Chapter 6
Jared hoped he was doing the right thing and not making everything worse by showing Lizzie the Chesterfield Estate.
During another long, sleepless night, he’d allowed his mind to wander, to picture the ideal life for himself.
Lizzie had been right smack in the middle of it as his fantasy wife and the mother of his fantasy children.
Their fantasy life had transpired here on Gansett Island, where he’d found true friends and a sense of community he’d never experienced in the city.
He’d found people who seemed to like him for who he was rather than what he had, and the desire to make a life here for himself—and maybe Lizzie, too—had filled him with a new sense of purpose.
He’d had a brainstorm at three o’clock in the morning that he was now eager to share with her.
After a quick call to the broker he’d met the day before, they took showers, had cereal for breakfast and set out in the Porsche.
“Where’re we going?” she asked as they left his driveway.
“You’ll see. Soon enough. In the meantime, enjoy the scenery.
” Gansett was at her most beautiful this morning with bright sunshine, brilliant blue skies and a cool ocean breeze.
Thank goodness Lizzie had missed the heat wave a few weeks back, which had made life miserable for everyone, even those like him who were fortunate to have air-conditioned homes.
“The scenery is quite something,” she said as they drove along a coastal road where they could see the day’s first ferry steaming toward the island. “What do you suppose it’s like in the winter?”
“From what I hear, it’s quiet and cozy and remote.”
“And that appeals to you?”
“Greatly.”
She had no reply to that statement, and he didn’t attempt to defend it.
She either wanted what he did, or she didn’t.
He couldn’t force it on her, and he had no plans to try.
His plan, such as it was, included showing her the Chesterfield Estate, sharing his idea with her and seeing what she thought of it. The rest would be up to her.
He’d come to the conclusion that he couldn’t change everything about himself to suit someone else, even someone he loved as much as he loved Lizzie.
He could only hope that she’d see what he did when she saw the Chesterfield place and that his idea would appeal to her.
If it didn’t, they’d have to talk about whether their individual visions for their lives had any hope of matching up into a life together.
That was the only way this could work. He very much wanted it to work with her, but he was no longer willing to sell his soul to the devil to make it happen. That last bit had also been part of the middle-of-the-night revelation.
They drove into the long driveway that led to the estate where Doro Chase waited in her sporty red car. She emerged wearing a bright smile when Jared pulled up behind her and cut the engine. Was it his imagination or did her smile fade when she saw the woman riding shotgun in his car?
“What is this place?” Lizzie asked.
“It’s the Chesterfield Estate.”
“Oh, the one you might be buying? It’s amazing.”
Encouraged by her first impression, he said, “Come see the rest.”
Doro greeted him with a handshake and another for Lizzie when he introduced her to the broker. “I’ve spoken to Mrs. Chesterfield’s executor, and your offer is under consideration by her heirs.”
“That’s good to know,” Jared said. “I’d like to show Lizzie the house. Would that be all right?”
“Of course. I’ll unlock it for you.” When she had the door open, she turned to them. “Would you like a guided tour?”
“No, thank you,” Jared said. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Take your time.”
“Thanks.” He ushered Lizzie into the black-and-white-tiled foyer with the crystal chandelier hanging over a table bearing bright yellow roses, sunflowers and other blooms he couldn’t easily identify.
“This foyer is bigger than my whole apartment!” Lizzie said, taking it all in with an awestruck expression he found enchanting.
“I knew you’d say that.” She’d said the same thing once about the living room in his New York penthouse.
“It’s true! Show me the rest, Jared. I want to see it all.”
Her enthusiasm filled him with hope, an emotion he hadn’t experienced since the night it all went so wrong between them. He focused the tour on the downstairs rooms, which would be ideal for what he’d dreamt up at three a.m.
“It’s incredible,” she declared as they stepped onto the wide veranda that overlooked the ocean. “Are you going to move here if the sale goes through?”
“No,” he said emphatically. “Hell no. I don’t need all this.”
Her brows knitted adorably. “Then why are you buying it?”
“Truthfully? It’s kind of embarrassing, and it’s one of those things you’ll see as proof of my excessiveness.”
“This I’ve got to hear.”
