Page 11 of Trust

“What the hell is that?”

“Sorry. That’s my term for all the haole who come here to promote living here without knowing the place. They make it look like you can live like you’re on vacation. Don’t get me wrong. There are some good influencers out there, even haoles, who talk about the issues on the island. But the girlies who decorate their houses to look like spas and pretend everyone can afford to live in Hawai’i are irritating.”

He said nothing, and she realized that she had been ranting. “Sorry. I hate when people misrepresent Hawai’i.”

They arrived at the entrance to his family’s estate. It was much smaller than Ben’s home, which had been the family home for as long as she could remember. Well, not anymore.

She pushed that thought aside.

“Code?” she asked.

He rattled off some numbers. After pressing them, the gate opened, and she drove in. She pulled into the circular drive and put the SUV in park.

“I agree.”

“What?” Lani asked, turning toward him.

“I agree. I hate when people misrepresent anything, but I can guess it’s worse here than a lot of other places.”

“Why do you say that?”

He took a second, looking at her, his gaze roaming over her face. “Hawai’i isn’t just a state. It’s a culture, a people. Someone who disrespects the culture to make money isn’t any better than the white landowners who stole the land.”

It always surprised her when he said things like that. He was a man who came from a wealthy family. He was even distantly related to the royal family. But he and his family always showed respect in their dealings at their resorts. They tried their best to shine a light on the culture, and they tended to hire local people to manage their places. If they had been crappy to their workers, she would have heard about it. She did know that they paid some of the best wages in the industry.

“Exactly,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I guess I should let you go to your meeting.”

Guilt filled her as she looked down. “I don’t have a meeting. I was just trying to get away.”

His mouth twitched. “No blame from me. I don’t think I will have much in common with Royal.”

“Well, at least you don’t live here. And you’ve been so busy that you haven’t been here that much.”

He looked out the windshield as if gathering his thoughts, then turned back to her. “There were reasons. I can’t really talk about them right now.”

She nodded.

“I’ll see you tonight. Please don’t leave me with them. Ben is freaking me out.”

“I promise.” Then she saw his expression. “You really don’t want to be left alone with them?”

“No. And I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

“Gotcha. Okay, I’ll see you tonight.”

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he apparently decided at the last moment not to say it. She really wanted to know what had happened when she had been outside, but she would not ask. He slipped from the vehicle, and with one last look at her, he shut the door. She saw the woman who worked for the family come out to greet him, and he smiled at the older woman. Although she had lied about her meeting, she did have some contracts to work on, so she drove off. When she stopped by the gate and punched in the code, she looked up in her rearview mirror. Jakob was standing there watching her. Butterflies filled her belly, and she was thankful the gate was fast. She didn’t need to be reacting to her nemesis/crush like this.

Pushing that thought behind her, she headed off to her apartment. She had a home office there, so she could work and think about Conner Dillon’s offer.

“They may have to roll me down the aisle at Ben’s wedding on Saturday.”

Marta laughed. “No. You can eat so much food, just like your brother.”

That was true. They had been blessed with an insane metabolism. His phone rang, signaling a call from his brother.

“Speak of the devil,” he said with a smile. Marta stepped away to give him some privacy. He could have told her she could stay because the Wulfs never cared about sharing their lives with those who worked for them, but he let her go.

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