Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
I parked in front of my townhouse and stared at the empty spot where Gerry’s car wasn’t. Maria jumped out of the minivan she was driving, speaking fast and waving her hands around. I blinked. Bluetooth earbuds, dummy.
Fumbling with my keys, I got to the front door and unlocked it.
“Pippa says yes,” Maria said. “You’re part of the family now—required to gain ten pounds by next week. Big dinner tomorrow at five.”
I gaped at her. “What? But they haven’t met me.”
Maria shrugged. “I told her you’re leaving a bad man.” She put her hands up. “That’s it. All I said, I promise. Focus—now we raid. How much of this stuff is yours?”
“All of it.” I glanced around, my chest cracking open. My cushy sofa set, glass coffee table, and oak dining set couldn’t come with me.
“Clothing first?”
I nodded. My professional wardrobe took up all the space in my car and spilled into Maria’s minivan. I grabbed jewelry, electronics, the expensive coffee maker, photos, and my framed picture of Earhart’s plane.
“Don’t worry,” Maria panted, bent over with her hands on her knees next to the cars. “We’ll be back. Come on, my gut says we should leave.”
I hightailed it out of there, my pulse drumming a staccato rhythm. We passed Gerry’s car, I thought, a few blocks from the townhouse. I exhaled.
A middle-aged woman with glasses and short, wavy caramel brown hair feathered around her face stood in the driveway at Maria’s house.
“Kelsey, this is Pippa,” Maria said as we met in front of the garage. She put her arm around her stepmother and kissed her cheek.
“Mrs. Adamos, thank you,” I said, putting my hands on my cheeks. “I hardly know what to say—this is unbelievably generous. I’m happy to pay?—”
“No.” Pippa shook her head. “You’re welcome.” She pulled me in for a quick hug. “Call me Pippa, everyone does.”
“Thank you.” My smile wobbled as my eyes watered.
She raised her chin and looked me over. “I can tell you will be no trouble. Yes, this is good. And you will keep an eye on our Maria for us. She needs a lot going on, or she gets sad.”
Maria rolled her eyes. “Come on. Let’s go see your room.”
Pippa opened a locked gate and led me down a path to a massive raised deck that spanned the back of the house. Close to the stairs were French doors that opened into a guest suite.
The large space was decorated in shades of taupe and warm gray. A full-sized bed was on one side and a gas fireplace on the other, with a flat-screen television mounted over the mantel. I gasped my appreciation, taking my shoes off before entering.
“Your own bathroom,” Maria said, pointing at the door. “Unless my brothers are here. You’ll have a key to this door and my apartment so you can use my kitchen and laundry.”
“Thank you,” I blubbered, blinking hard.
“You’re welcome in the big house, too,” Pippa said, patting my back.
Behind Pippa’s back, Maria shook her head slightly. “Daddy’s territorial about his kitchen. He’s golfing. You’ll meet him tomorrow.”
I trekked back and forth to my car, stumbling more than once, not really believing my luck. You don’t deserve this repeated in my head like a litany.
Maria insisted on taking me out to dinner at a dressy place downtown. “Live music,” she said, grinning at me.
I pressed my lips together—I’d had about four hours of sleep the night before. Maria was already closing the deck door of my new bedroom.
When we left, she wouldn’t let me drive, insisting on ordering us a ride. “Tonight, you forget. You’re gorgeous in that black dress and your tan trench. Autumn is meeting us. Phoebe, too.”
What had become one of the longest days of my life ended in a swanky rooftop restaurant. I picked at tapas plates and tried not to drag down the conversation. Maria laughed with Pheobe and made friends with anyone who glanced her way.
Phoebe and Autumn were core Thursday meetup friends. Phoebe called our weekly meetup ‘holiday thirstday.’ Like Maria, they ate out often, and the three of them spent a lot of time together out on the town.
Arriving as our starter plates were cleared away, Autumn slid into the open chair beside me. She was dressed in a red wool pantsuit, her layered and highlighted blonde bob shining. “Guess who just sold a house. This girl. Damn, I love making money. Don’t let me drink too much—I’m excited.”
I nodded, smiling.
“Hey,” Autumn said, waiting until I glanced up and met her eyes. “You alright?”
“Sorry.” I fiddled with my necklace. “I’m a little off.”
Autumn jerked her head forward. “Well? What happened?”
There wasn’t any help for it—not telling Autumn would imply I didn’t trust her. Everyone would know soon enough. “I’ve left Gerry.”
Autumn wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me into her side. “Dang. I’m sorry that didn’t work out.”
“Thanks,” I said, praying she wouldn’t ask more questions.
The server arrived. My shoulders dropped a couple of inches as Autumn turned her sharp gaze away from me. Out of nowhere, everything that had happened hit me like a punch. I flinched and knew I had to move.
“Excuse me,” I choked. I stood up and slid between the chairs of my friends and the other diners, the edges of the room seeming to close in around me and the babble of voices echoing in my head. My chest was tightening. I couldn’t get in a full breath. Damn it—not now.
I walked toward the restroom in the lobby outside the restaurant, trying not to stagger, then veered off to an empty alcove.
“Oh no,” I whispered, shoving my hand against my chest. There was a pair of chairs, and I slumped onto one of them.
The whirlwind in my head had me in its grip. I tried to blow out my breath slowly. You’re alone , the snake-like voice in my head hissed. You’ll never make it. Useless worm…
A throat cleared behind me. Male.
My eyes snapped open, and my back straightened. Heat crept up my neck. I glanced behind me—and my breath caught.
He was tall and dark-haired, wearing a fitted navy suit. His facial hair was grown in just enough to be an attractive shadow, emphasizing his chiseled jaw and sharp cheekbones. My cheeks flamed as his eyes seemed to caress down my body.
“You dropped this.” He held up my silver bluebird charm that hung from my purse. “When you left the restaurant.”
“Thank you,” I wheezed, lightheaded and struggling to meet his gaze—it was mortifying to be caught like this.
Instead of handing it to me, he sat in the chair beside mine. “Is it a Stellar Blue Jay?”
“Yes, it is.” I panted a little, my heart beating too fast under my hand. Run into the bathroom like a coward, why don’t you?
He fingered the charm, sitting back and crossing his legs. “Why a Blue Jay charm?”
I pulled at the skirt of my dress. I could smell his woodsy cologne. Our legs were nearly touching. “Well, I like them.” You’re so pathetic—can’t you manage to speak to an attractive man? “I’m…a birder.”
The edges of his mouth turned up slightly. “This is a good place for it, I understand.”
“Yes.”
Our eyes met, and I held my breath. There were faint lines at the corners of his faceted brown eyes. He was probably closer to forty than thirty. My skin tingled, and my heart beat loudly in my ears. My belly clenched, dropping and fluttering like I’d dreamed of stepping off a cliff. It was one of the strangest moments of my life—as if I’d found water in a desert—staring into his serious face.
He took a deep breath, and then I did. “Are you feeling better?”
I blinked. The panic attack was gone. “I am. Um, thanks.”
“My pleasure.” He held the Blue Jay charm out to me at last.
Our fingers touched, and a jolt of tingling awareness shot into me. I pulled my hand away fast. God, I’m embarrassing.
He stood up. “My aunt is waiting at our table. Keep breathing, bluebird.”
I watched him walk away until he disappeared through the restaurant doors.