"I've got something for you." Joe handed Rebecca a bundle of papers.
"Is it a pre-wedding present?" Rebecca smiled.
"Sort of. It's a prenuptial agreement." Joe looked uncomfortable. "Nothing major, it just says that we both leave the marriage with what we have…"
"If we split up, you mean." Rebecca sunk down at the kitchen table.
"It's just a formality." Joe sat down beside her. "We're both millionaires, so I know you're not marrying me for my cash. It's to protect you as much as me. Have your lawyer look over it before you sign."
"What if I don't sign?" Rebecca looked at him defiantly.
"Then I'll respect that, but I'd feel better if you did. Dad and Charity didn't have one, and look what happened there."
"So you're planning to poison yourself and frame me for murder?" Rebecca winced. "Sorry, lack of filter."
"It's up to you." Joe reached out, covering her hand with his own. "I don't want anyone — Robert, say — to think I'm marrying you for any ulterior motive."
"Who cares what Robert thinks?"
"You could look at it as a romantic gesture," Joe offered. "It proves neither of us care about each other's money."
"Yeah, it's really romantic, planning what will happen if we split up." Rebecca stood up, throwing the papers down. Joe sighed as she stormed out.
…
"He said what?" Victoria gaped at Rebecca as they chatted in the pub at lunchtime.
"He said it was to protect us both. That it proves neither of us cares about money."
"Unbelievable. Mind you, he is a Tate," Victoria reflected.
"And I will be too. I thought he would see that." Rebecca sighed.
"You don't suppose... I mean I know nothing about him now, but when we were kids, I remember the Tates were like... well, royalty. My dad really didn't get on with Joe's dad or his Grandad."
"So what are you saying?"
"Maybe this is just something they do? I don't know, some kind of weird tradition?" Victoria suggested to a bemused Rebecca.
"Maybe." Rebecca sipped her drink, looking defeated.
"Do you love him, that's the question?"
"Of course I do, it's just... it just seemed so... odd."
"Hmm. Well, like I said, the Tates were sort of like that. So what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know. I really love him, Vic. I want him. I want our little family..."
"But..."
"Well, how can I trust him if he doesn't trust me?"
"So that's what this is about." Victoria nodded. "You don't think he trusts you?"
"Well, why would we need a prenup if he did?"
Victoria frowned, looking across at Eric.
"Leave it with me," she insisted. She crossed the pub to speak to him.
"Hi, Eric."
"Ah, what can I do for you, young lady?"
"It's not for me, right. It's actually about Joe."
"And by that you mean Joseph Tate?"
"Yeah. He's engaged to Rebecca. But he did this really weird thing this morning and suggested a prenup."
Eric laughed.
"Well, that's hardly surprising." He chortled. "The Tates always wanted to hold on to their money. I don't doubt that they've resorted to such measures to protect their interests."
"Rebecca's upset. She thinks Joe doesn't trust her."
"I should be more concerned that she is considering a notorious rogue like Joseph Tate to be a suitable husband."
"But have you heard owt like it before? You know, like when Kim was around?"
"Kim? It's been a while since that name was heard in this village, but yes, if there was money to be made, you can bet she would have had it in place."
"That's what I thought. Thanks, Eric." She nodded, returning to Rebecca.
"He thinks the same. It's a Tate thing," she advised her friend. Rebecca glanced at him.
"And that's your best advice?"
"Eric's known them years. Trust me, if anyone knows, he does."
"I hope you're right."
…
When Rebecca arrived back at Home Farm, Joe walked into the kitchen at the same time as she entered through the back door. "Hey," he greeted her, sounding like he had the first time he found her at Home Farm.
"Hi." She sat down at the kitchen table and he joined her.
"I've been thinking, about this prenup business…"
"So have I," Rebecca interrupted. "And look, I get it, okay? Your father had three failed marriages. Of course you want to protect yourself. So… I'll sign whatever you want. I don't care. I just want us to get married. The formalities don't matter."
"Thank you." Joe reached for her hands. "But, no thanks," he added after a moment.
"What?"
"I'm not my father. I was being an idiot earlier. We don't need a prenup."
"Are you sure? I really don't mind…"
"I know. And it would only be for practical reasons. But, I don't want a practical arrangement. I want a marriage. For better, for worse."
"In sickness and in health." Rebecca smiled, tears pricking her eyes. "I love you, Mr Tate."
"And I love you, soon-to-be Mrs Tate."
…
A/N: This story overlaps with Second Chances. Chapters 1–8 of that story are next in chronological order.