Jesse looked round sharply and the look in his eyes pinned me to the seat.
‘Believe me, I’m not interested! I was just making conversation.’
‘It’s up to you if you’re interested. And no, he’s not.’
I rested my hand on Jesse’s forearm. His fingers had tightened on the steering wheel at my question. ‘I’m definitely not interested.’
I saw his Adam’s apple bob. ‘Like I said, not my business.’
‘But I’m saying it anyway.’
‘OK.’
Silence drifted around us and not an entirely comfortable one.
‘So he basically still lives at home with his mummy?’
Jesse’s laugh broke through the awkwardness. ‘Yes, I guess he does when you put it like that.’
‘Always a bonus for a prospective partner.’ I rolled my eyes and mimed waving a tiny banner. ‘Red flag.’
He laughed again and I basked in the sound, happy that the silence and the strangeness had dissipated.
‘I’m not sure it’s the same in the higher echelons of society? Although… sorry. That was probably out of line.’
‘No need to apologise. I’m far from there these days but I suppose, like most things, it depends on the person. Even if I’d not had either of my falls from grace, that wouldn’t have appealed to me. I mean, I’m sure they’re lovely but…’
Jesse shot me a look.
‘I’m trying to be polite.’
‘Let’s just say good old Magnus is a real chip off the block.’
‘Ahh.’
We pulled up on the drive and Jesse switched off the engine as the automatic gate closed behind us. The rain pattered on the roof and windows of the vehicle and the view quickly became distorted through the droplets running down the glass.
‘Any particular reason you two don’t like each other?’
‘His friends killed my wife then hired expensive barristers to try and get away with it.’
15
Jesse exited the pick-up and the sound of the door swinging closed jolted me out of my shock. I snapped my jaw shut and went to open my door but Jesse was already there, holding out a hand to help me step down. He knew I didn’t need assistance, which was what made it all the more special. And right now, I was grateful for it as my brain was still busy trying to process what he’d just said.
We hurried to the front door and Jesse grabbed a package from the parcel box beside the porch before following me in. I felt around for the stair and sat down to pull off my boots. I stood and Jesse looked down at me. ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have just landed that on you like that.’
‘I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.’
‘It’s fine. I shouldn’t have said anything.’
I grabbed his arm. ‘Jesse! Of course you should. I want to understand you. I…’ I cleared my throat. ‘I care about you. Something as important, as huge, as that? Then of course I want to know. To try and understand. But only if you want to tell me.’
I followed as Jesse turned and walked into the kitchen, placed the keys down in a dark-green glass bowl that stood on the dresser, put the parcel alongside then took a deep breath.
‘Alice was driving back from the next village after meeting an old school friend for dinner. I’d offered to take her and bring her back so that she could have a drink but she insisted. She didn’t want to drink as we were planning to head off early for a weekend away in the Cotswolds the following day anyway. So I said OK, kissed her goodbye and that was the last time I saw her alive.’
‘Jesse…’
