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Aithan’s grin was a little wicked as he added, “Yeah. I made so much money that summer.”
I cracked up. Drew shifted his headphones and said, “Babcia sounds fucking brilliant. Please tell me she’s still alive and promise to introduce us.”
“Alive and kicking at eighty-six.” Aithan glanced in the rearview mirror. “And, yes, you can meet her when we’re in L.A.”
“Sweet!” Drew reset his headphones. Nothing escaped that man.
I settled deep in my seat. “He’s right. Your family sounds fantastic.”
Aithan shrugged. “I dunno. They’re my family. You never know how interesting or cool or weird your family is until you spend time with someone else’s.”
“Mine’s dysfunctional. And Drew’s is in this SUV.”
Aithan nodded. “We should attempt to be normal-ish.”
“I think we do alright.”
“You guys do great,” Drew said.
I turned in my seat to see him. “Are you even listening to music?”
He grinned but didn’t look away from his computer screen or stop typing. “I’m a multitasking champ, babe.”
“You’re fucking scary, is what you are,” I said. “How can you write, listen to music, and add to our conversation all at the same time?”
He shook his head. “I’m not writing. I’m typing. The book’s already written up here.” He tapped his head. “This is just getting it out of the old gray matter.”
“You are not normal.”
He glanced up. “Am I normal-ish?”
I laughed. “Yeah.”
“So I fit into this family perfectly?”
“Yeah, you do,” Aithan replied. Thank God they’d put their weird tension behind them. I understood where it came from, but I didn’t like it, not at all.
Drew smiled again and returned to typing. He looked pretty fucking pleased. He also looked pretty fucking cute, but I kept that to myself. For now.
Around us traffic slowed even more as we crept past Everett.
“What should we expect from your family?” Aithan asked. “And what will they expect from us?”
It was so like him to want to be prepared. I’d wondered when he’d ask. “Dad may seem like the primary judge, but don’t alienate Mom. She’s got the deciding vote.”
“A team effort?” Drew asked.
“United front,” Aithan replied.
“Exactly. Mom wants to like you guys, so you have an advantage there. She’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Volunteer to help with food and dishes and she’ll adopt you. But piss her off and you’ll never get back on her good side. She has grudges from childhood that she’ll take to the grave.”
“Duly noted,” Drew said and typed away.
“Any taboo subjects?” Aithan asked.
“Politics and religion. Dad’s a social Democrat and a fiscal Republican, meaning he wants to fix society’s problems but doesn’t want to pay to do it. Mom’s Independent leaning Dem, meaning she says she’s open-minded but has already made up her mind. Both are agnostics. Money is on the table so expect to be grilled on that. I always am.” I turned in my seat. “Drew, show them the house.”
“You sure?”
