Chapter 33
JESSE
Iignored Will’s stare. It wasn’t easy since my brother had perfected the art of the silent, judgmental glare at some point while I’d gone in the opposite direction, but here we were.
“Are you going to keep brooding over there or are you going to admit I’m a genius and this is going to work?”
Will didn’t even blink. “Neither.”
“Wow. That’s supportive. I mean, like, really inspiring. It totally makes me want to open up emotionally and bleed my feelings all over the floor.”
“Please don’t,” he deadpanned. “These floors are centuries old. I don’t even know how to get blood out of them, let alone feelings.”
Across the room, Zach was hunched over a laptop in Eliza’s fancy castle, typing like his life depended on it. He suddenly grinned and interrupted me when I opened my mouth to respond. “Nate just sent through everything we need.”
I shot up from the armchair I’d been lounging in and crossed the room in two long strides to peer at the screen over his shoulder. “Please tell me that includes the documentation confirming that the dog has been handed over without a fight.”
Zach snorted. “Sadly, no personality upgrades on the part of her ex have been included.”
“That’s a shame. I was hoping for a clean sweep.”
He angled the screen toward me. “No such luck, but the rest of it is gold. It’s exactly what we needed him to find.”
I leaned in closer to scan the information, my gaze drifting across legal filings, financial records, and a neat little paper trail that made my lips curve into a wide, slow smile. “This is beautiful.”
Colin perked up on the couch. “Is it illegal beautiful or morally satisfying beautiful?”
“Yes.”
He grinned. “Hey, what do you know? That’s my favorite kind.”
Will made a low, disapproving sound at the back of his throat. “This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about.”
I didn’t look at him, still reading through the documents. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that. You disapprove of most things I do.”
“All you’re doing right now is adding fuel to the fire. It was already a volatile situation,” he said evenly. “We’re supposed to be in the middle of damage control, Jesse. You and Zach both being here right now? That’s not controlling the damage. It’s causing more.”
“It’s not,” I said, finally straightening. “We’re fixing a problem.”
“A personal one.”
I shrugged. “Those are the only ones worth fixing, right?”
Will’s gaze hardened on mine. “Not when it’s at the expense of everything else. Theo is working his ass off trying to spin the narrative back home, but here you two are, in the United fucking Kingdom, nowhere near the shitstorm.”
I lifted my chin and let some of the edge I was on slip through into my voice.
“This isn’t at the expense of anything. It doesn’t touch the company and it’s got nothing to do with the family.
Also, not for nothing, but that shitstorm you’re talking about wasn’t our fault.
It’s not our storm, man. We got dragged in, but we didn’t create it.
None of us are getting that divorce and we didn’t insist on signing the NDA either. ”
Colin looked between us like he was watching a tennis match. “Are we still talking about the dog or—”
“Yes,” Will and I said in unison.
He held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Definitely just the dog, then. Got it.”
Zach closed the laptop halfway and peered at each of us in turn. “For what it’s worth, this gives us leverage. If they try to push back, we don’t have to play nice.”
“That’s the point,” I said.
Will exhaled slowly, his eyes darting between Zach and me like he was waiting for answers. “Let’s say you win this battle, what happens then?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and shrugged. “Then we go back to Chicago.”
Will’s eyebrows swept up. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” I said, knowing I was potentially lying but holding his gaze anyway.
My twin kept looking at me for a long minute, definitely knowing I wasn’t being entirely truthful, but it looked like he couldn’t decide whether I was lying to him or to myself.
Colin cleared his throat. “So, what’s the plan? Are we emailing? Showing up dramatically? Hiring a marching band? I have a few ideas if anyone is interested.”
“Let’s hear it,” Zach said, glancing at his old friend with a smile on his lips.
It was still weird that the whole Westwood-Thayer connection had come from these two, Zach and Colin, who’d become friends years ago. If not for them, Alex wouldn’t have Jane and a whole lot of other stuff wouldn’t have happened either.
Ultimately, I might not even have gone to that wedding where I’d met Jacque, but this wasn’t the time to get philosophical, so I chuckled and shook my head instead. “No marching band. It’s a tempting idea, but no.”
“Bagpipes?” Colin tried.
Will snorted. “Absolutely not.”
He made a show of thinking some more before he snapped his fingers. “Cowbells?”
Even Zach rolled his eyes at that one. “Let’s not.”
“Fine, but you’re all boring. You have no flair.”
Will stood and straightened his jacket. “Just be smart about this. That’s all I’m asking.”
“I’m always smart.”
Zach and Colin made identical, doubtful noises, but I ignored them, focusing on my twin instead. “Did you stand up for a reason?”
He nodded. “Walk with me, would you?”
“It’s your house.” I followed him out into one of the absurdly long hallways, wondering how many war strategies had been discussed between these walls before.
Actual wars, probably, rather than our personal crusade, but still. I felt like we were in good company here. Will stopped near one of the tall windows, leaning back against the stone wall and studying me like an art student examining a painting.
“I still think this is reckless,” he said quietly.
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t be me if it wasn’t.”
“Fair enough,” he agreed, pausing for a long beat before he sighed. “How is she?”
