 To begin with the most obvious point, promises are always to some person or persons. There must be a promisee who is given by virtue of the promise an ensemble of rights and prerogatives she would otherwise not have had. But it is also important, as I shall be arguing presently is true of all transactions, that it is part of the very idea of a promise that the promisee already has some rights and prerogatives (hence some (second-personal) authority to make claims and demands) with respect to the promisor, as indeed with respect to every other person, independently of the promise. In particular, the (would be) promisee has the authority to refuse to accept a promise. A promise’s existence is conditional on its acceptance (or at least not being rejected) by the promisee. I simply cannot make a promise to you if you refuse to accept it.