I make my way over to Jacob and smack him upside the head. “You have no business commenting on my love life.”
He holds up his hands to block any further hits. “Hey! I’m looking out for your interests.”
“I changed your diapers.”
“And I’ll probably be changing yours someday.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I am not that much older than you.”
“Fine. Whatever. You could’ve warned me.” His face still scrunched in revulsion, he stubs the toe of his boot into the gravel.
“Why were you coming to the laundry chalet, anyway?” It’s not exactly his favorite place.
“I was looking for you. Some guy called the office line about an overdue credit card bill?
I wince. “Yeah. There’s some stuff we need to talk about. Come on, let’s go inside.”
We tromp through the melting snow and into the house. I put the kettle on to make tea.
“Okay. What is it?” Jacob leans back against the counter. “Whatever it is, it can’t be worse than what I just witnessed.”
I grab mugs from the cupboard and set them down. “Archer has an idea that will allow us to keep the house.”
“Really?”
I turn around. “Sort of. We’d have to sell off half the ownership interest to Oliver.”
His brows lift. “Half? What does that mean?”
I grab the tea bags and sugar from the cupboard while I explain it, telling Jacob everything about the camp and how we would keep the house and live on the property but potentially help with the camp.
He scowls. “A kids’ camp? What would I do?”
I hand him his mug of tea. “Probably the same as you’ve been. But no getting drunk around the kids.”
He takes the cup and ignores the comment. Then he sets it on the counter before crossing his arms over his chest, lips pursed. “Is this what you want?”
“I don’t know. It might not even happen. But we don’t have any other options. This is the best one. If we can’t convince Oliver to accept a deal like this, we might lose everything.”
He considers that and nods. “As long as the property stays in the family and we keep the house.” He sighs. “Whatever you decide, Fin. I support you.”
“You do?”
His lips turn down. “I’m not sure if I support whatever you’re doing with Archer.”
“Jacob. I’m happy.”
“Do you love him?”
Do I? It’s too soon, isn’t it? I know I feel closer to him than I’ve ever felt to anyone else I’ve slept with, but is that love?
I have nothing to compare it to. How do you know?
“I don’t know. It’s too soon for all that. But he’s coming back next week after he closes some business deal in Florida, and I guess we’ll just wait and see.”
“Is he rich?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.” Based on what I’ve observed, he has some wealth. He owns his own business, he’s friends with Oliver the billionaire, but Archer is not ostentatious. It’s just not his style, maybe since he came from so little. Also, I don’t care. If he had nothing, I’d still want to be with him.