“That’s because you were raised by people who didn’t gain their money from fucking over poor people. They got very, very rich from fucking over thewealthy. A number of the systemic changes we’ve seen over the last twenty years have a direct correlation with some of the horrible people the Wimberley team has taken off the map, not to mention those they menaced into cooperation.”
“Maybe that’s why I don’t like being called a trust-fund baby,” I admit. “Obviously, I am. But…I don’t view myself as one of them. At least not intentionally.”
“Based on what some of your uncles have done with their money, you’ve got solid examples of how to use wealth to prevent harm. But with the kind of access you have? It’d be just as easy to hurt people without meaning to.”
He’s right. A lot’s changed in the last twenty years, and some of what worked for my uncles back then doesn’t hold up anymore—not in a world run by quantum tech and predictive systems.
“It’s evolving,” he says as we finalize the last boards. “But I think being aware is job one.”
That rush of feeling in my chest returns. I understand whyhe was so afraid of my fathers, why he thought he had to push me away. But as we continue to get to know each other, I hope to prove to him that I’m committed to being a net positive in the world.
Maybe more importantly, I hope to prove that to myself.
“You ready for lunch?” he asks, interrupting my thoughts.
I kiss him on the lips. “Yeah, I could eat.”
34
TRUETT
“Oh shit.”
I don’t have time to move out of the way when I spy Oakley barreling down at me. He grabs me at a run, pulling me into the water with him, both of us fully clothed. Oakley’s a big wall of a guy, so it’s a good thing he likes me.
We break the surface to laughter and loud clapping.
“Welcome, Truett. You’re officially a Wildling now,” Maya calls out, grinning broadly.
I step out of the pool, my T-shirt and jeans spackled to my body, and send middle fingers to everyone. “I was told this was a dinner party, not a pool party.”
Oakley lifts a shoulder. “Sometimes it’s both. You should always bring trunks just in case.”
I pull the wet material away from my chest, and Rami lets out a long wolf whistle, which starts off another round of teasing and laughter.
“Take your shirt off!” Someone—Maverick—shouts.
He should really stop teasing me because I’m the only reason Rami didn’t inviteBooneyto this little soiree.
“No, take off your jeans.”
That was Maya.
Rami cackles. “No, ma’am. Y’all cannot handle what this man brings to the table. The jeans stay on.”
Grumbling under my breath, I pull him in close. “Are you hazing me? Is this some sort of hazing ritual?”
“It’s all done with love.”
Rami’s grin freezes and his eyes widen. “I didn’t meanlovelove. Just, you know, family-slash-Wildling love. Unless that freaks you out, and then?—”
It’s been a few weeks since Rami last freaked out around the L-word, and while I’m tempted to drag this out, I don’t have it in me. Instead, I cut off his panicked rambling with a kiss.
Then, before he can overthink it, I pull him to me, wrapping him in all of my sopping wet goodness. He screams and I throw my head back in laughter. More free than I’ve felt in a long, long time.
Adoring his disgruntled pout, I take a page out of Oakley’s book, pick Rami up, and jump into the pool with him.
The water rushes up all around us, and Rami, surrounded by bubbles and light, his eyes scrunched closed with his mouth in a wide grin, takes my breath away.
