Aiden huffed out a laugh of exasperation. “You get that you’re in an ivy league school that most people would have killed to attend. And it’s just fine?”
Matty shrugged. “I was accepted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell and Dartmouth. I could have gone anywhere.”
“Then why choose this school?” Thomas asked, examining Matty with a calculated look that made him feel like a science project, like he was…studying him.
Matty went to answer, but was temporarily distracted by the stirrers tipping over and sweeping across the table. Thomasquickly cleaned them up, but while he did, the baby started grabbing handfuls of napkins and stuffing them into his mouth.
Matty buried a smile behind his hand as two grown men attempted to wrestle a toddler…and were losing. Kids were so funny. They were like sticky little hairless raccoons, always trying to get their grubby little mitts on everything and eat it.
When they finally returned their attention to him, he said, “Because my mother said if I chose any other school she wouldn’t cover my expenses and while my tuition was covered by my scholarships, she refused to pay for anything else if I left the state.”
“If she wanted you to stay home, why allow you to apply to so many schools?” Aiden asked, frowning.
“That’s a question for her, but by now, she’s passed out by the pool.” Thomas and Aiden exchanged another look, concerned this time.Matthew rolled his eyes. “I’m not being abused or whatever. I’m an adult. I just can’t afford my apartment and food and stuff without her help. Even with a part-time job. She hates me, so I have no idea why she wants me close, other than to just ruin my college experience. She could easily pay someone to scrape her off the floor and toss her into her bed at two in the morning if it was that important.”
“Is your mom an alcoholic?” Thomas asked.
“Of course not,” Matty said, putting on an affected tone. “She’s simply a ‘brunch enthusiast with a taste for artisan gin.’”
Aiden’s brows went up. Maybe Matty wasn’t being fair to his mother but it’s not like she’d made any effort to shield him. So why did he have to show any loyalty to her? The answer was, he didn’t. And he wouldn’t. Fuck her.
Why do you provoke him, Matthew?
He’s under a lot of pressure, Matthew.
Just do what you’re told, for once, Matthew.
“How would you like to attend a private college so elite they don’t even advertise? They recruit you,” Thomas asked.
“What?” Matthew asked dumbly.
Thomas met his gaze, his blue eyes almost hypnotic. “I’ve managed to pull some strings. If you’d like, I can get you into the school where my son teaches. It would open a lot of doors.”
Matty snorted. “Well, if one of those doors isn’t a bank vault, it’s not really helpful. Like I said, my mom will only pay for me if I stay here and I’m on an academic scholarship.”
“What if I said I’d cover all your expenses?” Thomas asked. “Rent, food, clothing, books. Whatever you needed until graduation.”
Matty sat back, folding his arms across his chest. “I’d ask what the catch was.”
Thomas shook his head. “No catch. We just want to get to know you better. We want you to be part of our family.”
“You get that you sound like you’re trying to recruit me into a cult, right?” Matty asked, looking back and forth between them, uncertain whether to trust them or not. None of this made any sense. At all.
“Being a Mulvaney feels a lot like a cult,” Aiden said. “But you have a huge family waiting for you if you want it.”
Matty felt this pull in his chest, hating how much the idea appealed to him. But it was probably a trap. Besides, he had family. Jordan. He was as close to a sibling as he’d ever get.
“What if you decide you don’t like me and bail? Then I’m stuck with no school, no home, no clothes, no nothing. And I’ve burned a bridge with my mother. Who would take that risk?”
“The financial help isn’t conditional,” Aiden said.
“Everything is conditional,” Matthew asked.
“We’ll help you regardless of whether you stay here or come to live closer to us,” Aiden said.
“And I’m just supposed to—what?—trust you?” Matty asked.
“Trust goes both ways,” Thomas said. “Being a Mulvaney comes with a lot of strings attached, and some of those strings have knives on the other side. As for the financial part, we’ll put it in writing. That way you’ll know you’re covered no matter what.”
