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“What?” She didn’t look like she was open to letting him put conditions on anything, but he wasn’t going to back down.
He squeezed her hand. “Becca,” he said her name in the same stern tone he’d used with her on the plane, hoping to make her smile.
She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. “That’s not fair!”
He laughed. “Perhaps not, but since I’m trying to do something to help you, I’m doing it anyway. I’ll let the matter of your financial situation drop if you promise me that you’ll take the Range Rover. You can use it for as long as you need it – until you figure something else out.”
She pursed her lips, and Jacob had to focus his attention back on the road while he waited for her to speak.
He was relieved when she said, “Okay. Thank you.”
“Great. As soon as we get back to the house, I’ll get you put on the insurance.”
“Oh.”
“What?”
“I didn’t think. Putting me on the insurance won’t be cheap. I …”
He shot her a stern glance. “Do I look like I’m worried about that?”
“No.”
“Okay. Then please, let me do it?”
She was silent for a long few moments.
“If you’d rather, we can just go to the dealership, and I’ll buy you a new car.”
“What?!”
He laughed. “You heard me. If it were up to me, that’s exactly what I’d do. But I’m trying to be respectful of what you want. Letting you use the Range Rover and putting you on the insurance feels like a big deal to you, but to me, it doesn’t feel like I’m doing enough. So, please let me?”
“Okay. Thank you.”
He squeezed her hand. “Thank you. And now that we’ve sorted that out, what do you want to do? Do you want to come back to the house? Want to see Fred?”
She made a face. “Yes. And thank you for putting him in your garage. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with him now. I don’t know what happens when a car dies. I feel like I should do something. Do they come and take them away for scrap?” She sounded a bit too eager when she added, “Do they pay you anything when you scrap them?”
He got the impression that her financial situation might be even worse than he’d suspected. “I don’t know. I guess we can call around and find out.” He was seriously considering getting someone to come and take the car away after she’d gone and then giving her as much as he thought he could get away with – and telling her it was the going rate for scrap metal.
She took her phone out of her purse and frowned as she checked it. “Would you mind if we stop by the school on the way to your house?”
“Not at all. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, it’s fine. It’s just that one of my colleagues wants to get some things out of my store cupboard. I did leave a spare key with the office, but they can’t find it.”
Jacob pulled into the parking lot at the school a few minutes later.
“Thank you. Sorry about this. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Take your time.” He smiled. “I’ve got all day.” It tickled him that that was the truth. He’d finished early yesterday afternoon so that he could go and collect her from Oakland. He’d told his assistant, Will, a week ago – as soon as he and Becca had arranged their coffee date – to keep his schedule clear this morning. And last night, he’d called him and asked him to clear the rest of the day as well. He didn’t know if Becca would want to spend the whole day with him, but he was hoping.
She smiled at him and pulled her purse strap over her shoulder as she got out. Something rattled as she closed the passenger door behind her, but he didn’t know what it was.
He took his phone out; he might as well check in with Will while he waited. He frowned when the sound of a ringtone rang out. It wasn’t his phone. He looked over at the passenger seat. It sounded like it was coming from over there.
He got out and went around to the other side of the SUV. He opened the passenger door cautiously, thinking that Becca’s phone must have slid down between the seat and the door. He was right. He managed to catch it before it fell out.
