“That wasn’t personal back there,” Adeline said a little while later. “With Amber, I mean. She just has an intense dislike for the billionaire class and my experience with Louis didn’t help much.”
I glanced at her, my grip on the steering wheel finally easing a little. “I’m assuming there’s a story there.”
“If it helps, she thinks you’re tolerable, but she’s still a skeptic.” Adeline sighed and slid her sunglasses over her eyeswhen the sun broke through the clouds that had been hovering all morning. “You can’t really blame her, though. Her family lost everything when she was little. Many of the old-money families came after them. They were legitimate creditors, but she’s always felt like they could’ve given them a little bit of leeway.”
“Okay, but your family is one those of old-money families. Why doesn’t she have an issue withyou, then?”
I shrugged. “My grandfather eventually acquired her dad’s company, but he was good to them. He kept her dad on, at least. I think that made her feel a certain sense of loyalty toward us, but she and I have also always gotten along well. So when I offered her this gig while she was looking for a job, she didn’t hesitate.”
“What kind of job is she looking for?”
“She’s got a degree in civil engineering,” Adeline explained. “She has a job lined up in Utah in the fall, but I don’t think she would have minded staying closer to the girls. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out that way.”
I hummed my understanding, my mind already skipping to the Thayers and wondering if perhaps they had something available for her, but before I could ask, Jennifer spoke up from the backseat.
“Mommy, can we have some music?”
“Yeah.” She glanced at me. “If that’s okay with you.”
“Of course. What do they?—”
“K-Pop Demon Hunters!” both girls shouted in unison before I could even finish the question.
“Of course,” I muttered. “What else?”
I instructed the car to put on what they’d requested, and when the first song started, I somehow felt myself relaxing even more. The tune was loud and energetic but also catchy. The girls knew every word, and while I would never admit it, I knew some too, after watching the movie with them the other day.
I kept my eyes on the road but drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, suddenly less bothered about the crumbs in the brand new, half a million dollar vehicle. Bear was sleeping peacefully in the back, so far happy and unbothered by the girls.
“You like it,” Adeline said after a minute, definitely amused. “I can’t believe you actually like this song.”
I groaned and tried to wipe the smile off my face, but I was actually feeling pretty happy right about now. Despite the frequent requests for rest stops and the constantare we there yet’s,I was enjoying this a lot more than I’d thought I would.
“This isn’t so bad,” I said finally, as close as I would get to admitting out loud that I didn’t even mind the music.
Adeline smiled. “Surprisingly, it’s really not.”
In fact, it was something I could actually get used to.
CHAPTER 22
ADELINE
Within thirty seconds of walking through the front doors of Zach’s ranch house, Amber grabbed my arm and hauled me two steps to the side. Her eyes were wide as she spun me to face her, muttering under her breath, “Tell me I’m not seeing things.”
I looked around at the vaulted ceilings and exposed beams, drinking in the wide, open space that was somehow simultaneously large and cozy. “I would love to tell you that, but I think we’re both seeing it. It feels a bit like we’re in a dream, doesn’t it?”
“This is a house?” she asked.
“I think technically, it’s a ranch house.”
“It’s not. It’s acompound,” she countered. “This property is huge.”
She wasn’t wrong on that front. Unfortunately, after being stuck in a car for nearly three hours, Jennifer and Lu were racing around wildly, requiring both Amber and I to stop gaping and start chasing. Jennifer screeched when she reached a long set of glass doors that opened up to the backyard.
“Is that a pool?” she screamed.
“It has a waterfall!” Lu shrieked back.
