Page 24 of Salacious Park Avenue Prince

“The fuck he did,” Travis said, his jaw hitting the table. “I think I’d know if one of my best friends was about to shack up with his man.”

“Well, we asked them to keep it to themselves so we could?—”

“Ambush us?” Travis and I said at the exact same time, and that we were now on the same page was a testimony to how fucked up this entire situation was.

“We arenotambushing you,” Dad said. “We are informing you of a decision we have made. It wasn’t made lightly, but ithasbeen made.”

Travis slumped back in his seat. “Wow… I always knew you were a dick, but this?—”

“Travis,I will not have you talk to Richard like that,” Vera said.

“Why? Because he dragged you to Peru and you got high on some woo-woo drugs that let him push you into this crazy plan?”

“How dare you.” Vera shot to her feet, shoving her chair back with such force it almost fell over. “I swear, your mouth is going to get you into a world of trouble one day, Travis. You should know by now that nobody tells me what to do. Ifanything, it’s your own outlandish behavior thatpushedme into this decision.”

High color spread down Travis’s neck as he lowered his eyes to the plate, well and truly scolded but still not conceding.

Vera looked to me, a hopeful look in her eyes, as if I was going to agree with this asinine idea they had concocted.“You understand, don’t you, Caleb?”

She was joking, right? I was the one who was being asked to give upeverything. How could she possibly expect me to understand? Probably because I was usually the more levelheaded one—but not about this.

In this instant, I was in full agreement with Travis. This was bullshit.

“No, sorry, I don’t.”

“Caleb,” Dad said, and when I turned on him, he had the good grace to look pained. “We understand this means uprooting your life?—”

“Do you? Because to me it sounds like you don't really care.”

“That’s not true. It’sbecausewe care that we’re doing this. You two”—he looked between me and Travis—“used to be best friends. What happened?”

We were not about to go intothatwith my dad. Hell, we couldn’t even talk about it between the two of us, and the narrowed eyes boring a hole in the side of my head told me to keep my mouth shut.

As if I’d ever want to relive that particular time in my life anyway.

My dad ran a hand over his weary face and looked up the table to Vera, who’d retaken her seat, a look of exhaustion on her beautiful face.

“Fine. Keep your secrets.” Dad shook his head. “But this animosity between you two, it doesn’t only affect you. It causes tension between all of us, and Vera and I will not let some sillyschoolboy argument come between our family. We love each other too much, and we love the both of you.”

“Great way of showing it,” Travis mumbled.

“It is,” Vera said. “And maybe one day you’ll understand that. We just want what’s best for you both, and you were always happiest when you and Caleb were close.”

“So you’re just going to force the issue?”

“If we have to. You need to get your act together, Travis. You can’t just waltz through life thinking everything will fall at your feet. You are privileged, but I didn’t raise you to be a petulant brat.”

“And dumping him on me”—Travis gestured in my direction—“is supposed to make me, what? Change my bratty ways?”

“Or help you grow up a little. Caleb knows what he wants?—”

Travis scoffed, and I was back to wanting to kick him under the table.

“Sure he does.”

“He does. He has direction and applies himself. I’m hoping if you spend some time together that maybe he’ll rub off on you.”

And for the first time since our parents had launched their nuclear attack, Travis’s scowl morphed into what I could only describe as a taunting sneer.

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