Page 68

Rebeka

NOT SURE HOW TO RESPONDto a plea like that, I tugged his head to my chest and hugged him tighter than he held me. Hate him? He couldn't be serious. He didn't understand what love was or how it worked if he thought I could ever hate him or put him in the same category as his father.

Silence encased the cabin the remainder of the flight as we stayed sealed together. Both of us held on to the other as if our lives depended on it. Who knew, maybe they did.

Even after we touched down, his embrace didn't loosen. The pilot and copilot stepped out, their eyes meeting mine before descending the short stairs.

“Hey,” I whispered as I stroked through his dark hair and ran my nails down the back of his neck. “It's time to blow this joint. You're leading this adventure, remember? So where are we going? What happens next?”

Cool air brushed the areas where his skin had suctioned against mine. Pure agony swirled behind his dull green eyes while streaks of red lined the whites of his eyes, evidence of his silent tears.

After clearing his throat, he glanced out the window. “I can make them turn around if you don't want to stay.”

“Huh?”

“To stay with me.”

The uncertainty in his tone squeezed my heart. “Of course I do, B. Maybe I should ask you the same question. I've had thirteen years to process all this, but you've had less than an hour. If you'd prefer we go back and—”

“No.” He straightened and rolled his shoulders back. “Here I don't have to share you with anyone or do manual labor to spend some time with you.” I bumped my shoulder against his and gave him a shy smile. “Today is about you, remember? I want to stay if you do.”

“Well, if you're buying, I'm all in for a 'me' day. Let's go, Sir Fancy Pants. Show me this terrible town of yours.”

“Pretty sure Dallas is a city. A metroplex actually.”

“You don't deny terrible?”

“I somewhat agree, but I don't think I've seen the good parts.”

I turned before taking the first step down the stairs with a questioning look. “What do you mean?”

“The circles my family ran with back then, Caleb and I especially, weren't filled with the best types of people. We were used and leached from for years. Those people didn't give a fuck about us.” At the bottom of the stairs, he pressed his hand against my lower back to guide me toward a small side parking lot. “What I mean is I bet there is good in this city, but I've never been fortunate enough to see it.”

After tossing our overnight bags into the back of a black Range Rover, Brenton opened the passenger door like a gentleman and helped me in. The inside was as sleek as the outside; the dash looked like you could control the Rover on Mars with a simple flick of the fingers.

I leaned back and rolled my head to look at Brenton, who still stood in the open door.

“How does it work?” I asked.

“What work?”

“Your money? Do you have access to drop millions any time you want?”

He chuckled and leaned against the solid metal of the SUV. “No, it's set up as a trust. Caleb, me, Dad, even Pappy had one from his father. More money goes into the trust each year based on how the company did, but still every month I get a... let's call it a monthly allowance deposited into my bank account.”

“Ah,” I said like I understood, but I didn't.

“If I went to the firm who manages our trust and asked for a certain amount, let's say for school or something, they would pull the amount I requested from the trust.”

“So you have money, but you don't.”

“Oh no, I have a lot of it.”

“Are you what they consider the 1 percent?”

Again he laughed before leaning in and kissing my forehead. “Sure, baby.”

“I like that.” I sighed and closed my eyes. “‘Beks’ makes me feel like we're kids again.”