Chapter 27
JESSE
Iwoke up slower than usual on Sunday morning, not to the shrill ringing of my phone or the dull ache of a hangover but to warmth.
For a second, I didn’t move or even open my eyes.
I just let myself be suspended in the quiet moment when nothing and no one demanded anything from me and she was the only person I had to pay attention to.
The only sound in the room was Jacque’s soft, steady breathing beside me, the heat of her skin radiating into me under the covers. I cracked open an eye to see a curtain of dark hair spread across my pillow, and suddenly, my chest felt weirdly full.
She was sound asleep in my bed. Just like she had been for the last few mornings. I shifted onto my side, propping my head up on my hand to look at her properly. Her face was relaxed, her lashes brushing her cheeks and her lips parted in a way that almost made me groan.
I could stay here forever. The thought hit out of the blue, but I didn’t hate it. Maybe I should stay here forever. Maybe this relationship really doesn’t have to be fake. Maybe I’m capable of falling for someone after all.
For the past several nights, it sure as hell hadn’t been fake for me. I slid an arm carefully around her waist, pulling her into me. She made a soft sound in her sleep but didn’t wake, just curling closer and fitting herself against me like she’d been made to slot into this exact space.
Holy fuck.
I pressed my face into her hair for a second, breathing her in and wondering if I should wake her up in a happy way. She did seem to love a good orgasm first thing, but for once in my life, I decided not to ruin a good thing and let her sleep instead.
As it was, I’d kept her up until well after midnight and I had an early meeting with Alex, but she didn’t have any reason to rush.
On that note, I turned my head toward the nightstand and checked the time, the digital clock there telling me that I had to get a move on, but I couldn’t bring myself to get up immediately.
Instead, I cuddled into her and let my lids slide shut again, willing my body to stop thinking about all the ways in which I could wake her up and trying not to think about how much I just liked waking up to her either.
By the time I made it to Alex’s place, I was running on about three hours of sleep, strong coffee, and a decision I hadn’t fully processed yet but was entirely locked into. The door barely opened before a small blur launched itself at my legs.
“Uncle Jesse!”
I looked down in time to catch Cameron before he took me out at the knees.
“Whoa. Hey, buddy,” I laughed, steadying him. “Are you trying to take me out?”
He blinked up at me like he didn’t understand the question. “Yes.”
“Respect.” I held out my fist for a bump. “Let me talk to your dad first, then we’ll wrestle, yeah?”
“Okay,” he said, immediately losing interest and toddling off to cause chaos in another room.
I chuckled as I watched him go. I pulled off my sunglasses and shut the front door behind me, finally finding Alex in the living room. He glanced up from his phone and smirked when he saw me. “Nice entrance.”
“Your son has a bright future in tactical ambush,” I replied, dropping onto the couch and looking over at him. “What’s going on? It’s not like you to summon me on a Sunday.”
He nodded slowly, setting the phone down to look at me. “I wanted to say thank you for stepping up the way you have. Going public with the relationship has worked a charm and Jacqueline seems to be playing the part well, so thank her for me too.”
Playing the part. I felt my jaw tighten before I could stop it, my good mood brought on by her and Cameron suddenly not so great anymore. “Yeah. We should talk about that.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed immediately. “Talk about what?”
I sat forward, planting my elbows on my knees. I hadn’t been looking forward to this conversation, but it had to happen sometime, and sooner was better than later. Especially after that comment from Nate last weekend.
It was time my family knew what was going on—before someone said something that would make her think this didn’t mean anything to me. My pulse kicked against my ribs, but I looked my oldest brother straight in the eye, mentally grabbed my balls, and jumped in.
“We’re not playing a part anymore, Alex,” I said. “It’s not fake. It was back at the beginning, but it’s not anymore and I don’t want to go back there.”
Alex let out a short, disbelieving laugh and shook his head. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am,” I said firmly. “In fact, I’m so serious that I’d like to marry her. As soon as possible.”
Everything about him went rigid, his teeth suddenly grinding like I’d just told him I was planning to set fire to the company for fun. “Absolutely not.”
I scoffed. “You can’t say no.”
“Yes, I can,” he said without skipping a beat. “What’s more is that I am. I know you, Jesse. I’m not about to let you marry someone you’ve known for all of ten minutes.”
