Page 67 of Without a Hitch
My eyes burn with unshed tears. “But this is real life, Del. He’s made it so clear that we want different things. Even if he’s perfect.” I choke on a lump in my throat because I fear he really might be perfect. “Marriage? That commitment to me from someone? I need that. I…”
Eli interrupts me. “Honey? I get it. We all have daddy issues, and rightly so.” I really hope my scowl is fierce enough to break her screen. “Dad was a broken man. And your mom had mental health issues that forced her to leave you.”
“No. We had Emory, and…”
“And we essentially grew up orphans, Tilly. There’s no getting around that. Sure, Dad was there physically, but we raised ourselves. I know you’ve viewed this commitment, marriage, as the thing that will force someone to stay. But you know that’s not the truth. I think you’re putting so much stock in marriage because you’re scared. You’re scared of being left behind.”
Tears overflow in a river down my cheeks. I’ve been to therapy just as all my sisters have. I know what Eli is saying. I’ve been told this before, but it’s hard to let go of a security blanket you’ve had for eighteen years.
I don’t want to have this conversation anymore. It hurts too much. “H-He bought me shoes.”
Hadley and Eli stare at each other off-screen before facing me again, and I hold up a sparkly stiletto.
“Holy shit. Those are amazing.”
“He saw me looking at them in New York.”
“What do you know about him?” Delaney asks. She’s adding sticky notes to the bulletin board beside her. She must be in her bedroom while the other two sit together on the couch.
“He’s Colton’s best friend, and he owns the Bryer-Blaine chain of hotels.” Three mouths drop open. I nod. “Yeah, him.”
There’s a flurry of activity, and I know they’re all googling him in the background of our video chat.
“Holy Moses,” Delaney gasps. “Tilly, this is Lochlan Blaine? The one who took you to tremor town in the New York Public Library?”
She presses a button and shares her screen with us. A photo of Lochlan appears. It’s an older paparazzi shot of him on a beach, shirtless and wet.
“Th-That’s him.”
“Hold on. I’m coming up,” Mable yells, and Delaney’s screen shakes because she’s running with her computer under her arm to the family room.
As Delaney settles on the couch between Hadley and Eli, they snap their shared screen shut just as Mable lets herself into our apartment with a key no one gave her and leans over the back of them. She has curlers in her shimmering white hair, bright red lipstick, and a flannel bathrobe, even though it’s nearly eighty degrees in Charlotte today.
“I know this is shallow, but Jesus, Till. He might be the sexiest man I’ve ever seen in my entire freaking life. Ride this thing out with him. Live for today, not some version of tomorrow you’ve had since you were ten,” Eli says. Her sympathetic expression nearly guts me.
Their faces grow large as they bring the shared screen in for a closer inspection.
An unnamed emotion curls in my gut as four faces plead with me.
“Titty,” Mable says, “there are no guarantees in this life. My Johnny and I were supposed to be living out our golden years in Fort Lauderdale right now, but life had other plans for him. We had twenty-two great years, and it tore me into a million pieces when he passed, but I wouldn’t trade that time with him for anything. I only regret that I held out on him for so long.” She smirks, and my stomach rolls with worry. I really don’t think I can handle a sex story from Mable right now. “He asked me out for two years before I finally caved. That’s two years I missed out on his god-awful dirty jokes. Two years I missed out on his love. You’re not guaranteed a future, but you do have today. Start livin’ for today and build a future on the happiness that brings.”
“That was…” Eli pauses, confusion clouding her gaze. “That was remarkably normal and good advice, Mable.”
Mable flashes her a wink. These two have such a strange camaraderie that they pass off with snark and humor. Everyone is quiet for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.
“Take a chance, Tilly. What’s the worst that can happen?” Delaney asks.
I slowly lift my gaze, fear gripping my soul. “He could break my heart.”
CHAPTER20
LOCHLAN
It took every ounce of self-restraint I possess not to text Tilly incessantly last night, reminding her just how her body responds to me. Instead, I spent the evening going through her phone like a proper stalker.
I stopped myself just short of reading through all her text messages, but the sheer number that has come through in the past twelve hours tells me everything I’d already guessed about Tilly Camden. People love her, and more importantly, they depend on her.
What I wasn’t expecting to find was the blog. The damn blog that has haunted my life for the past several months.Love in the Lobby.Sheis the author, and now I’m even more confused about why she’s avoided my hotels. A quick check of the guest log confirms she’s stayed at my properties plenty of times. Perhaps it’s the connection to Colton?
