Chapter 13
Brady
My phone was haunting me. The sight of the screen was like a goddamn flashing neon sign that reminded me of two things.
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.”
His head shook back and forth. “You just won’t quit …”
My fingers clenched, and my fist pounded the top of my desk.
Maybe he’d caught me at a weak moment.
Maybe I was just fucking tired.
Or maybe I was just vulnerable enough to admit the truth.
“It’s not that,” I told him.
He was quiet for a moment, his brows slowly rising. “What is it, then?”
“Until I hear back from her, there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Ah. Got it.” A smile crept over his face. “But I’ve got to say, you making the effort with her, it’s good to see.”
“I’m already regretting it.”
His head dropped, like I’d worn him thin. “Take it from a man who wasn’t looking to settle down either. When she comes into your life, whatever was holding you back, whether that be some outside circumstance or waiting for the right timing or a mental block, it all dissolves.” He finally glanced up. Raw honesty stared back at me. “And she’s all that will matter.”
Is that what’s happening?
Am I already here?
Lily was all I’d thought about since I’d left her room in Tampa. But if I was being real, the thoughts had started long before then.
They’d started the night in Edinburgh.
Fuck.
My teeth ground together before I said, “I didn’t know you were a lawyer and a shrink.”
He chuckled. “You’re something else.” He got up from his chair and walked to the door. “Can I give you a piece of advice even if you don’t want to hear it?”
“You’re going to tell me anyway. I’m not sure why you’re asking for permission.”
He smiled. “You want her, you go after her. Don’t let something like a reply stop you.”
As his advice passed through me, I nodded, and I watched him walk into the hallway and disappear.
But even though he was gone, I couldn’t get his words out of my head. They ate at me as my hands returned to the keyboard, attempting to pick up where I’d left off.
Shit, I couldn’t.
Because Lily was all I could think about.
I just wanted a few more seconds to caress her body and place another kiss on her lips and one more graze across her soft, tropical-smelling skin.
I reached into my desk drawer and took out my phone, pulling up her Contact. Texting wasn’t getting me anywhere, so I hit Call, taking the deepest damn breath as I held the phone to my ear.
After the second ring, I heard, “Hello?”
The voice was startling.
Because it was a man who answered.
“Is Lily there?”
“You have the wrong number.”
My neck jutted back. “What do you mean, I have the wrong number? That’s not possible?—”
“Buddy, this is my cell phone, and my name isn’t Lily. I don’t even know who that is.” He laughed and hung up.
There had to be a mistake.
Could phone lines get crossed? Was that even a thing?
Had she left her phone out and one of the Daltons disguised their voice just to piss me off?
I pressed the Call button again.
“You’re not going to keep calling, are you?” the guy asked as he answered. “I told you, there is no Lily here, and this isn’t her number. Please don’t keep calling me.” He hung up.
A bolt of anger shot through my chest, my hands shaking as I held my cell, staring at the home screen.
It couldn’t be the wrong number. I’d typed it in correctly. I’d even repeated it to Lily to confirm.
That meant she’d either given me the wrong number or, somehow, this was one big mistake.
Regardless, I didn’t fucking like it.
I picked up my office line, connecting to our assistant, and said, “Kathleen, I need you to book the jet for a trip to Edinburgh, leaving as soon as possible.”
“Oh boy.”
My eyes squinted shut, my jaw tensing. “What?”
“How quickly does as soon as possible mean?”
“Yesterday.”
“Then, that’s going to be a problem. It’s currently scheduled about four weeks out.”
Four fucking weeks?
This was getting out of control. We needed another plane.
I slammed the phone into the receiver and squeezed my cell so tightly that I wouldn’t be surprised if the screen shattered.
No jet.
No phone number.
Fuck that.
I pulled up my Contacts again, searching for the number I needed, and held the phone to my face.
“What can I do for you?—”
“Dominick, I need to borrow your jet. I need it within the next two days. And I need the one Lily works on.”