Without a Hitch(88)

“And all the events? The weddings? I investigated the venues last week. There are eight high-profile weddings happening during the two months it will take to transfer ownership to a new holder.

Then there are a few smaller events—I’m assuming not too many because it will already be post-wedding season. You still want to fuck over all those innocent people?”

“It’s not personal, and I’m taking care of the employees,” I mutter, but Tilly’s face is all I can see.

How she glows when she’s at these soul-shattering events.

“I know, but…”

“Give them the option to move to my hotels.” The words don’t taste as bitter coming out of my mouth as I thought they would.

“Loch?”

“Honor their contracts at my hotels. If they don’t accept that offer, they’ll get a full refund.”

“From who?”

“I’ll eat the loss.”

“Dude, are you feeling okay? Who will manage these events? It’s not like it’s in your wheelhouse, and without Christine, you’ll—”

“Without Christine, I will fucking soar. Tilly Camden’s company has exclusive access to my hotels. Forward them her contact information, and she’ll take over the second that fucker signs his life away.”

“Is Tilly responsible for that shirt?” He smirks.

I scrub a hand over the scruff on my jaw so I don’t curse him out. “She was.”

“Was?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Is she also why you look like your heart was put through a wood chipper?”

“I do not.”

“Have you looked in the mirror, Loch?”

“I didn’t call to talk about my feelings.”

“And yet you need to. Why is she in the past?”

“She’s a goddamn wedding planner.” Blake stares blankly, and I know this asshole will wait me out, so I continue. “Everything is so bloody magical for her. She wants a magical wedding. A magical life. A magical happy ever after.”

My face throws an uncharacteristic duh expression when he stays silent, and the dick has the gall to chuckle.

“Most people want a happy life, Lochlan. Does she make you happy?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“Is it? Because you look fucking miserable right now. Well, more miserable. It hasn’t been that long since I saw you last. If someone can get under your skin this quickly, you might want to stop and think about why.”

“I know why,” I roar. Pushing back from the table, I drop my head into my hands. “I know why,” I say with more control.

“Why?” Blake’s voice is even but no louder than a hoarse whisper, and I see a glimpse of the sadness he still carries when I lift my gaze to his.

“Because despite my best efforts, she got past my armor without even trying. Because she spends so much time worrying about everyone else, I had no choice but to worry about her. She sure as hell doesn’t put herself first. Because even though she hasn’t asked for a damn thing, I want to give her the world and I can’t. I can’t give her the only thing she’ll ever ask of someone she loves.”

“What’s that?” he coaxes gently, but I still want to throttle him.

“A contract. A promise to stay forever.”

“You love contracts.”

“In business. But I’ve seen what they do to love.”

“You’re scared, and you’re letting Christine win.”

“The fuck I am.”

“You allowed Christine to twist your vision in business and versions of what love can and should be into something dark and devastating.”

“I saw what it did to my parents.”

“Did you? Because when I’ve seen your parents, I’ve seen nothing but love. Maybe not in the traditional sense that you need, but it is the purest form of love. It looks different for everyone, Loch.

Don’t box yourself into a version you’ve constructed from pain, because you’ll only set yourself up for a bitter, lonely future.”

“I can’t give her what she wants.”

“You can’t, or you won’t?”

“Love, in its purest form, is a choice.” Tilly’s words blast my eardrums, drowning out whatever Blake is saying.

“I’ll ruin her.”

“Does she love you?”

My fingers go numb, and I realize my hands are balled into fists. I have the uncontrollable urge to move as a tingling sensation invades my limbs. I need to walk or run. To get away from these feelings clawing at my chest. A sharp pinch startles me into the here and now. My fingertips hold my earlobe painfully as my nails dig into the sensitive skin, and I jerk my hand away.

“We haven’t known each other long.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

I blink to ease the tightness around my eyes and my shoulders curl over my chest as if that will protect me from what he’s about to say. I can feel the veins in my neck bulging, and I tug at the back of my neck to ease the ache there too.

“Lochlan?”

“She warned me that she’d fall fast,” I say through the painful lump that’s taken up residence in the back of my throat.