Page 28 of His to Possess

“I probably would have done the same thing.” He clears his throat but fails to hide the amusement in his voice. “Not sure I would have been quite so excessive about it…”

I groan. “Aden Roth was being a bloody wanker. I wanted to put him in his place.”

“Hey—I hate that douchebag as much as anyone. But I do wonder if that’s all this was about.” I take another swig of whiskey, not bothering to respond. He’s perfectly capable of rattling on about nonsense without any input from me. “Seems to me that a guy wouldn’t pay a million bucks for just any girl, you know? Makes me wonder if there’s something else there.”

I blow out a breath, bracing my hand on the window. The sun will be setting soon and reddish light shines around the edges of the horizon. I’d usually be wrapping up my work right about now—weekends mean very little when you reach my level of success—and probably getting ready for a night at Club Wyld. Now the club is the last thing on my mind.

“She’s far too young for me.”

“Hmm. Isn’t your sister Harper’s age?”

“If your point is that your fiancée is far too young foryourold arse, you don’t need to tell me.”

He grunts. “I’m saying age doesn’t always matter.”

I let those words settle around me. The truth is, I agree with him. When he was losing his mind over Harper, I’m the one who encouraged him to forget about her age. They were both adults and perfectly capable of making their own choices.

So why am I not giving Lilah the same benefit of the doubt?

“I fucked up,” I mutter. “She’s furious with me, and rightfully so.”

My friend sounds almost gleeful. “Let me guess—you acted like a controlling ass.”

I’m tempted to point out that it takes one to know one, but since we’re not in primary school anymore, I hold my tongue.

“I may have been a little…overbearing.”

He laughs. “Then you need to fix it.”

I close my eyes, knowing I’m never going to hear the end of this. But the memory of Lilah’s hurt expression is seared to the back of my eyelids. I can take some shit from my mate if there’s a chance it might help.

“How exactly do I do that?”

As expected, Nate laughs uproariously. “I need to record this,” he gasps. “Philip Matthews asking for dating advice. Holy shit.”

I grit my teeth. “Put Harper on the phone. She might be younger than you but she’s definitely less of a child.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” he says between lingering chuckles. “Harper was going to stay home tomorrow—business dinners aren’t really her thing. But I could ask her along if you wanted to bring Lilah.”

“Why would I bring Lilah?”

“Jesus, you really are clueless. You need to grovel, man. Take her out for a night on the town, buy her a pretty dress, all that shit. Plus she can hang out with Harper. Girl time always seems to help when Harper is down.”

“I’m assuming that means your dick isn’t sufficient to make her happy.”

“Fuck you,” he says cheerfully.

It’s not the worst idea in the world. Besides, the last thing I want to do right now is leave Lilah alone. I would probably come home to an empty guest room.

The very thought of her sneaking out while I’m gone sets a weight of discomfort in my gut. “Yeah,” I say quickly. “That might be good.”

“I’ll let Benson know and change the reservation.”

I should probably ask him if he thinks Benson will mind the additions—he knows the man better than me—but the truth is, I don’t give a shit. I have no idea how it happened but in the space of twenty-four hours, Lilah Cartwright became my top priority.

* * *

There’sno answer when I knock on Lilah’s door. My stomach clenches painfully. What if she snuck out while I was on the phone? The thought of her back in that dilapidated apartment makes anger pound in my blood.