I stood up and paced to the window. “Why not? You knew Jane for less time when you married her and look how that worked out.”
He scoffed. “You’re not me.”
“And thank God for that, but I’m not the me I used to be anymore either,” I snapped. “This is different, Alex.”
“You said that about Claira just a few weeks ago,” he reminded me.
“Before this whole thing with Jacqueline started, you wanted to marry her. Then you wanted to look for someone else. You can’t expect me to believe you’ve changed that much between then and now that you’re actually ready to marry anyone at all. ”
“I have,” I insisted, but as I stared out the window, even I wondered how true that was.
It really hadn’t been so long ago. So maybe I hadn’t changed, but Jacque had changed the world as I’d known it before.
Alex watched me struggle for a second before he shook his head again. “Do you trust her, Jesse?”
“Yes,” I said immediately, feeling my brow furrow as I spun away from the window to look at him. “Why?”
He studied me for a long moment, that calculating gleam creeping into his eyes. “I know about her. Nate told me about her mother’s adoption and that Jacqueline is a loose relative who’s not related by blood.”
“Exactly,” I said. “We’re not related, which means that I can marry her.”
“I’m aware,” he said impatiently. “That’s not the point, though.”
“Then what is?”
His gaze sharpened on mine. “She came out of nowhere and you barely know her. Did she tell you that her parents got left out of the Westwood inheritance over there because of the adoption?”
“No, not really. But I know enough about her as a person.”
“Do you?” he asked. “Or do you just like the way this feels right now?”
I arched an eyebrow at him and planted my hands on my hips. “What does that matter? So what if I like the way it feels right now? Because it feels really fucking good. It feels right.”
“Has it occurred to you that she might only be with you for the money?” he asked pointblank. “Maybe her mother still feels cheated and they’re trying to get their hands on a chunk of Westwood money through you.”
I scoffed. “You’ve got it completely backwards. If she was after my money, I’d give it to her in a heartbeat.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” I shrugged. “I can always make more money, Alex. I don’t give a shit. If she wanted it, I’d hand it over. Sign it away. Whatever. But she wouldn’t take it.”
“That’s naive.”
“No, it’s a fact.” He opened his mouth, but I didn’t let him speak. “She doesn’t even let me pay for her lattes. Do you know how insulting that is? She won’t even let me buy her a fucking drink. If she’s that proud and that stubborn, do you really think she’s after my money?”
“It could be an act.”
“It’s not,” I insisted. “She’s an incredibly successful attorney.
Makes great money, considering the firm she works for handles some of our cases.
And we all know how much our attorneys bill per hour.
She moved to Chicago to work, not hunt for billionaires, for God’s sake.
” I pointed toward the door, like Jacque might somehow be out there right now, proving my point.
“She doesn’t need me, Alex. That’s the whole thing. ”
“What thing?”
“She’s herself around me,” I said. “When I’m with her, there’s no performance.
She’s not working an angle to get on a yacht or score a vacation out of me.
She doesn’t want the publicity or the perks.
She’s never made me feel like I have to put on an act when I’m with her either.
I get to be exactly the weirdo I really am and she still wants to spend time with me. ”
“You get to be a weirdo. That’s your argument?”
“Yes, and you know what I mean.”
“Unfortunately, I do, but that doesn’t mean she’s not using you. People will put up with a lot for the amount of money she’d get out of marrying you.”
“Which brings us full circle, because if that’s what she wants, I’m willing to give it to her,” I said. “You know, for putting up with it and all.”
“You’ll need a prenup,” he said finally. “Iron-clad, Jesse. I’m not fucking around about this.”
“That’s your takeaway?” I asked. “After all that, you’re worried about the prenup? Obviously, we would draw something up. That’s as much of a Westwood tradition as arranged marriages.”
“Yes, but this one is going to be important.”
“More important than yours?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Jane is the CEO of Thayer Steelworks. As soon as she got her company back, she didn’t need my money. God only knows why, but I’m pretty sure she’s not sticking around for the yearly bonuses and milestone payouts. I mean, come on. Thayer fucking Steelworks.”
“But Jacqueline will? That’s what you’re implying, right? That my prenup is more important because my girl is less worthy? Do you even hear yourself?”
