That thing was a real beauty and it looked brand new, too. I’d give my front teeth just to sit in a car like that, let alone drive it.
When the driver’s door opened, I immediately averted my gaze, not wanting the owner to think I was a weirdo for staring lustily at their ride. The next thing I knew though, the sound of my name being called emanated from that direction and I looked up again.
The driver who’d emerged was a beautiful, strawberry-blonde woman, on the shorter side, but elegant and effortlessly put together in a peacoat and leather boots on her feet. She managed to make even expensive clothes like hers look comfortable.
She scanned the crowd before her eyes landed on me. She called my name again. “Raquel? Is that you? From Arizona?”
I blinked a few times in rapid succession. “Yes?”
Two little girls peered through the back window of the SUV as the woman strode toward me with a smile that looked genuine. She stopped right in front of me and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Adeline. I’m here to pick you up?”
My stomach dropped, crashing violently to the floor as a terrible thought occurred to me.Is this Theo’s family? Are they his wife and his children? Is this what else he was hiding? Why he had to come home so badly?
I lifted my gaze to the girls in the back seat. The bigger one waved, but the smaller one just stared at me so intently that it was a little disconcerting. Finally, I looked back at Adeline and stood up, slowly extending my hand. “Raquel from Arizona. It’s nice to meet you.”
“God, I’m relieved we found you.” She shook with me, then grabbed my bag without hesitating and started back toward the dirty-dream vehicle. “Theo threatened to feed the kids sugar every night for the rest of their childhoods if we didn’t come get you right away.”
Ice spread through my veins as I followed her, sort of obliged to since she had my bag, which contained my only possessions in this massive city. As I watched her carefully slide my bag into the back, I honestly wasn’t sure what to say.
My legs and my tongue suddenly seemed to be made of lead. My head swam at the thought that this stunning, elegant creature could be his wife. She spun to face me once she’d shut the trunk. Still smiling, she waved me to the passenger side of the car.
“Come on, we’ll take you home,” she said happily, pulling her phone out of her coat pocket and firing off a quick text. Once we were in the car, I was trying not to touch anything or drool visibly, but Adeline buckled up without skipping a beat, chatting as if we’d known each other for years. “You must be frozen. Theo should’ve warned you that we were in a cold snap. For heaven’s sake, I don’t understand the way men think sometimes. It’s insanity.”
She reached for a button, and the next thing I knew, blissful heat started pouring through the air vents, and the seat itself began heating my buns deliciously. Meanwhile, Adeline waved toward the girls in the back. “This is Jennifer and Lauren.”
“Lu,” the little one immediately insisted. “I’m just Lu.”
“Okay, Just Lu. I’m Raquel,” I said, twisting in my seat to offer both of them my hand. “Hi, Jennifer. It’s lovely to meet both of you.”
Jennifer returned the sentiment, but Lu just kept staring, very obviously judging me. Adeline laughed, drawing my attention back to her. “Be nice, Lu. Raquel has been throughenough today. Uncle Theo only called after she landed, which means she’s been waiting in the cold for ages. Give her a break.”
“UncleTheo?” I asked, intense relief spiraling through me. “He told me had a bunch of nieces and nephews.”
“Does he ever.” Adeline smiled. “At this rate, I’m starting to think we might as well just form a Westwood football team. I’m Zach’s wife.”
“Zach?”
“Theo’s brother,” she said slowly, then quirked an eyebrow at me. “He really has left you in the dark, hasn’t he?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I guess he has. I know all about you. I just, uh, he was fairly vague about names and details.”
“Right.” She sighed. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll take care of you and we’re going straight home, so don’t worry about freezing anymore either.”
I nodded, even though I still had no idea where home was, but I turned toward the window, realizing in that moment that being in Chicago was going to be incredibly overwhelming. Not only because of the fancy car and fancy people, but the airport alone was bigger than Quartz Pass’s Main Street area.
Buildings stretched endlessly into the sky as Adeline navigated more traffic than I’d ever seen like she didn’t even notice it. Cars filled every lane and lights flashed everywhere.
When she glanced at me again, she seemed to notice my awe. “It’s a little different from Arizona, huh?”
“Yeah.” We drove for a little while with her pointing out landmarks and acting as my unofficial tour guide, but when we turned into a quieter, more residential-looking neighborhood and she fell silent, I eventually asked the question that had been bugging me since she’d shown up at the airport instead of him. This wasn’t how grand romantic gestures were supposed to go. “So, uh, where’s Theo? Is he still working or something?”
Adeline paused for a beat, then started laughing. “Oh, Lord. Did that man not tell you anything? I’m going to wring his neck the next time I see him. He’s in Arizona.”
“What?” For a moment, I genuinely thought I’d misheard. “Arizona? What on earth is he doing there?”
She glanced at me. “Honestly? I have absolutely no idea, but we have a room made up for you at the house and he said to wait here for him while he sorts things out in Quartz Pass.”
My brain stalled as I tried to comprehend that while I’d flown to Chicago, he’d been on his way back to Arizona. We’d missed each other by twothousandmiles.
