The man that stood before me looked just like Heidi. A relative, perhaps. I studied his face, taking in his dark eyes, defined cheekbones, and full lips. He wasn’t the typical sort of handsome, but he was still quite attractive in his own right.

“Lela?” I asked, turning toward my friend, wondering what was going on. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to attend Heidi’s wake – or rather, I had made an excuse so I wouldn’t have to see her dead body.

I shuddered at the thought of it. She had died right before our planned dinner. When I’d reached her home, it had been swarmed by emergency services. Yet when her obituary had come out in the newspaper, it had said she’d suffered from a heart complication. Why, then, had so many police cars swarmed her house? I had my doubts; I thought that there was something else brewing under the surface, but I wasn’t about to start digging around with her death still so… fresh.

“Right. You’ve never met Hunter, have you?” Lela placed the young boy on the ground. “He’s Heidi’s son.”

I squatted down and smiled at the blue-eyed boy. He looked so different from his mother. His skin was fairer; his hair soft and blond.

“Took after his father.”

I looked around, but there was no one here that resembled the boy. “He didn’t show up, did he?”

“No. He disappeared the moment Heidi had him.” Lela shook her head in disgust. “I tried telling her that he was a pig, but she wouldn’t listen to me.”

“So, who’s going to take care of him?” I asked, frowning at the thought of this boy growing up without parents. I knew the feeling, and I never wanted anyone to experience the painful heartbreak of being completely alone in the world.

“Her brother.” She pointed her thumb at the man still standing there, looking a tad bit awkward.

“Cruz.” He held out his hand in introduction. “I’m sorry. You two must be friends of Heidi’s.”

Lela nodded. “We are. To be fair, Hunter should be left in my custody. He didn’t even know he had an uncle until a few days ago.”

Cruz frowned. “Hey, if I had known she had a son, I would have visited… she never told me.”

“Really?” I asked, a little surprised. Heidi was a jabber mouth. If she had the chance, she could talk for hours on end.

He sighed, running his fingers through his thick, curly hair. “It’s complicated, but let’s just say that my sister and I had a falling out a few years back. We never really reconciled, and now, here we are.”

I nodded, feeling a pang of guilt well up inside of me. In a similar manner, I had lost my parents right after getting in a huge fight with them. I had stormed out of the house and stayed out all night. When I’d returned in the morning, they had been dead…

“But I think Hunter and I will get along just fine. I even made him spaghetti last night, and he really liked it, didn’t you, buddy?”

Hunter nodded, shuffling toward Cruz and hugging his leg. “It was yummy… and then he showed me how to make cool things out of paper.”

I furrowed my brows in confusion.

“Origami,” Cruz clarified.

I chuckled a bit. This well-built gentleman did not seem like the kind of person who would make paper cranes in his free time, but then again, looks could be deceiving.

Lela, however, still looked skeptical. “Okay, but if he’s ever mean to you, just tell Auntie Lela. You still remember my number, right?”

He nodded, still hiding behind Cruz’s leg.

“Do I really look like that bad of a caregiver?” Cruz asked, his expression painted in offense.

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but I don’t know you,” Lela said, her tone pointed and stern like she was dealing with one of her university students. “And all I care about is Hunter’s well-being.”

“I’m okay,” Hunter chimed in. “Cruz is really cool… I like him.”

A satisfied smirk flashed across his face. “See, what did I tell you? Me and him are going to be best buddies.” He grabbed the little boy and hoisted him onto his shoulders. His movements were fluid and effortless, as if the boy weighed nothing at all. “Anyway, are you two going to the reception?”

“It’s at my house, so, of course,” Lela answered, still giving him a hard time.

“Right. I knew that.”

“Amelia, what about you?” Lela asked.

“Yeah, I can go.”

“Why don’t you ride with Cruz, so you can keep an eye on Hunter?”

“He spent the last two days with me; I don’t understand why you’re so concerned,” Cruz protested. “But I won’t say no to a pretty woman in my car.” He winked, holding out his hand.

Lela’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say a word. She knew I could hold my own.

I bypassed his hand, following the crowd back to the parking lot. There, Cruz walked up to a brand-new BMW. The sleek black finish glimmered even in the pale sunlight. “I hope you don’t mind if he takes the front seat. I haven’t gotten a booster seat for him yet, and I feel safer with him riding with me. Besides, he makes one hell of a co-pilot.”

“Sure.”

Carefully, he picked up Hunter, placing him in the passenger seat. He playfully pretended to miss the buckle, causing Hunter to giggle with glee. Despite what had happened to his mother, he was still able to laugh and smile.

Good.

I settled myself in the backseat, my hands trailing along the soft leather. This was definitely a luxury vehicle.

Who was this man? How had Heidi never mentioned him? How had he magically materialized in London? The questions buzzed around in my head, making me a little wary. Was it wise of me to be in a car with him?