I turned to stare out the window and slid my hands into my pockets. “I still don’t know. She’s not answering my calls.”
Will nodded like that was to be expected. “Texts?”
“Nothing.”
I felt him staring at the side of my face while I watched Little J playing with Eliza outside near the pond. “Jesse?”
“What?” I snapped. “She’s made it pretty clear where she stands. Even if we do pull this off, it still might not be enough.”
“I know,” he said calmly. “But I also know you.”
“Congratulations.”
He rolled his eyes. “Which means that I know you don’t chase things you don’t care about. What happened here, Jesse? The real story. Don’t try to feed me any of that bullshit about it being fake or manufactured for the press.”
My chest constricted. “It started out as a way to buy Alex and Nate some time after they got the news of Adeline’s divorce, but to be honest, right from the very beginning, I was using it as an excuse to spend some more time with her.”
“Right.”
“But none of that even matters now because she thinks she doesn’t belong.” I raked a hand through my hair and brought it to rest at my nape, squeezing hard. “According to her, our family will never accept her and my world will swallow her whole.”
“What do you think?”
“I think she’s wrong.”
“Then why are you standing here instead of telling her that?”
“I tried, but she wouldn’t believe me. There’s so much history, man. So much more than I thought, which is why we’re all working on this, but in the end, it’s going to be her choice to make and I just don’t know if it’s going to go my way.”
Will was quiet for a moment, watching me with that look on his face that told me he was about to say something annoyingly insightful. I braced for it, but when he finally said the words, they were so unexpected that I almost fell over.
“I’m proud of you, Jesse.”
My eyebrows shot up. Honestly, I couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d just told me he was taking up interpretive dance in his spare time. “What was that?”
“You heard me.”
“No, I heard words, but I don’t believe I got any of them right.”
His mouth twitched into a smile, but he didn’t back down. “I’m serious. Don’t take offense to a compliment.”
“I’m not taking offense,” I said. “I’m just deeply suspicious of your motives right now.”
“Do I need a motive to tell my brother that I’m proud of him?”
“Yes, you do. Because right now, this feels like a setup.”
“It’s not.”
“Are you sure?” I narrowed my eyes. “Historically, it’s unlikely that you’re actually feeling what you’re saying you are.”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying it. I never thought you’d settle down, man.”
“Fantastic.” I scoffed. “See, it was a setup. Please continue to explain how emotionally unavailable I am. It’s great for my self-esteem.”
Will sighed. “It’s just that you don’t settle down, man. You don’t have it in you. You get bored. You move on. You don’t stay where you don’t want to be.”
“Why does that sound like a flaw when you say it?”
“It’s not,” he said. “It’s just who you are. Or at least, that’s who you were, but now you’re here in England, despite everything else that’s going on, and it’s not because you have to be. It’s because you’re choosing to be.”
“Yeah. I am.”
Will smiled and playfully punched my shoulder. “You’re fighting for something.”
I groaned and folded my arms. “I’m pretty sure I’ve fought for things before.”
“Not like this.”
“You’re being very profound today. Should I be worried? They haven’t found a tumor or something, have they?”
“Nope.” That smile stayed on his face when he came to stand right next to me, looking out at Eliza and Little J playing. “You’re fighting for the one thing in the universe capable of taming the notorious Westwood rake.”
“Rake?” I scrunched up my nose. “Please don’t.”
“I’m serious,” he said. “That’s what they call it on this side of the pond. A rake. You’ve always leaned into that more than the rest of us.”
“That’s only because I’m charming.”
“It’s because you’ve always been restless.” He tilted his head, eyes finally swinging back to me. “Until now, it seems.”
“I’m not being tamed or neutered. Stop making it sound like she’s got my balls in a vise. I’m just adjusting.”
“Adjusting,” he repeated, drawing out the word and ending it on a chuckle. “Fine. You’re adjusting to being with only one woman.”
“It sounds so much worse when you say it like that. You really just need to stop talking.”
“Nah, I’m just telling the truth. You’re in love, Jesse.”
I dragged a hand over my face and blew out a harsh breath. “Wow. You really just can’t leave well enough alone.”
“Well, I can, but I’m not going to.” He turned away from the window, his expression serious when I glanced at him again. “Look, I only need you to answer one question. Are you sure about this?”
“Does that have to be the question?”
“Yes.” He held my gaze. “Is it worth all of this even if it blows up in your face?”
“Yes,” I said. “Absolutely.”
He smiled again. “I never thought I’d see the day, but I’m happy for you, Jesse. I really am, so I’m in. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?”
“It goes horribly wrong and I end up in an international prison.”
Will stared at me. “That’s not a possibility.”
“Of course, it is,” I said. “Think about it, though. The headlines alone would be worth it. ‘Westwood Brother Arrested Abroad.’ Boom. Instant distraction. Alex would love it if the media circus would focus on that instead. The pressure would be off Zach and everyone wins.”
“No one wins if you’re in prison, Jesse.”
“I don’t know,” I said thoughtfully. “I feel like I’d do well in prison. I make friends easily and I could start a book club.”
Will pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Fine. While you’re reading with your new friends in prison, where am I sending the jet?”