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“I...what?”

“You broke my heart, but only because you loved me so much. I shouldn’t have hidden away when my parents died. I did, though. I hid away and didn’t want to talk to anyone because I was in so much pain that I couldn’t focus. Should I have done that? No. I should have talked with an emergency grief counselor and gotten my shit together. Instead, I pushed away the one person who cared about me. I pushed away you.”

She reaches for me, and I kiss her. I kiss Jessica because she’s everything to me. When I pull back, I just look at her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“And I’m sorry I spent two years hating you.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her. “I assume you read the news article.”

“About you and Kendall plotting against me together? I read it.”

“It’s all crap.”

“I’m aware.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve never even met Kendall.”

“I haven’t.”

“She’s not my favorite person.”

“Well, she’s single again. Mark, my accountant, dumped her.”

“You have an accountant named Mark?”

“We’re doing our best.”

“Is Mark, though?”

“No, actually, and that’s why I want to talk to you.”

“About?”

“I want to be with you,” I tell her.

“You do?”

“Even after all of this, I want you.”

“I want you, too,” she says. “I was really upset because I thought you adopted the dog I wanted from the shelter.”

“I adopted him to surprise you. I also bought the house to surprise you.”

“It would have been a good surprise,” she admits.

“I think I have another surprise that might be almost just as good.”

“What is it?”

“Remember how you said you wanted to buy my company?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think that offer still stands?”