Chapter 21
THEO
By that night, our campsite looked more like a small festival than a bonfire with friends. Throughout the day, word of the party island had spread and people from other campsites around the lake had shown up, turning it into an actual party on the shore.
The fire kept growing larger as stacks of firewood were added. A few guitars were being strummed by some of the newcomers who were apparently in a local band. I was having a great time with Avery and his friends, really fitting in now that they’d all accepted me.
I sat in a folding chair with a beer in my hand while Jared told me about all about some local legend involving gold in the lake. Nearby, some of the others were trying—and failing—to throw horseshoes. Laughter was echoing through the warm night air.
Unfortunately, getting to know these people also meant fielding questions about myself. Jared eventually exhausted the local legend and leaned back in his chair, titling his head as he looked at me. “So, what exactly do you do in Chicago that allows you to take this much time off your job?”
I shrugged. “A little bit of everything. I work for the family business, so getting the time off wasn’t that much of a problem. I just had to tell my older brother I was leaving. Keeping him off my back about going home is what’s difficult.”
Several people laughed, but one guy—either Jason or Mason—frowned. “That still doesn’t really tell us what you do for a living, though. Do you sell drugs or something?”
I snorted. “No. Why the hell would you think that?”
He gave me a one-shouldered shrug. “Usually, when people are that vague, it’s for a reason.”
“No reason here other than it isn’t all that interesting,” I said, doing my best to sound breezy and casual. “God made me the youngest brother, which means I’ve got a bit more freedom than the others to figure it out. We’re in, uh, the broader finance sector.”
The guy frowned, deep lines slashing across his forehead, but then a girl called out to him and he got up, heading over to her instead of continuing the conversation. Thankfully, the others moved on, but every so often, they asked me something about myself or my life back in Chicago.
It was easy to be honest but light on the details until a girl I’d never met before wandered over. She dropped into the lap of one of the newcomers from another campsite, smiling as she looked around.
“Hi, I’m Mara,” she said happily, cuddling into the guy who was obviously her boyfriend. “This is Mike. He did remember to tell you guys that, right?”
One by one, we leaned forward to introduce ourselves, but when my turn came, she suddenly blinked hard. “Wait a second. You look familiar.”
Fuck. That’s not a good sign.
“I have one of those faces,” I said, reaching out to shake her hand. “Theo. It’s nice to meet you, Mara.”
I prayed she’d leave it there but she spun to face me fully, squinting until she suddenly snapped her fingers. “Hey, I know who you are. You’re Theo Westwood.”
Avery glanced at her, seeming a little puzzled. He’d known my last name all along. It was on the check I’d given him weeks ago when I’d first gotten into town, but he hadn’t seemed to think anything about it until now.
“Yeah,” I said, still desperately hoping she’d just let it go, but instead, she lit up like a fucking Christmas tree when I confirmed it.
“I’ve read about you,” she gushed. “You are that Theo Westwood, right? Alex’s brother. The youngest one.”
Double fuck.
“Yep.”
She let out a legitimate squeal of delight as she clapped her hands together. “This is so cool. I love your brother, by the way, but I think I prefer your cousin.”
“Sterling?” I guessed quietly, nodding without even waiting for her to respond. “Yeah, I hear that a lot.”
Unfortunately for me and my attempt to continue flying under the radar, Alex and Sterling were both infamous at this point, and it wasn’t even only them.
Ever since they’d both attained the age of majority, the press had latched onto our family, tracking all of us throughout our adult lives like we were the Kardashians.
Only luck had gotten me this far in Quartz Pass without encountering any gossip magazine junkies, but it looked like fortune had finally abandoned me.
If this girl had favorites out of us and our cousins, it meant she devoured those very same tabloids I’d been hoping people didn’t buy in this part of the country.
“Yes!” she half-shouted as she tipped back on her boyfriend’s lap and clapped her hands again. “Sterling. God, he’s so hot. I mean, he’s old now. I know, but still hot. Is it true that he owns a castle in Europe?”
“Scotland,” I said quietly, very aware that Avery, Jared, and Luis were all now listening intently. “Yeah, it’s not as nice as you’d think. Very drafty.”
Most people around the fire seemed a little confused about why she was so excited. Nobody else jumped in with immediate, intimate knowledge of my family, but the damage was done. My identity was official out there.
After Mara turned back to Mike to whisper some explanations, a few others asked some questions. Then they fell back into other conversations. At least that part was refreshing.
My secret was out, but no one except Mara truly seemed to care. The downside was that she was now telling everyone who would listen why the Westwood family was so significant and what exactly it meant that I was part of that family.
I tuned her out after a while, glancing over at Avery to once again try to get a read on his reaction. He hadn’t said a word since she’d dropped the bomb, simply staring at me for a few seconds until he reached into a cooler and opened another beer.
Raquel stood near the water with a group of the other girls, laughing about something and thankfully unaware of the conversation she’d missed. Guilt still smacked into me as I looked at her, though.
I wasn’t even entirely sure why. It wasn’t like I’d lied to her or maliciously hidden anything, but still. The countdown was officially on.
Rising from my chair, I headed over to the folding table to mix myself a drink stronger than beer. Avery appeared beside me. He handed over a bottle of vodka and I took it, catching his gaze as I twisted open the bottle.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Sure.” He took a long sip of his beer before he turned to watch me mix my drink. “So, uh, I’ve got a question for you.”
“Uh-oh,” I joked, wondering if acting like I didn’t know what he was talking about would make this less or more awkward. “Have we finally gotten to the part where you threaten me?”
“No,” he said, the expression on his face still a little flat. “Why didn’t you mention you were loaded, Theo?”
