Without a Hitch(55)

“I’m sorry I hung up on you.” His voice is quiet but still commanding. An apology is not what I expected from him, and I sit upright, wondering if I heard him correctly.

“What?”

A disgruntled growl comes through the speaker, making me smile.

“I said…” He inhales deeply. “That I’m sorry for hanging up on you. I can’t seem to control myself around you, Pepper, and I—I mean, Tilly. Why did you tell me your name was Abby? I hate that name, by the way. It’s not right for you, but Tilly? I like that name.”

“It’s, ah, a long story.”

“Cancel your date and tell me about it.” His voice is strained like he’s struggling to compose himself.

“I can’t do that, Lochlan.”

“Why?” There’s a shuffling sound, and I picture him pacing.

“Because I made a commitment, and I follow through on my commitments.”

“Commit to me.” He sounds frazzled.

“Do you even realize what you just said?”

“I do. I’m not afraid of commitment, no matter what you think. I’m asking you to get to know me.

Spend time with me and see for yourself.”

“Why, Lochlan?” I blow out a harsh breath like the words are more than I can carry. “New York was, well, it was amazing, but it also made me sad. I’m not someone who can have a nostrings relationship with someone I know there’s no future with.”

“Please.”

He doesn’t say anything else. It throws me. I expect him to bark orders, command me to meet him.

Force my hand in some way. Instead, he pleads.

“Lochlan.” I sigh, glancing around my room to stall for time. “Thank you for the shoes.”

“Meet me for breakfast,” he counters. “Just breakfast, and we’ll talk.”

“Did you hear me say thank you?”

“How is nine a.m.? Do you have any allergies?”

“You’re infuriating—you realize this, right?”

“Nova tells me daily.”

“Did you just roll your eyes, lover? Because I swear I could hear it through the phone.”

His deep, throaty chuckle raises goosebumps on my skin. If I’m honest with myself, it scares me that he can affect me so effortlessly.

“Nine a.m., Tilly. My suite. Or I will find you.” Just when I think he’s about to hang up on me again, he adds, “My IT guy unlocked your phone with a special machine that he has. Don’t fuck your date tonight. Good-bye.”

And just like that, he’s gone. What the hell just happened?

Scrambling from the bed, I grab my MacBook and fumble with the keys until I get FaceTime open to call the girls.

Hadley is the first to accept the call. “Hey! How’s Boston?”

I shake my head and hold up a finger. “We need everyone on for this. I’ll be right back.” I rush to the minibar for ginger ale. Grey Goose sounds good too, but I have to babysit.

Chimes break the silence in my room. They indicate that Eli and Delaney have entered the chat.

“What’s going on?” Eli asks. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know. She just said she’d be right back.”

“Till? Are you okay?” Delaney asks.

Picking up the MacBook, I set it on the table in front of me and see my face for the first time. I’m a little ashen, and if my eyes get any bigger, they may actually fall out of my head.

“Whoa! What happened to you?”

“Blaine,” I croak. “He’s here. But he’s not Blaine, he’s Colton’s best friend, Lochlan Blaine. He has my phone and won’t give it back unless I meet him for breakfast. I lied and told him I have a date tonight, and he practically begged me to ‘get to know him.’” It comes out in a rush, and my lungs burn with the need for more air. “He doesn’t believe in love,” I nearly whimper.

“He said that? Those words exactly?”

“I told you about the library and the art pieces he showed me.”

“Okay, just to play devil’s advocate here…” Hadley’s face takes over my screen. “That shows us he doesn’t believe in marriage. Maybe his parents are miserable. Maybe he’s been married, and it ended badly. There are a lot of reasons people are turned off by the idea of marriage. That doesn’t mean they don’t believe in love.”

“I think he said something similar,” I admit.

“Marriage is a deal-breaker for you,” Delaney says gently.

My eyes fill with hot tears as I nod my head.

“You like him though.” Eli leans into the screen. “You’re upset.”

“I do like him.” The truth hurts. “But the only things I know about him are he’s phenomenal in bed and doesn’t believe in marriage. I’m twenty-eight years old. I can’t waste time with someone that doesn’t want the same future. Right?”

“You’re twenty-eight, not fifty-eight. Good lord, Till. You act like you have to marry someone tomorrow.”

“But spending time with him puts your heart in danger,” Delaney guesses.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, sis. You’ve always fallen fast and hard.”