“Because she’d have to tell my dad. They don’t keep secrets from each other. And you know what he would do. I can’t have him interfering. I want to do this on my own.”
“Well, with your husband,” he says dryly.
“It’s different,” I insist, pulling my hand back. “It was still my decision to solve it this way, without their protection.”
He must feel bad, because he takes me into his arms for a real hug—I guess because that can be friendly. “I know.” He leans hishead on mine for a brief second and then pulls it right back up. I try not to tense in frustration. It felt good to have him close, but I shouldn’t want that. His new strategy for usisfor the best in the long run.
“So, what’s going on with Redhaven?” I ask as he pulls his iPad out from the pocket on the seat in front of him. “Everything still going smoothly disbursing the funds?”
“Yeah. That’s all going great.” He sets it in his lap and turns to me. “But we got some new applications the past couple weeks. None of them can provide proper documentation of having been scammed by Bryce. In fact, several of them claim they gave him cash—all under ten thousand dollars. I don’t think they’re legit, but Baylee needs to be reassured. She wants to make sure we take care of everyone.”
I put my hand on his arm. “Write the checks, Jordan. I’ll cover it if it will make Baylee feel better.”
He shakes his head. “No way. It will mean everyone connected with Bryce in the past will come forward, wanting you to pay their claim. We’re not doing that.”
“Jordan—”
He gives me a hard look. “No, Libby. On this one thing I’m putting my foot down. Ten million was enough.”
I give him a hard look back. In this sitting position, I can’t put my hands on my hips like I want to. “Do you know how much money a billion dollars is?”
His jaw remains tight. “No. I don’t care. Use it to solve homelessness and then we’ll talk about this.”
I give a long-suffering sigh. “Then what are you doing?”
“Trying to prove that Bryce did take money from them—or that he didn’t. One way or the other.” He wakes up the tablet.
“The applications have the amounts, right? The figures for how much each one has claimed he took from them?”
“Mmm-hmmm.” He taps open a spreadsheet and shows me the numbers.
“Can you compare that with Bryce’s accounts?” I ask,wanting to be able to help him. He’s done so much for me. “Wouldn’t there be deposits listed that you could match up to the times they claim they gave him money?”
“Probably,” he says, but his expression doesn’t say this is actually helpful. “The FBI hasn’t shown me or Baylee any of that stuff.”
Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Heat dumps into my face at how ridiculous it sounds, me suggesting that Jordan can just glance over the forensic accounting reports of Bryce’s frozen accounts—frozen too late, by the way. Bryce had already drained the accounts and disappeared when everything started coming to light.
Have I read every news report possible about the Bryce Hayes case since meeting Jordan? Yes, I have.
“I assumed that Baylee would have access to his account,” I say weakly.
“It’s a good idea.” He gives me a genuine smile. “But Baylee never had access to his account even when they were engaged. Bryce kept telling her that legally, they needed to wait until after the wedding before he gave her passwords and stuff for banking accounts. And I think everything went into his business account anyway.”
“He sounds amazing, by the way,” I say dryly.
Jordan gives a short, breathy laugh. “Honestly, he seemed like it. He was nice, helpful, kind. He treated Baylee like a princess and seemed to be all green flags. Respected her, respected my family. He was so normal. It was just … all lies.”
Something heavy settles in my stomach. Jordan could be describing himself. He seems so perfect too. And while I truly believe he’s not going to steal my money and run off, it could be something else. Men lie. They tell women they love them. They manipulate them. They get angry. In the time we’ve lived together, I’ve never seen him get actually angry. Not even while watching hockey. Frustrated, sure, but not angry. It’s only beenjust over two weeks since we got married, so he could still be hiding something for sure.
I don’t want to believe that.
It’s just hard to convince myself he could be that good.
I always remind myself that there are men in my life who are exactly who they say they are. My brothers-in-law, Will and Charlie, are amazing husbands and fathers. My dad is the greatest. It’s a truth I know in my gut that they’ll never betray me. I trust that they might hurt me because of mistakes, but never out of malice.
Jordan could be that way too.
“Libby?” Jordan asks in a soft voice, like he knows exactly what’s running through my mind.
