‘Me too,’ Milo said. ‘Why are we standing here?’
Jack smiled at them. ‘I just wanted to show your mother something.’ Jack turned to Jade. ‘I bought this cottage to do up and sell on, but then I was going to live there when I thought you were divorcing me.’
‘What that old thing?’ Jade said, turning her nose up.
Milo ran over to the house, and peered through a dirty downstairs window.
‘I hope you don’t expect me to live there now,’ Jade said.
Jack cocked his head at Jade. ‘But I thought you just said you didn’t care if you were left with nothing as long as you have me?’
‘But I do have you, and we have our nice house.’ Jade glanced at Bridie who was walking along the promenade hand-in-hand with Oliver. ‘But Bridie hasn’t got a home of her own.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘We weren’t nice to her, either of us. What I did on social media, and you going after her theatre. I think she deserves an apology – and something more.’
‘You’re not suggesting we give her the property?’ Jack said, taken aback. He couldn’t believe it. Jade would never have justgiven away anything in the past, not unless it had some financial benefit to her. She would certainly not have given Bridie something for free.
‘I wouldn’t want you to give her the property in that state. I expect you to do it up first.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me, Jake. It needs renovating, new kitchen, bathroom, windows – whatever it takes.’
Jack swept her in his arms. ‘You really have changed.’
‘And so have you. I thought you’d be jealous when you saw them together just now. But you’re not.’
‘No, I’m not. Not one bit. Because I have you. But …’
‘But …?’
Jack glanced their way. ‘I think they were always meant to be together, from the very beginning, but I … I got in the way.’ He looked at Jade. ‘I know Bridie. She won’t accept charity. And she certainly won’t accept the property from me.’
‘So, gift it to her, anonymously.’
‘What?’
‘Yes, like the mysterious benefactor who gifted her the theatre next door. That could work. If she finds out later that it was you …’
‘Us,’ said Jack, grinning at her.
She returned his smile. ‘All right, us, then we can say it’s an early wedding present.’
‘A wedding present? But she’s not getting married yet.’
‘But she will.’
Jack glanced at Bridie and Oliver.
Jade looked over at them too. ‘He’s been her knight in shining armour, the guy who has waited for her all his life. It’s so romantic. But because of you, she never saw what was under her nose, the guy who truly loved her and would make her happy.’
‘You don’t have to tell me that,’ said Jack miserably. ‘I know what I did.’
‘We understand each other, Jack. We were meant to be together. We should have got together in high school, but you went after Bridie just because your best friend showed an interest, and you treated it, treated her, like a competition, because he wanted her, you had to have her. And when she came back here after years away, you slipped into your old ways, seeing Oliver’s interest in Bridie.’
‘Yes, it’s true,’ Jack admitted. ‘And I was unhappy, we both were, in our marriage, and I thought … I thought she loved me, and I could love her.’
