“You had to.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I should’ve done it. I’ve been miserable ever since I got back. I couldn’t even bring myself to say your name, and then I went on this date and?—”
I groaned. “I don’t think I want to hear this part.”
The corners of those gorgeous green eyes crinkled. “Trust me, you do. She was actually pretty cool, and also head over heels in love with someone else, but she made me realize I was done with letting other people dictate what my life should look like.”
“She did?”
“Yeah, and my life has been completely empty without you in it, Raquel. I kept looking for you in rooms you weren’t in, the only person I wanted to talk to not even there.” His voice cracked a little. “I thought I was doing the right thing, but I wasn’t. I know that now.” He let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “I was just scared.”
I blinked rapidly at the admission, unable to process the fact that Theo Westwood, the man who’d ridden a motorcycle across the country completely alone, could’ve been scared. Especially since he came from a family who literally moved billions of dollars around before breakfast. I’d heard Zach on the phone this morning. It was crazy.
“You were scared?” I asked softly.
He shrugged, those green eyes suddenly blazing with determination as they held mine. “Yeah, but I talked to Alex before I came here and I’m not scared anymore.”
“What did he say? He didn’t look happy last night when he met me.”
“That’s a whole other conversation, but we can have it later,” he said firmly, sliding his hands down into mine and squeezingmy fingers. “I told him that I’m doing this regardless of what tradition says. I told him I wasn’t walking away from you, or the shop, or Quartz Pass. We’ll make our own traditions from now on.”
The conviction in his voice left no room for doubt about how serious he was about this. Theo wasn’t hiding anymore. He wasn’t falling in line with what his family wanted, and if it meant having to lose them, he seemed strangely okay with it.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t, but none of that matters if you don’t want this anymore,” he said, brushing a thumb under my eyes when a tear unexpectedly leaked over. “It’s up to you, Raquel.”
I looked back up at him, letting go of his hands to take his face in mine. “I missed you. I tried to stop, but I can’t.”
As I said it, his eyes slid shut and his forehead dropped against mine. “I missed you too, baby.”
The ache that’d been living in my chest for so long finally stopped when he sealed his lips over mine, holding me like he would never let me go. Theo was here, and for the first time since I’d met him, it didn’t feel like he already had one foot out the door.
CHAPTER 45
THEO
While I would’ve loved nothing more than to take Raquel up to my room and bury myself inside her for several days, I brought her out to show her around instead. She wasn’t a city girl, but she took the sights in stride, just holding on to my hand and marveling at everything instead of seeming overwhelmed or intimidated by it.
“That guy sounds upset,” she said as a taxi driver laid on his horn. “What do you think happened?”
“Oh, nothing,” I replied easily, tugging her even closer to my side. “That’s just how people say hello around here.”
She snorted. “How friendly.”
I chuckled but then pointed at the Westwood and Sons building glowing against the skyline when we rounded the next corner. “Do you see that monstrosity?”
“It’s hard to miss.” I felt her glancing up at me. “Please tell me that’s not yours.”
“Well, I mean, it’s notmine, but it is ours. That’s our HQ. It’s my version of the shop, so to speak. That’s where I grew up.”
Her footsteps slowed as she peered up at it. Her jaw slackened before she shook her head. Then she bumped her shoulder playfully into mine. “Holy fuck, Theo. You made itsound like you could relate to us about the family business thing.”
“I can,” I protested laughingly. “Our building is just a bit more pretentious.”
She groaned. “It’s just a bitmore, full stop. You actually really work there?”
I shrugged. “Worked. But that’s a conversation for later.”
