“That’s people for you.” We turned onto the walking path that ran along the main road by the trailer park. “I was never sure what he thought of us. Every time I got intimidated by him, I reminded myself that he’d played with cow shit growing up.”

“He still plays in cow shit. And he really doesn’t mean to be intimidating.” He was wound so tightly that I feared none of us could unknot him.

“I thought he was an arrogant fuck the first time you brought him to meet us,” Sophie announced.

I’d been seeing Aiden for a month, and he’d invited my entire family out to eat, reserving a room for us at the most expensive place in town. “He comes off that way.”

“He has resting arrogant face.”

“RAF?”

“He’s, like, the opposite of Jason. Reserved, cultured, quiet. I can see how that would appeal to someone like you. Not quite opposites attract, but opposite of the men you grew up with. Except Randall.”

Randall was as mellow as Aiden, but emotionally available. “I love my dad. But Aiden’s nothing like him, so yeah. Part of the appeal.” I dropped my focus to the uneven sidewalk. At first Aiden had seemed nothing like Brandt McDonough. Aiden was reliable, loyal, and honest. The honesty part was being tested, but I thought his claims about the trust were genuine. But was that wishful thinking? Aiden hadn’t given off greedy vibes as long as I’d known him, but fifty million was a lot to shrug off. And our romance after he’d asked me out had been a light and airy whirlwind. In hindsight, it was exactly what I would expect from some generic rom-com if the hero had to marry some unwitting girl for a lot of money in a short amount of time.

The talk in my bedroom had been raw. And insightful. He was hurting, had been for years, and for so many reasons, he’d refused to talk about it. Until now. Was he protecting others’ feelings, or himself?

As we’d talked, I’d gotten the sense that what was wrong between us wasn’t about money, but about how he’d grown up. How he’d been treated. The way his worldview had been formed.

Fighting to keep the money in the family, that seemed like him. Reliable, loyal, and honest. Traits that had attracted me.

Part of the reason I’d jumped at the chance to marry him was because he’d seemed so unlike Dad. Then when I’d learned about the trust, he’d resembled him too much. Dad was also gone all the time. Restrictive with his affection. But I wasn’t obligated to put up with it because he was family and I’d decided that scraps were better than nothing.

“I respect the hell out of you though,” Sophie said.

“Why?”