Page 22 of Your Last First Kiss
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Pullingup to the valet at the Bryer-Blaine, I toss him the keys and show him my badge allowing me access to the entire hotel.
After three years, everyone knows my face, but I’m setting a precedent for high safety standards. Safety is my job, at least for now. Plus, my badge ensures my car won’t leave the property.
My mind is flooded with questions. What the hell could Ashton have up his sleeve that has to do with kids and sports? I hate that the familiar itch of competition makes my fingertips twitch. I haven’t had that sensation since I was nineteen, and I gave up the only goal I’d ever worked toward.
My basketball scholarship.
And I did it to piss off my dad.
Stupid fucking kid.
Inside the Bryer-Blaine hotel, employees offer a hello as I pass. The friendly greetings shake me from memories I have no desire to delve into, and I head straight for the private elevator around the corner from the front desk.
I scan my palm to enter the elevator and try to dismiss the sense of dread that’s growing more uncomfortable, like a blanket of ice weighing me down. Something’s wrong, and somehow I know a shit storm is about to rain down on me. Ashton fucked up my morning by dredging up old memories I buried a long time ago.
Finding Penny’s desk empty and Lochlan pacing behind it when I reach their floor doesn’t make me feel any better.
Lochlan Blaine is a creature of habit. He likes what he likes when he likes it, and he rarely deviates. That goes for everything in his life except his firecracker of a wife who constantly throws him curveballs.
The fact that he’s wearing jeans and a sweater stops me in my tracks. I’ve never seen him in anything but a three-piece suit that’s been pressed within an inch of its life.
“Lochlan?” Alarm bells ring in my head as I stare at him, a tray with two coffees still in my hand. “Everything okay?”
He stops mid-stride and turns to me with an aggravated expression. Then he throws his hands in the air and shakes his head before marching closer. “Is this for Penny?”
“It was,” I say as he takes it from me. “Is she okay? She’s usually—”
“She’s usually here waiting for you. I know.” The aggravation clears and he allows a small smile to pull at his lips. “She had to take her son to the doctor this morning.”
Breathing becomes difficult. “Is he okay? Which son?” I manage to rasp.
Lochlan stops and looks at me. Really looks at me. “Youstilllike her.”
I nod. There’s no use in hiding it. It’s not like I can do anything about it. “She’s not interested, though, so I’m fine just being her friend.”
He raises his eyebrows like he’s going to cross-examine me, so I throw him my own curveball. “What’s with the jeans?”
Lochlan’s entire posture goes rigid, and I swear a curse slips out under his breath. “Tilly’s very pregnant.”
“I’m aware.” I start to grin. “What does that have to do with you wearing jeans?”
“She wants me to be comfortable and casual. And for Christ’s sake, man. She’s hormonal. Yesterday she burst into tears because she had a hole in her sock. I can’t stand to see her cry even one more time.”
“So, you’re wearing jeans. For her.”
“Yes.”
A low chuckle bubbles up in my chest. “The things you do for love.”
“All the things. I do all the things. Tilly gave me life. I’ll wear whatever the fuck makes her happy.”
“You’re a good man, Lochlan.”
The elevator dings and we both turn. The doors slide open to reveal a young man I know mostly from pictures, and those alarm bells ratchet up to nuclear levels.
Penny’s oldest son, Kaiser, stands in the entryway, wearing an expression that screams both pissed off and terrified. I start toward him, then realize he may not even remember me. I’ve only met him in passing a couple of times at Ashton’s since I’ve been avoiding his house like the plague, and it’s been over a year since the kid saw me last.
