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The first, that I’d sent Lily a text two days ago, and she still hadn’t responded. For someone who flew for a living, with loads of downtime while she sat in the back of the plane and days off in a hotel room, I couldn’t accept a busy excuse.
The second, that I was even bothered that she hadn’t replied.
It had been a mistake to ask for her number.
To text her.
To tell her in the message that I wanted to see her, something I’d also mentioned to her on the jet. Had I just let things roll out the way I normally did, I wouldn’t be haunted by a fucking thing.
Yet I was sitting at my desk with piles of paperwork surrounding me that needed my attention and an inbox with hundreds of unread messages, and instead of tackling any of it, I was staring at my phone, wishing for it to light up with a text from her.
I needed to stop.
I needed to set my head straight.
I tossed my phone into the top drawer, slid it shut with a slam, and put my hands on the keyboard, waking up my monitor. There was no way I could process anything of importance at the moment, so I focused on my email. I could knock out some responses, delete the unimportant shit.
I wasn’t even through my first reply when I heard, “You got a second?”
Couldn’t I just have a minute alone?
My jaw clenched, and I took an angry inhale as I glanced up.
Fucking Jenner.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my memory immediately bringing me back to Tampa. “If it’s to give me more shit about ditching you guys after the hockey game, don’t bother coming in.”
He laughed from my doorway and took a seat in front of my desk. “I had to meet with Cooper about Banff, and since I have news on Edinburgh, I came to talk to you.”
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my legs. “I’m listening.”
“The sale is coming along nicely.” He adjusted his tie. “However, the governing officials of Scotland would like to discuss how you’re going to change the facade of the hotel, along with the sidewalk and front entrance.”
“Everything has been outlined in the proposal we sent them.”
He nodded. “Yes, well, they’d like more than just a piece of paper. They’d like to talk about it all in person.”
My eyes briefly closed. “You’re telling me I need to go to Edinburgh?”
“As soon as possible.”
This was a perfect example of why there was an endless pulsing of frustration that lived in my chest.
“That’s all you have for me?” I snapped.
He smiled and set his arms on the armrests. “Unless you want to talk about Lily.”
How the hell did he know her name?
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I thundered.
“You were last off the plane. Then, there was the expression on your face when you departed. And every time I looked at you, you were staring at her. I’m an observant person, no doubt, but this one wasn’t hard to put together.” His arms dropped, and his hands went to the end of my desk. “You think I’m going to give you shit. You’re wrong. I’m proud of you, my man.”
“For what?”
“Brady … come on. We’re not going to sit here and play this game. I know your armor is thicker than your brothers’, but at some point, you’re going to want to talk about her.”
I was so fucking tempted to reach into my desk drawer and pull out my phone, showing him the one-sided message, but the torture needed to end, so I spit, “There’s nothing to talk about.”
