“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Perhaps you’ll mention us to your friends,” she teased. Although she probably meant it at least a little bit too. “Of course, you can join us. Holly and Maeve will be happy for the company if it means a longer walk.”
“Only if it means a longer walk?” I sighed, pretending to be hurt. “They drive a hard bargain, but okay. I guess you can show me around the back trails too.”
She laughed. The light, melodic sound was like music to my ears after the state she’d been in yesterday. “Very well. I suppose you deserve to see the back trails before we leave.”
“Excellent.”
I grinned, following her out into the gray foggy morning and drawing in a breath of crisp, fresh air. Honestly, I could get used to this.
Easy morning walks through the fog without another person, building, or car in sight. Afternoons spent drinking tea andensuring the castle didn’t cave in on itself. Chatting with excitable tourists and ordering supplies for the staff.
It was a good life. Quiet but busy in a way that was completely different to the life I had back home. Things felt more connected here. More meaningful.
Maybe it was just because I’d grown up with a strong sense of family and tradition, but I loved Eliza’s culture. It was a perfect fit for me. I genuinely felt like I could probably acclimate much easier here than she would to Chicago.
I was reminded that it wasn’t supposed to bemylife when my phone rang on our way back. I glanced at my screen, my heart stammering at the sight of my brother’s name.
“It’s work,” I explained vaguely to Eliza when she glanced at me. “I’ve got to take it, but I’ll meet you back inside.”
“I’ll order a tea service.” She smiled, calling for Holly and Maeve to follow.
As they drew ahead, I slowed and swiped my thumb across the screen to take the incoming video call. “You’ve been dodging me for nearly two weeks, Jess. What the fuck? Why are you ignoring me?”
“I’m not ignoringyou, per se,” Jesse protested with a grin on his lips that said he definitely had been deliberate about not taking my calls. “It’s more of anignoring everyone in the familykind of situation.”
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been doing to cover your ass while you’ve been pulling this childish fucking disappearing act?” My eyes narrowed as I stared into his and wished there wasn’t a screenandan ocean between us. “I’m inEngland, Jesse. While all my work is piling up at home, I’m in goddamn England withyourfuture wife so we don’t lose this deal just because you’re too much of an asshole to step up.”
He rolled his eyes, waving a hand like none of it even meant anything to him. “Relax. I haven’t disappeared for real.I’ve just been busy negotiating with Alex about the extragiftI’m supposed to get for going through with this. You wouldn’t believe what they offered me.”
Too gleeful and too casual about it, he leaned toward the screen and widened his eyes. “It was ridiculous. They’re expecting me to give up my whole life and they wanted me to do it for next to nothing.”
I scoffed. “I’m sure it was a lot more than nothing, but are you actually even planning on going through with this? Because it’s all set up, Jess. But if I’m wasting my time here?—”
“That’s not up to me,” he said, cutting me off with another roll of his eyes. “None of this was my decision, Will. Remember? You’re not there for me or because of me. In fact, I’ve got nothing to do with any of this.”
I ground my teeth together, speaking with my jaw so clenched it nearly cracked. “So you’re not going through with it.”
“That’s not what I said.” His grin widened. “I’m just not doing anything until Alex grovels for a while. You should see him, man. He’s desperate.”
As I looked back at him, I realized that this wasn’t about money. Alex had been wrong. Sure, Jesse did love cold, hard cash. He hadn’t been wrong about that, but Jesse had also always butted heads with Alex and Dad.
It was part of the reason why he’d never gone into family business andthatwas what this was about. Sticking it to them and making them beg, but now, they’d draggedmeinto it. My blood started simmering in my veins. I had too many memories of too many times when I’d had to do just this. Those memories slammed into my mind one after the other.
“Are you really this fucking selfish?” I snapped in a harsh stage whisper, seriously not wanting to be overheard. “I’ve given up the last few weeks of my life for this and you’re just over there, having fun because Alex isgroveling?”
“Yeah, man.” He held my gaze for another beat, then sighed, his lips almost immediately pressing into a pout. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. You knew I hadn’t agreed to anything and you still went over there. This isn’t my fault.”
“You cannot be serious,” I muttered. “That allergy you’ve got to taking responsibility is acting up again in a big way, but you forget that this isn’t just about you. There’s a very real woman here thinking she’s going to marry you, so just get your ass home and talk to Alex like a goddamn grownup.”
“Or what?”
My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. “Excuse me?”
He shrugged. “You heard me, but look, man, I was just calling you back to let you know what was going on, but I can’t talk to you if you’re like this.”
I scoffed. “Are you out of your mind?”
“No, but you seem to be.” He pumped his eyebrows, but the look in his eyes was flat and I knew him more than well enough to know that meant he was just as pissed off with me right now as I was with him. “Give my bride a kiss for me,Jesse-ish.”
