I shrugged. Their guess was as good as mine. “I can only assume it’s because that’s what Carla wants. She’s been after me since State. She’s always told me that we’d end up together one way or another.”
“And let me guess.” Ryan rolled his eyes. “Whatever Daddy’s little angel wants, Daddy’s little angel gets?”
“She is his only child,” Frank muttered, and held up his phone. “Just doing some quick recon. She’s an only child. Her mom was killed in a car accident when she was eight. Apparently Carla was in the car. She’s very popular on social media. Traveled all over the world, and lives the life of a socialite. It looks like she wants for nothing, and in an interview back a couple of years ago, her dad mentioned that she was his only weakness. ‘If Carla isn’t happy, I’m not happy. I will always do anything in my power to keep a smile on her face, no matter what it takes, no matter the cost.’”
“She’s a grade-A pain in the ass is what she is,” I said with a snarl. “She’s the most spoiled-rotten, vapid person I’ve ever known.”
“Then you can’t do this, Nick. My God, you can’t tie yourself to that,” Ryan said, shaking his head.
“I told you. I don’t have a choice.” I pulled at my hair, feeling no better.
“Does Dad know?” Frank asked.
“He knows. He’s the one who keeps pushing me to go through with it.”
Frank’s fist met the top of the bar, and I almost jumped out of my seat. I’d rarely seen him this angry.
“None of this makes any sense, Nick. None of it.”
Ryan nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah. This is insane. This is like a damn movie you watch, not something that happens in real life.”
Looking away from both of their glares, I stared at the lights of the bar, letting my focus go in and out. “Look, I don’t have any of the answers. And I don’t know why Dad is so hell-bent on making this union happen either, except that he really wants that partnership. He always has.”
“So this is all about money?” Frank’s mouth twisted in disgust.
“Dad has enough money.” Ryan’s expression still looked more confused than anything else.
I groaned, wishing I knew exactly what the hell it really was about for our old man so I could fill them in. “Maybe it’s about power? Control? I don’t know, you guys. Greed is an ugly thing. And success changes people.”
Frank glanced at Ryan, his disgust only deepening. “It hasn’t changed us.”
“It’s changed me a little,” Ryan offered with a shrug before signaling to us that he’d be right back. The bar had all but cleared out by this point, except for the two stragglers who’d finished off their beer and were ready to pay their tab.
Frank and I waited in silence for Ryan to return before we started talking again. Blinding sunlight filtered through the open door for a second as the customers left.
“What do you mean, it’s changed you a little?” Frank asked the moment Ryan was within speaking distance.
“I just meant that I like the success we’ve had with the bar. And I want more of it. Not at any cost, and I don’t want to hurt anyone, but it’s definitely made me more motivated.”
Frank nodded in quiet agreement. “I totally get that. I want more too. I’m really proud of what we’ve built.”
I looked between them, my heart aching, wishing so badly that I was a part of their team, at the bar every day. But I refused to let my ego take anything away from them. They had built the most popular bar in Santa Monica from nothing, and were constantly featured in online reviews.
“I’m really proud of you guys too.”
“We couldn’t have done it without you,” Frank said with a small smile, and I shrugged off his praise. “I mean it. The drink names, the marketing . . . you’re a big part of our success, Nick.”
“He’s right,” Ryan added. “Neither of us could have done half the marketing you did. You’re responsible for the success of our launch, and keeping us relevant in those early days when we weren’t.”
“Thanks,” I said in almost a whisper.
His jaw still clenched, Frank said, “Back to the matter at hand, Nick, this is too far. Dating is one thing—”
“Still stupid.”
“Dating is one thing,” Frank continued, glaring at Ryan for interrupting, “but getting married is a whole different ball game. It’s crossing a line you can’t come back from.”
“Jess said the same thing,” I admitted.
“She knows?” Ryan perked up at the mention of her name.
“I called and told her before I drove over here.”
Ryan clapped me on the shoulder. “They’re both right, Nick. If you do this, when will it stop?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a slight shrug, feeling about a foot tall.
“Never. It will never stop. They’ll both own you, Mr. Crawford and Dad. Nothing in your life will be yours, Nick. Nothing.”
Frank spoke the words with such certainty and fury that I couldn’t help but wonder if he was projecting his own shit onto me. I knew he felt out of control when it came to his own life and decisions, making them for his girlfriend’s well-being instead of his own, but I let it slide. I was too caught up in everything I was currently losing, too overwhelmed with the state of my life and wondering when the hell I’d become such a fucking victim.