He sighed. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
I scoffed, pacing back to the window and scowling as I looked out of it. “No, you’re annoyed because I’m choosing this. I’m choosing her and it just so happens that she’s a great girl who worked hard for what she has, not some heiress with a portfolio or board seats that benefit the family.”
“That’s not—”
“That’s exactly what this is,” I cut in. “You had no problem lining up someone who looked good on paper, but the second I pick a woman on my own, suddenly it’s a problem? Even though she is by all measures an amazing woman.”
His voice rose to match mine. “Because you don’t pick, Jesse. You react. You jump. You—”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I snapped. “Did I miss the memo where I’m not allowed to make my own decisions unless they’re approved by the self-appointed Westwood marriage committee? Just because you act like everyone’s father doesn’t mean you actually are.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is about doing the right thing. The responsible thing, which is something you’ve conveniently ignored your entire life. Forgive me if I don’t trust you to start doing it now.”
I rolled my eyes. “Here we go. I’ve been doing everything you’ve asked of me as COO. But no matter what I do, you keep throwing the past back in my face.”
“Do you really blame me? You come in here and tell me you suddenly want to play house with some girl who missed out on inheriting millions years ago, but doesn’t have a grudge about it?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” I said, not backing down an inch.
“Both of you, shut up.” Jane’s voice cut through the room like a knife and we both turned to face her, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed tight and a thoroughly disapproving look on her face.
“I just put Cameron down for his nap, and if either of you wake him up, I will personally kick you both out.”
Surprised that she’d threaten us so casually, I just nodded. Alex took a step back, but his gaze tracked her cautiously as she pushed away from the door.
“You’re both being dickheads,” she said as she walked into the room, her voice still calm and quiet, but somehow, I knew she meant it. “For what it’s worth, I like Jacqueline. She’s a smart attorney, and she seems like a decent human being.”
Some of the tension in my chest eased, but Alex made a noise under his breath, clearly disagreeing. Even so, he didn’t interrupt his wife. Smart man.
“She’s not some gold-digger,” Jane said, though I wasn’t sure which one of us she was talking to. “She really is an exceptionally capable lawyer and she isn’t intimidated by this circus, which already puts her miles ahead of most.”
She finally turned to me. “If you’re actually serious about this, then we can figure it out, but Alex isn’t wrong either, Jesse. I love you to death, but you don’t have the best track record and marriage isn’t something anyone should just go into half-cocked and unprepared for.”
“I forget,” I said. “How long did you know Alex before you married him?”
She arched a perfectly waxed eyebrow at me. “That would’ve been a fair point, except that Alex and I were both doing it for the good of our companies, and there’s nothing either of us used to take more seriously than that.”
She held my gaze for a beat, but as I looked back at her, I realized she wasn’t attacking me. She wasn’t accusing me of anything. She was simply stating the facts and everything she’d said was true, so I nodded slowly and finally gave her an answer.
“I am serious about this, Jane. I can’t guarantee that we’ll be happily married for the rest of our natural lives, but no one else can either.
Not even you two. All I can is promise that I’m going to give it my best shot, and for the first time in my life, marriage seems like a reward instead of a burden. And that’s because of her.”
“Okay,” she said after exchanging a quick glance with Alex, but without waiting for his input. “Let’s have a prenup prepared, then. Something fair that protects both of you.”
Alex looked like he wanted to argue, but Jane shot him a look that shut that down immediately. In the end, he just nodded. “Fine. I’ll get that rolling.”
“Just like that?” I asked.
He blew out a deep breath. “Yeah, man. Just like that. As long as you’re sure you’re not rushing into anything you don’t actually know if you want.”
“I do want this,” I said confidently, grabbing my jacket with my brain already switching gears. “Okay, then. I’m going to head out. I’ll see you all soon.”
There was something else I needed to do. Someone I needed her to meet.
Alex frowned. “We’re not finished.”
“Yeah, we are,” I said. “For now.”
Jane gave me a small, knowing smile. “Don’t screw it up.”
“Sure thing.” I smirked. “It’s going to be fun to try something new for a change.”
As I spun and headed for the door, I was already pulling out my phone. Because if this was real, then I had to know that I was doing it right.