“Initially, I made the offer because Jenny and Alex love this place, and they wanted to get married here. Because it’s on the market, their request was denied.
I figured if it was no longer on the market but rather owned by a friend, they could have the wedding they both deserve.
” He told her about Jenny’s fiancé being killed during the 9/11 attacks and Alex’s mother battling dementia.
“They’re so happy together, and after all they’ve both been through, I thought they should have the wedding they really wanted. ”
“So you spent millions of dollars to do that for them?” she asked softly.
“It was nothing to me and everything to them.”
He waited for her to express disgust over the way he spent millions without a thought when she knew plenty of people who didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. He’d also given as generously to her shelter as she would allow, but financial support only went so far with her constituency.
Jared was completely unprepared for Lizzie to launch herself into his arms. He was doubly unprepared for the passionate kiss she drew him into. And he was certainly unprepared for the way his heart beat triple time at the thrill of having her back where she belonged.
“That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, her lips less than an inch from his. “You are the most amazingly generous person I’ve ever met, and I’ve been a total and complete fool. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Lizzie,” he said with a sigh, undone by her genuine regret. “I forgave you a long time ago. I know it’s a lot to ask anyone to take on me and my lifestyle.”
“It’s not a lot to ask, and it was so wrong of me to let you think for one second that I don’t want you.”
“I know you want me. That was never the problem, was it?”
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as she pondered his question. “What do you plan to do with this place after you get Jenny and Alex married off?”
“That’s where you come in.”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“I was thinking you might want to put your college degree to work turning The Chesterfield into a world-class wedding venue.”
She’d gone to college for event planning and had fallen into the position at the shelter when she’d been unable to land a job in her field. As her eyes lit up with what might’ve been excitement, he held his breath, waiting to hear what she had to say.
“You want me to take this on?”
“Only if it interests you.”
Scowling, she poked him in the belly and made him laugh. “That’s playing dirty. Who wouldn’t be interested in a place like this?”
“I wanted you to see that there’s something here for you if you should choose to join me in my new life.”
“You want me to join you in your new life.”
“Only if it’s what you want, too.”
Again, her lip disappeared between her teeth. “What’s upstairs?”
“About fifteen bedrooms that could be leased out to wedding parties and a suite on the top floor that could be made into a honeymoon suite for the happy couples.”
“Show me.”
He took her upstairs and showed her every room, watching as she took it all in without saying another word.
“Could I see the gardens?”
“Of course.”
They emerged into the bright sunshine to find that Alex had arrived while they were inside.
He was happy to give them a tour of the gardens he tended to personally.
“You’ve got to see this,” he said as they followed him up a gravel walkway that led to the circular driveway.
They took a detour under a willow tree that opened into a secret garden behind a wall of hedges.
Lizzie gasped and covered her mouth as she took in the incredible sight of thousands of blooms in every shape and color. “Oh, Alex… This is unbelievable!”
“I can’t take the credit, unfortunately. This was Mrs. Chesterfield’s pride and joy. She cared for it herself. I just maintain it.”
Lizzie moved farther into the garden, touching and smelling and taking it all in while Jared stood with Alex and watched her from the opening in the hedges.
“How’s it going?” Alex asked softly.
“I don’t know yet. We’re trying to figure it out.”
“For what it’s worth, I hope it works out for you guys. She seems really great.”
“She is.”
“Jenny’s on cloud nine at the thought of getting married here. Thank you for that. I can’t tell you what it means to both of us.”
“I hope it works out.”
“I’d better get back to business. Nice to see you again, Lizzie.”
“You, too, Alex. Thanks for the special tour.”
“Always a pleasure. This is my favorite place on the island.”
“I can see why.”
Alex left them to go back to work, and Jared wandered deeper into the secret garden to where Lizzie was bent over a pink rose bush, breathing in the scent of the flowers. She looked so fresh and pretty and young with her hair in a ponytail that left her neck exposed.
He wanted to kiss every inch of that graceful expanse of skin, but he held back the urge. There’d be time enough for that if and when they were able to work out the rest. “What’re you thinking?”
“That this must’ve been how Eve felt in the Garden of Eden. Tempted.”
“You aren’t comparing me to a serpent, are you?”
Her ringing laughter brought a smile to his face. “Never.”