to prove a damn thing to anyone but his wife, but he knew better. He’d had to prove himself to his family over and over again, and now he had to do it to save his mother’s home.

He had even more at stake since he had a wife now.

“Of course.” He bit back his anger.

“You remind me of your father. He always managed to sound calm, and yet there was always a bite of hate when he talked to me. I respect that,” Roberta said. “We’ll talk at the party. I expect to spend some time with your bride. Good night.”

He sighed and sat back. It was barely four, but it looked like Roberta was an early-to-sleep lady. He would have to make sure he left Sera and Harry the biggest tip, because they would be dealing with a lot.

There was a brief knock on his door and then Ashley was pushing through, a frown on her face. Her brother Gabriel was right behind her.

“Rene, I’m sorry. I told her you were busy.” Gabriel was flushed, as though he’d run to keep up with her.

“I deserve more money for putting up with that nasty old lady,” Ashley announced. “She complained the whole time. The entire time. She complained about my driving. She complained about my clothes. She complained about the music, even though I put it on the old folks’ station like she wanted me to.”

“Well, the good news is you don’t have to drive her back. She was just on the phone telling me to find someone else.” His irritation was starting to rankle. “So I have to do that.”

Ashley stopped, her face going white. He prepared himself to take the full-on blast of her rage. It was what he did. He got yelled at. He got blamed for anything that happened to go wrong.

“But I did everything she asked me to do.” Ashley’s tone was quiet. “I didn’t say anything.”

“She said you complained the whole time.”

Ashley’s jaw was tight, her words coming from clenched teeth. “I only talked to her when she asked me questions. I tried to be friendly, but she’s incredibly rude.”

“She’s also our great-aunt,” Gabriel pointed out. “And you were being paid to drive her, not to piss her off.”

“I did.” Ashley turned to her brother. “I did drive her. I didn’t even tell her that her stinky perfume made me nauseous. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“You have to put up with it. You know that,” Gabriel said. “That’s how this family works.”