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Peach grimaced. It didn’t seem right, somehow, for somebody to admit that they loved money that much.
“But… you love money too, don’t you, Peach?” Isaac asked.
“I… well, I had fun going shopping with you. And staying in the mansion. But I also felt kind of guilty keeping everything to myself. So when I thought about setting up a pet rescue center—”
“It felt good to give something back, right?”
“Right.”
Isaac nodded. “Of course it did. You don’t think that I keep everything I earn, do you? That I don’t give to charity?”
Peach scratched her nose, even though it wasn’t itchy. “Um. No?”
“I don’t normally like to shout about this stuff. Seems a bit… gauche. But I give twenty percent of everything I make to charity. Well, more accurately, I split it between three charities.”
“You do?” Peach asked, fidgeting awkwardly. “Which, er, which three charities?”
She was half-hoping that he’d name really shitty charities and she could call him out on it, but when she thought about it, there weren’t really any shitty charities.
“I tend to rotate the charities each year, to keep it as fair as possible. This year it’s Save the Children, UNICEF, and Defenders of Wildlife.”
“Defenders of Wildlife?” asked Peach, remembering what had happened at the shopping mall. The guy that had come up to them asking for money was from the Defenders of Wildlife. “Why did you send that guy away when we were out at the mall? He was from your chosen charity! You didn’t need to be so rude to him.”
“Honestly, my PA chooses my charities,” said Isaac awkwardly. “But also… I happen to think that there’s a time and a place for asking people for money. We were just sitting down for a meal. I was pissed, if I’m being honest, at our date being interrupted. I was worried he’d ruin the moment.”
“The way you spoke to him was the only thing that ruined the moment,” Peach said.
“Point taken,” said Isaac. “And… I’m sorry. I should be more considerate. There’s a reason that charities need to ask people for money. And people make their donations in all kinds of ways. In public, in private, with their time, with their money.” He looked at Peach intently. “I want to be a better man, Peach.”
“And what does that mean to you?” Peach asked, confused. “Being a better man?”
“Something has happened to me, Peach,” Isaac said. “Well, a lot of things actually. First, we met. And we got married. And being with you has cracked me in two, you know? It’s opened me up to all kinds of new things. I feel so vulnerable, for the first time in years.”
“I feel that too,” Peach said quietly.
“Then, I lost the ranch,” Isaac continued. “The land where my parents are buried. The place I still, in my heart, call home.”
Peach felt a pang of guilt. To think that she had ever thought she might steal that from him. His rightful home.
“You know what I was thinking as I drove away from the ranch today?” Isaac said. “After my aunt told us to get off her land? I was thinking that I’d lost something huge. That I’d lostyou.”
“You were thinking about me?” Peach asked, her voice suddenly very little.
“That ranch meant everything to me,” said Isaac. “But it’s in the past now. You, Peach Trimble, are my future.”
Peach blinked at him, building up the bravery to speak her truth. “You’re a great man, Isaac. A truly brilliant, man. And I love you even more for how honest you’re being with me right now. But… I don’t know that our dreams align. I still want to set up a rescue center. It made me feel so alive when I came up with the idea. And then there’s Teddy, who’s sleeping in the car right now and it’s easy to forget that he’s part of my life, but—”
“I love Teddy,” said Isaac, without skipping a beat. “And I love you.”
Peach jumped up off the bed, as though her butt had been burned. “You can’t say that. Not if you don’t mean it.”
Isaac grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward him, down onto his lap. “Babygirl,” he said, “you have to listen to me. I love your dog. I’m having immunotherapy so I can get close to him without sneezing my ass off. And I love your pet rescue center idea too. In fact, I’m just gonna say it: I love animals. Period.”
“You… love… me?” Peach said, her brain trying to catch up. “And you… love… animals?”
Isaac stroked a lick of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Yes, darling,” he said. “Both of those things are true.”
“But… the first time you saw me… in the office with Teddy…”
