I frowned at him. Jesse didn’t apologize lightly. He didn’t throw words around to smooth things over. Especially not with me.
Some of the tension I hadn’t even realized he’d caused when he walked in eased just slightly. “I appreciate that, man. It’s too late for a clean exit, but at least you can start your life with her on a clean slate instead of just, I don’t know, switching places with me in the middle of the night.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure how that was ever supposed to work, but look, I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry. I’m here now and I’m ready to step up. For real.”
“Alright.” It killed me to say it, but there was nothing else I could tell him. I’d already lost her and this had never been about me to begin with. “I just really hope you mean that, Jess.”
“I do, but…” He blinked a few times before arching an eyebrow at me. “Alright? Seriously, that’s it?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Alright. You need to take care of her, though.”
“I will.” Jesse frowned at me like he was confused all of a sudden. “I know I haven’t been invested in this until now, but I’m not a total idiot. Of course, I’ll take of her.”
I shook my head. “I’m not asking you to take care of her in a general, vague, morally responsible way. I mean actually take care of her.”
“I think I’ve lost you.”
“Just listen,” I said after refilling my glass. “She won’t ask for what she needs. She’ll just deal with whatever comes her way, even if it means making herself smaller so everyone else is comfortable.”
He finally seemed to realize that this was important. His expression turned thoughtful as he focused on what I was saying.Yet it remains to be seen how much of it he’ll actually take in.
“She loves her home,” I said. “I know you hate the countryside and rural England, but you need to let her be there more often than not. Don’t even wait for her to ask. Just keep the jet fueled up and make her understand that it’s at her disposal, then have the pilot call her at least once a month to ask when she’ll be ready.”
“If knows the jet is at her disposal?—”
“She won’t be comfortable taking you up on it,” I said. “Don’t make her feel like she has to give up the estate to make your marriage work.”
“I mean, I would never expect anyone to give up their home, but do I have to go with her?”
“No, not every time, but I know she’d appreciate if you would spend some time there.”
He sighed but nodded slowly. “Okay. Yeah. I guess I can do that.”
I held his gaze for a second longer, then exhaled and shoved a hand through my hair. “It’s an awesome place, Jess. Just give it a chance, okay? I think you could learn to like it there.”
He shrugged. “I doubt it. As far as I remember, the closest village was basically only a few shops and one pub.”
“At least it’s got a pub, right?”
“Sure.” He didn’t seem excited about it, but he nodded again anyway. “What else?”
“A lot, but understanding how much she loves the estate and how often you need to let her go there was probably the most important. Oh, and I added something to the contract before she signed it.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms, suspicion already creeping onto his features. “What kind of something?”
“Fifty million dollars,” I said. “It’s independent of everything else. All the regular clauses are there, but this will be transferred to her name on your wedding day. Into a separate trust I’ve had set up. It’s in addition to what you’re contractually obliged to give her for sayingI do.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Fifty millionmore? Of whose money? Mine?”
I gave him a look. “Mine.”
“Right,” he muttered. “Yours. Of course. Why? What’s it for?”
“It’s just for her. That castle needs a lot of maintenance and there are repairs they haven’t been able to get done. If she ever needs more, tell me and I’ll make sure she gets it.”
Jesse looked at me in a way that said he’d really figured it out now, just how much she meant to me. He dropped his head forward and slowly raked his fingers through his hair, then lifted his gaze back up. “Yeah. Okay.”
“You take care of her,” I repeated. “No matter what, Jess. You need to promise me that.”
