Page 78 of Hand-Fasting and Other Hazards
Thane turned and headed for the back door to the greenhouse.
Lochlan followed, finding Jade playing with Echo, a black shepherd. She was trying to tug a rope toy from his jaws. The larger dog held firm, his graying muzzle set in quiet determination, though his wagging tail betrayed his enjoyment.
Jade gave a playful growl, yanking the rope hard enough to make Echo stumble slightly. Echo retaliated with a deliberate tug, pulling Jade a few steps closer before suddenly letting go. Jade tumbled backward in surprise, landing in a pile of leaves. Echo let out a huff that might have been the canine equivalent of a chuckle.
“Echo.” The dog immediately snapped to attention at Thane’s call, bounding to his side. Thane paused at the greenhouse door, his hand resting on the frame. “Take care, Lochlan,” he said finally, almost hesitant.
Lochlan opened his mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. He wasn’t angry with his brother—not really. He just wished things could be different.
In the end, he managed a small nod.
Thane didn’t press. He let the moment hang, the silence between them filled with everything they had and hadn’t said, before he turned and disappeared through the back door.
The hunger Lochlan had felt earlier was gone. He grabbed the book he’d finished repairing, bagged up the fresh cookies he’d baked, and left to find the one thing he knew could make him feel better.
CHAPTER 26
Nia
“THEY DON’T WORK! DID YOU SEE HOW SHE COULDN’T EVEN DO A SIMPLE SPELL?” —WOLVENLOVER1111
Nia sat at her desk, a smile tugging at her lips—that had been happening a lot today. As she jotted down notes, Ivy’s voice crackled over the phone. She’d started the day hiking to connect with nature, and somehow pivoted to planning the biggest charity gala for the end of the year mid-hike.
“You want to do a silent auction?” Nia repeated, straining to hear over the wind on Ivy’s end.
“I’m sure I can get Becket to volunteer,” Ivy said, undeterred. “Would you give up Lochlan for a night?”
Nia froze mid-sentence, her pen hovering above the page. “Wait. You’re not actually planning to auction people, are you?”
“For dates,” Ivy said breezily. “We’ll get influential people to volunteer!”
Nia scoffed. “Becket and Lochlan are not influential.”
“Lochlan is a prince. Becket is pretty. And a lawyer.”
“I mean, sure. Becket makes sense, he’s single and all,” Nia muttered. “But Lochlan is…”
Her voice faltered. She didn’t need to finish. Nia could practically hear Ivy’s grin on the other end.
“He’s what, Nia? Say it.”
Nia clenched her pen, staring down at her notes as though they could shield her from the truth. Lochlan is taken. That was true, privately. But publicly? To her father and everyone else? She was supposed to be finding ways to convince everyone she wanted to get rid of him.
A gentle knock broke through her spiraling thoughts. Nia spun in her chair, her gaze snapping toward the door of her office. Almost as if their conversation had invoked him?—
“Lochlan is here,” she said softly, more to herself than Ivy.
“Does he look hot?” Ivy’s teasing voice came through the phone. “You sound like he’s standing there all tall and handsome and sweet.”
Nia’s cheeks warmed as she continued to stare at him. Yes, she thought, because of course he looked hot. She still hadn’t quite recovered from the memory of the night before. But something about him now was… different. Restless?
“I’m hanging up now,” Nia said firmly, cutting off Ivy’s teasing before it could escalate.
“Ask him if he’d be willing to be auctioned off at?—”
Nia ended the call.
Lochlan’s mouth curved into that devastating half-smile, and for a moment, Nia forgot how to breathe. How was he even free to be shoved into this arranged marriage by her father? How had no one scooped him up yet?
