Walking into Jake’s apartment, I suddenly feel… out of place. I expected it to be fancy. I’ve gotten used to living my father’s lavish lifestyle. But Jake’s wealth is unlike anything even I’ve experienced. “I’m almost too scared to touch anything.”
“Why?” Jake asks.
“What if I break something?” I pick up a crystal vase. It looks very intricate. “How much is this worth?”
“About eighty grand,” Jake says.
My eyes bug out of my head as I very gently place it back down again. “Who the hell spends eighty grand on a vase? One you clearly have never even had flowers in.”
“Weare the type of people who spend eighty grand on a vase, Jazzy. Get used to it. And I don’t care if you break anything.”
“I care. I’m not… wasteful,” I tell him.
“You act like a pauper, when you’ve been a literal millionaire since you were six,” Jake tells me.
“I’m aware. Don’t laugh at me,” I scold him.
“Baby, I’m not laughing. I just… You’ve known me my entire life. You’ve always known we had money and never cared before. Why now?”
“Because I wasn’t your girlfriend before. I don’t want you or anyone else to think I’m just trying to snag myself a billionaireto have billionaire heirs with.”
“I have never thought you were friends with me because of my money, Jazzy. We were six when we became best friends. We didn’t even know the extent of what money could do at that age,” Jake says.
He’s wrong, though. I did. I could see the difference in how my dad lived, how I lived with my dad compared to how I lived with my mom. She tried her best, and she loved me. So much. If she hadn’t died, I would have been happy growing up with her—although I wouldn’t want to not meet my dad.
She was so young when she died…
“My mom was younger than I am now when she died,” I blurt out, the reality of it hitting me.
“Uh-huh.” Jake nods his head.
“What if…What if I’m going to have the same fate? We don’t even have kids yet. Maybe we should just have them now, so you won’t be left alone,” I tell him.
Jake smiles a little. “That’s not a reason to have kids, Jazzy. And you’re not dying.”
“It snuck up on my mom too. She wasn’t sick for that long,” I say, not that I remember. She had cancer and couldn’t afford the treatment. But I didn’t find that out until later, when my dad looked into it. “She had breast cancer. I could get it too.”
“I’ll give you breast exams every day.” He smirks. “And if anything like that ever happens, we have the best doctors in the world at our disposal, baby. Your mother didn’t have that option.”
“I know. I just… If I do die, you’re probably going to be sad and I think having a kid will make you less sad. A little mixture of you and me.”
“Still not a reason to bring a kid into the world. And nothing would take away the grief of losing you. Nothing.”
“I’m sorry. I’m ruining the moment.” I shake my head. “Okay, give me the tour of your apartment.”
“Ourapartment,” Jake corrects, interlocking our fingers as he starts guiding me farther into the open living room. “Just so you know, if you ever want to have a child because you want to raise a family with me, I will impregnate you right then and there. I want kids with you, Jazzy. I want them for the right reasons.”
“So do I. But I would like to be married first.”
“This is Vegas. We could be married within hours.”
My eyes bug out of my head for a second time. “I used to daydream about our wedding, you know. When we were teenagers. I had it all planned out in my mind.”
“Yeah? What did it entail?”
“My dad walking me down the aisle. I would wear a huge princess-style gown.” I smile.
“I want you to have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of. Youwillhave it. Are we talking spring? Summer? Maybe a fall wedding?”