“The only time we’re wasting right now is out here on the road.” McKenna chewed on her nails, her knees bouncing as they zippeddown the highway. “Do you even have your foot on the accelerator right now? Every single car is passing us. See that car stalled on the side of the road? Passing us. See that buggy with the dead horse? Passing us. The faster you drive, the faster we get back the ring, the faster I leave. Don’t you want me to leave?”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted anything more,” Nate mumbled, his eyes focused straight ahead of him and off the bouncing knees attached to a pair of legs longer than any pair of legs had a right to be.
“Then drive faster.”
“There’s laws and limits, you know.” Nate turned the air conditioning up higher. How was she here? How was this beautiful gorgeous bonkers woman here right now? “Besides, the airport said they’d call me as soon as they have any information about my luggage. They haven’t called, which means—”
“Which means somebody wrote down your phone number on a sticky note that’s stuck to the bottom of somebody’s shoe. They’re not going to make this a top priority unless we make them make it a top priority, if you know what I’m saying.”
“I wouldn’t recommend using that tone when you approach the airline workers here. You don’t know them like I do.”
She pounded her fist in the palm of her other hand. “I’m gonna make ’em talk, I’m gonna make ’em squawk, I’m gonna make ’em sing.”
“Please don’t do that. Any of that.”
“How do they lose a carry-on? What are they, magicians? Well, guess what, little airline Houdinis. I’m going to abracadabrayouif you can’t tell me where that ring is.”
“I’m not bailing you out of jail, just so we’re clear.”
“Oh, I’ll be the one doing the bailing if you know what I’m saying.”
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
They pulled into the airport’s tiny parking lot.
“What’s this? Why’d you stop? I thought we were going to the airport,” McKenna said, unbuckling her seat belt.
“We are. We’re here.”
“How are we here? This isn’t an airport. It’s a sandlot for toddlers.”
“It’s a little small. They’re still under construction.”
“Small? This whole place could fit inside the engagement ring.”
“Maybe you should wait here.”
“Oh no. I’m going in. I’m making them look me in the eye when they answer for what they’ve done.”
“Technically I don’t think it was their fault. Pretty sure it was a flight attendant who somehow sent it on the wrong flight.”
“Stop showing weakness. This is a priceless ring we’re talking about. The last thing we need to do is enable their ineptitude.” Her phone buzzed.
“You ever going to answer that?” It’d been buzzing the entire drive to the airport.
“Not until I have the ring in my hand.”
Glass doors slid open as they shuffled inside. McKenna pointed. “That one. That guy over there. He looks like a man with answers.”
“Because he’s wearing a suit?”
“Because he has his luggage. He obviously knows how to work the system better than we do.”
“Listen.” Nate wrapped his hand around her elbow and swung her around to face him. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” he said, moving his hands to her shoulders, “but you’re loony bins right now.”
“I’m not—”
“You are. From the moment I’ve met you, you’ve been a little kooky. But right now, you’re completely unhinged. Please let me handle the talking.”
