He frowns at me. “Of course. I thought we talked about this already.”
“I know, but …”
Letting out an exasperated breath, he shakes his head. “I told you that you get what you need while you’re here. You need an audition coach? Find the best one and get on their schedule. Oh, that reminds me.” He crosses to the counter where there’s a stack of mail. “I already added you to my credit card. Your card came.” Flipping through the envelopes, he pulls one out and brings it to me. “I don’t know how audition coaches normally like to get paid, but if you need a checkbook for your bank account, we can get one of those too.”
“Mybank account?”
He arches an eyebrow. “I told you I’d set one up in your name before we signed the prenup. There’s a checking and savings account for you at my bank. I’m on the accounts too, but that’s just because I set them up. You can take me off if you want to.”
“No, I …” I grapple for words, not sure what to say. “That’s not … I hadn’t realized …”
“Hailey,” he says, his voice soft as he steps in front of me, pushing the coffee table back to make room for himself and sitting on it so we’re eye to eye. “I thought I made it clear that you can get what you need. Period. If it makes you feel better to discuss large purchases with me, that’s fine, just to keep me in the loop. But you don’t need permission unless you’re gonna, I dunno, try to buy a jet. Or a house. Or something like that. For just regular, every day stuff? Get what you need. The end.”
I blink a few times. “Your definition of a large purchase is a jet?”
He scratches his cheek, then shrugs. “I mean, that seems pretty large, don’t you think?”
“Right. Yeah. But, uh … what’s the floor on your definition of ‘large purchase?’ Because that seems like a more realistic question. There’s no way I’m going to be off trying to buy a jet tomorrow or something.”
His eyes light up when he grins like he finds the idea of me jet shopping really funny but also adorable. “Um, well, if you want to buy a car, let me know. I think that would qualify as a big purchase. Like I said, a house, though I feel like that requires discussion more than just from a money angle. Like, what’s wrong with this place? I thought you liked it here.”
“What? I do. I’m not going house shopping.”
“Right. Okay. Glad we cleared that up.”
I laugh at his ridiculousness. “I didn’t think that was ever at issue.”
“Well, still. It’s good to know you like it here. It works well for my needs.” He rubs his chin, staring off to the left as he thinks. “I mean, I’d appreciate it if you’d talk to me about any furniture purchases because, again, I like what I have. That’s more of a functional issue, though, rather than a financial one. Umm …” He refocuses on me, his brows knitted together. “What do you consider a large purchase that you might want to make?”
I throw my hands in the air. “I don’t know. Uh … so, you don’t consider paying for lessons to be a big expense.”
His shoulders lift. “I mean, I guess it could be if you’re talking thousands of dollars per session or something.”
“I doubt it’s that much. Probably a hundred? Hundred and fifty? I’m not sure how much this lady charges.”
He brushes that aside. “Yeah, fine. No big deal. Anything else?”
Feeling like pressing my luck, I raise my eyebrows. “A new violin?”
“Do you need one? For real?”
“I mean … that hasn’t been an option, so, not … really. Though I’ve thought about getting a carbon fiber acoustic electric to use for busking and outdoor gigs. Those are like a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars, though, so it’s never been in my budget.”
“Okay, so let’s set that as the floor. If we’re talking thousands, please let me know before you spend it. I probably won’t care, but it’s nice to be informed.”
“Uh … okay.”
He stands. “You want some dinner? I got some steaks the other day, and I’ve had them marinating since this morning.”
“That sounds good. You want me to put together a salad?”
Grinning, he heads for the kitchen. “That would be perfect. Oh, and when you’re done—or later tonight, at least—send me some links to those violins you were talking about.”
“What? Why?”
He blinks at me, his face the picture of innocence. “I never got my wife a wedding gift. I’ve been informed by my teammates that I’m a terrible husband for not doing that, and it sounds like that would be perfect for you.”
I stare blankly at him for a second. “You want to get me a wedding gift?”