Triple fuck.
“I’m not really that rich.”
He stared at me for several long seconds, then drained at least a fourth of his new beer before he shook his head. “No. I’m not letting you get away with not answering questions anymore.”
I laughed. “Why not? You’ve known my name all along.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t connect the dots, which is on me. I’ve heard about your family, though. Granted, I clearly don’t know as much about them as Mara, but I’m not stupid. Even I know that the Westwoods are next level.”
“The others might be, but not me,” I said easily. “My sister and I are the babies. We’re on the lower level of the so-called next level. Don’t worry.”
He let out a bark of dry laughter. “Okay, let’s say I believe you. How rich is not that rich to you?”
My first instinct was to lie. I wasn’t proud of it, but I knew these people now, and while I honestly wasn’t particularly rich according to my family or the Thayers’ standards, I knew Avery wouldn’t see it that way.
“That depends on how you look at it,” I said finally. It would be easier to lie but it wouldn’t be right.
I’d been honest with these people all along and they trusted me. I didn’t really want to give them a reason not to.
Avery groaned. “That’s not an answer either. It doesn’t depend on how you look at it.”
“Well, technically, that’s not true,” I argued lightly. “If you were to ask Alex or, God forbid, Sterling?—”
“I’m not. I’m asking you.”
I took a long sip of my drink, mentally searching for a way out of this line of questioning that didn’t involve lying or running away. Nothing came to mind. “Okay. Fine. It’s not a big deal anyway. I’m only a millionaire for now.”
For a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, he just stared at me, completely frozen. Then his eyebrows slowly hiked up. “Only?”
“Yeah. For now.”
“I don’t even know what that means.” He closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck before he looked at me again. “You do realize that’s not something normal people say, right?”
I shrugged. “It is when you’re me. I am a normal person, Avery. I’m still the same guy I was ten minutes ago.”
“Yeah. Except for the fact that I now know you have a million dollars in your bank account.”
“I have several.”
“Bank accounts?”
“Well, yeah, several bank accounts too, I guess.”
“So what you were actually referring to is that you have several million dollars?” He blew out a heavy breath. “Fucking hell. I’m not sure how to process that.”
“Several hundred million, but it’ll be billions once I get my inheritance,” I said quickly, needing to just rip the band-aid all the way off so we could stop talking about this. “There. Now you know everything.”
Avery barked out a loud laugh, obviously thinking I was joking until he looked at me again. The laughter faded instantly when his eyes met mine. “Oh. You’re serious.”
“Yeah.”
He frowned at me. “Really?”
“If I said it was a lie now, would you believe me?”
Finally, he broke eye contact to glance up at the sky. “Motherfucker. That’s a lot of money.”
“I know.”
It took a few seconds before he looked at me again. “What exactly are you doing in Arizona? You could be anywhere in the world. Madagascar. Bora Bora. Belize.”
“Those are weird choices,” I muttered. “But yeah, I guess I could be, but I figured I’d give Arizona a go.” The joke fell flat when Avery just narrowed his eyes at me. “Look, man. I don’t know what to tell you. I took a trip on the bike and it broke down here.”
“You don’t have a private jet that could’ve just come to get you?” His eyes widened when I winced in response. “You do have a private jet that could’ve come to get you. Right.”
“Yes. Well, no, not me. It’s a principle thing. My brothers and my cousins have kind of ruined it for me, if I’m being honest, but yeah. I could’ve been picked up by any of them, I guess.”
“Not having a jet is a principle thing for you?” He cussed a few more times under his breath. “That’s crazy, man. Still doesn’t explain why you’re still here, though.”
“It tells you I’m here by choice. All I know is that being here feels right.
” I didn’t add that I was essentially putting off having to marry an advantageous stranger for as long as possible.
“I like Quartz Pass, so I figured I’d wait it out until the bike is done.
That’s all there is to it. Like I said, it’s not a big deal. ”
Avery nodded slowly, but then his gaze shifted, and when I followed it, I wasn’t surprised to find him looking at his sister. Raquel was fucking breathtaking with the firelight illuminating her hair and making her skin glow, a genuine smile on her lips as she listened to one of the girls.
“I get it,” Avery said suddenly.
I looked away from her, but it was too late. I already knew he’d caught me staring. Still, I could try. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit.” He took another drink of his beer. “My sister’s cool. I know that, but she’s been through a lot.”
My heart crashed to my shoes. “Yeah. I know.”
“Do you?” he asked quietly. “I know you’ve heard about it, but do you actually know how hard it was for her? The last thing she needs is more drama, Theo. If you’re both in agreement this is just for a short but good time, then fine, but figure it out before this goes any further.”
“Yeah. I was actually talking to her about that before you nearly killed us earlier.”
“You were, huh? Why does that not surprise me?” He let out a short chuckle. “You’re probably one of the better men I’ve met, but if you break her heart, you and I are going to have a problem.”
“That’s fair,” I said without missing a beat. “I don’t want to hurt her, Avery.”
Raquel suddenly looked up like she could feel us talking about her, her eyes finding mine immediately even across the crowd. Our gazes locked and she smiled, lifting her hand in a slight wave.
It was just a simple little wave, but a stabbing pain speared my chest as I lifted my hand and waved back, the thought of never seeing her again suddenly nearly finishing me off.
A short but good time.
That was what Avery had said and he hadn’t been wrong. It was exactly what this was supposed to be, but if that was true, then why did the idea of leaving her behind feel like someone had punched a hole straight through my ribs?
And why could I not imagine leaving here and living the rest of my life without having her in it?