Page 91 of Without a Hitch
“We’re on vacation,” I bark, then shake my head. Calm the fuck down, Blaine. “Sorry,” I mutter. “We’re on vacation. You’re not cooking anything. We can go out.”
“No, no. That’s okay. Now that I know Lochness isn’t alone, I’m not going to stay. I only flew out here to check on him, but I’ve got plenty of work to do in New York. I’ll be back with Kitty and Dad for the gala in a few weeks.”
Tilly’s gaze darts to mine. I haven’t told her anything about our time here, and I feel like a prick. “They’re coming for the winery gala at the end of the month. That’s when Ross will make an announcement either way.”
She steps to my side, seemingly forgetting about my sister, and pats my chest. My heart squeezes painfully when she straightens out my T-shirt so I don’t have to. “We’ll get the deal for you, Lochlan. I know it. We’ll make a good team.”
“Yeah,” I force out as my throat attempts to close. “We do make a good team.” I close my hand over hers and hold it to my chest. It isn’t until Nova clears her throat that we break the trance we’re in.
“Geez. Sorry. I—I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Your brother makes me crazy, I think.” Tilly laughs while yanking her hand free, and I feel the loss deep in my bones.
This connection I have with her is so intense. It terrifies and delights me at the same time. I just hope I don’t burn to the ground when it comes to an end.
CHAPTER28
TILLY
“So, you were already planning to be on vacation?” I ask, crossing my arms. “Did you trick me?”
Lochlan’s laugh is deep and warm, like dark chocolate melting on my tongue. He doesn’t laugh like this nearly enough.
“No, darling.” As soon as it’s out of his mouth, his cheeks flame, and I can’t help but tease a little.
“First Pepper and now darling? Who knew you were so verbally demonstrative?”
“I’m not. Usually. But there’s nothing usual about you.” His tone indicates he isn’t sure how to handle that information, so I let him off the hook.
He’s sitting in a patio chair, one knee bouncing while he plucks imaginary lint off the other.
“Lochlan?”
He stares at the ocean, watching the sun start its descent, but he turns instantly when I say his name. “What’s the matter?”
Why does he always assume something is wrong? “Nothing’s wrong. I was just going to say, I’m sorry I pushed you into wearing those. You really don’t have to. I didn’t mean anything by it. You look very sexy in your suits. I just wanted to push you a little.”
He nods and glances down at the dark gray cotton. “They’re not…” He pauses as his face contorts. “They’re not terrible.”
My laughter eases some of the tension in his shoulders, and I climb back into the hammock. “You can’t even say that without grimacing, lover.” Folding my hands behind my head, I let the gentle sway soothe my frazzled nerves.
“I like seeing you like that,” he admits quietly.
Turning to face him, I wiggle my body to lie on my side. “Like what?” I ask, propping my head up onto my hand.
“Relaxed. Happy.”
“It’s hard not to be when you’re in a hammock at the ocean, lover. So, tell me about your plan. Why are you on a pseudo-vacation for three weeks?”
“There’s nothing pseudo about it. Perhaps, before I met you, I would have planned to fill every waking second with meetings, but my mother ran Bryer-Blaine for years without me. She can handle the day-to-day for three weeks. And to answer the second part of your question, I had told Ross that I would be here to learn everything he wanted to teach me about the winery. It turns out, it isn’t so much about how wine is made but the people who run it. He’s big on family and taking care of his employees.”
“But so are you.” Okay, I may have researched him even if I never put him in the blog.
“How do you know that?” He leans back in his chair, appearing relaxed for the first time in hours. But his gaze remains intensely focused on me. A reminder that I’m the prey in his chase.
“I know because every time we’ve stayed at one of your properties, every employee I spoke to, from the kitchen staff to front desk clerks, all loved and respected you. Even if they did fear you a little.” His lip quirks, but he remains silent. “You work hard to make sure your staff is a priority, and they recognize that.”
He nods thoughtfully, but then his face clouds over.
“Thank you,” he eventually offers. “I know there will always be the occasional bad apple, but my parents believed in respecting our employees. It’s why Nova and I both worked every job in the hotel as teenagers. You learn to treat people with respect when you’re slinging drinks to assholes all night only for them to leave a fifty-cent tip. Or walking in to clean a room and finding shit on the walls and used condoms on the floor.” He shudders at the memory.
