“Yes,” Joseph and Rhys stated at the same time with almost the same commanding tone. Then Joseph took control and walked Rian through a series of forms which would have helped him defend against Joseph’s attacks.
“Rhys, you said your parents put you and Rian in Karate to prevent kidnappings.”
He nodded.
Jo took a few steps away from the ring and waited for Rhys to join her. “Was it because of their money?”
“Yes.” Rhys tugged at the ends of his hair and tipped his head back.
It always came back to his family’s money. Sharon had used Rhys for his money. Rhys had been hesitant to invite Jo to his house when they first started dating because of his bank account. And Jo took a lot of flak at work because of his wealth.
“Someday you’re going to trust me enough to tell me how much you have. Especially now that I signed a prenup.” Jo turned to him hoping he wouldn’t explode. The prenup had been a sticking point for them. She wanted one. He told her it was a matter of trust. She disagreed.
Rhys’s gold gaze bore into her. “You what?”
“Seemed like the thing to do. I never want you to think I married you for your money. So I made damn sure to protect you. Even though you were just as adamant I not sign one.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. He smelled of sweat and man, and she leaned her head on his shoulder to enjoy it. “What does it matter? It’s a piece of paper, just like the marriage certificate. We’re committed to each other and are in this for the long haul. No scribblings on pieces of paper will make or break us, even ones denoting currency. Because our hearts belong to each other.”
Rhys pressed a kiss to her temple. “I love it when you get mushy.”
She shoved him away as she grabbed two water bottles from the fridge. “Whatever.”
“Are people at work still giving you a hard time?” He took the water she passed him as they made their way over to the machines.
She wanted to tell him she could handle it. The wealth was a challenge, and one she hated. It hadn’t come up until last spring when Rhys had dragged Jo around as his plus one to all the charity dinners. There were so many she lost track after a while and still couldn’t remember which rubber chicken had tasted better. Even the rubber steak tasted like ash when all eyes were focused on her. The limelight and she did not mix, and her conversations came across more like an interrogation than chatting.
“Jo?”
“Some. I had an officer stop by and ask if we would be willing to contribute to a few of the police charities now.”
“If that’s something you want, I’ll be more than happy to go over our finances later.” He hopped on the treadmill, and she took the elliptical.
She didn’t know if it was something she wanted. There were so many causes that touched her. One was the group that helped families of fallen cops. Another was a youth shelter on Southside that helped teens kicked out of their houses. But did she want that much responsibility? That much wealth most times led to people with too much power.
“You know you could just give it away.” Her gaze sought his in the mirror across from them.
Sweat sleeked muscles worked under his black tank top and loose gym shorts. His hair was a dark gold instead of the multi-colored wheat, blond, white, and lighter strawberry. But it was the play of golden skin as he jogged next to her that had her mis-stepping on the elliptical and almost pitching off the machine.
“Pay attention, hon. You can ogle me later.” He chuckled.
“You’re such an ass sometimes.” She flipped him off and faced forward.
“Oh, don’t think I’m not checking you out in that tight halter top and bike shorts. They might be black, but they don’t hide a thing,” he teased then sobered. “As for giving it away,” a deep sigh. “I can’t. My dad taught me we are stewards of the money. If I give it away in one lump sum, I can’t monitor where it’s going. I can’t say, No, the soup kitchen needs this more than this. Or the hospital needs this above that machine they already have five of. Another thing Dad said was once we gave it away in a lump sum then the money was gone. It wouldn’t grow to help the organization. It’d be spent because most of the non-profits can’t carry much money over to a new year. I’m not sure why and I didn’t think to ask back then.”
“And you grow the money?” Jo tried to wrap her head around having enough money to support several endeavors while still keeping enough in reserves to grow. And as he rarely talked about his wealth, Jo worried.
“Yes, this way the projects my parents hold dear will do more than survive, they thrive as I keep a portion back to always make sure they’re funded. Oh, they always need more money, that’s never the question, but with the way my father set it up they can stay afloat in lean times.”
“What about projects you hold dear?”
Rhys tipped his head from side to side. “Rian and I have a few. One is GlenCare, where he attends school during the week. There are those less fortunate than him who can’t afford the fees so I’ve set up a trust to make sure those that need the care can receive it. It’s not bottomless, but it helps some.”
“And you?”
“Recently, I’ve been looking into donating to more of the youth shelters like the one you volunteer at. I’ve always felt like we should invest in our youth. Those youths will be the ones taking care of us when we grow old. So we need to take care of them now.”
Jo’s heart lurched to hear the underlying passion
