in love with her, and not being with her means that there’s an emptiness inside me that I hate more than my demons. I have to talk to her.
Tilly goes inside for the tenth time, and I finally work up the nerve to talk to her. I see her walk out of the kitchen, and I hurry to follow her into the long entryway hallway that I came in.
“Tilly.” My voice echoes in the cavernous expanse of Vaughn’s home. “Can we talk?”
She hesitates by the staircase, her back turned to me, her shoulders raised. “I was just going to grab something in my car.”
Suddenly, Booker’s twins come tearing through the kitchen doorway, running into me and doing quick spin moves as they recover and dart out the front door.
When they’re gone, Tilly turns on her heel, hitting me with her big blue eyes that have been the highlight of my dreams this past week. “Can it wait until later?”
I open my mouth to reply, and a loud flush echoes from the hallway loo between Tilly and me. A moment later, Booker’s wife, Poppy, emerges, looking back and forth between us. “Sorry…just had to use the toilet.”
“It’s fine,” Tilly says with a smile. She hooks her thumb toward the door. “I just saw your boys go out the front door in case you need to know.”
She rolls her eyes and huffs. “Booker was supposed to be watching them.” She moves towards the door but pauses briefly. “You know there’s this really cute playhouse out in the woods behind the house. The kids aren’t allowed back there alone yet because the little ones are too little, and then they throw fits if some get to go and not all. It’s a disaster for everyone. Anyways…if you guys wanted some privacy, there’s a path alongside the house that will take you right to it. Just go out the front door here to the left. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks, but we’re fine,” Tilly states with a wave of the hand.
“No, we’re not,” I reply, firmly stepping closer to her.
Poppy’s eyes widen. “Right. I’m just going to go make sure my children aren’t trying to drive a car away again.”
She hurries out the front door. My jaw is tight when Tilly looks at me with an angry glare and a twitch to her nose. I urge her again. “I really want to talk to you.”
“Santino, now is not a good time.” She looks away, her eyes warring with something.
“Why not?” I ask. “Presents and cake are done with. Everyone’s just talking now. You really can’t give me a few moments of your time? I’m that big of a monster to you?”
Her face looks hurt as she looks back at me. “I never called you a monster.”
“Then please…just…come out back with me.”
She exhales heavily, her eyes full of regret as she nods and turns on her heel to march out the front door without a glance back at me. I jog to catch up to her, shocked she can walk so quickly in those wedges she’s wearing. My eyes can’t help but drink in her arse and legs as she opens the gate to walk down the narrow path to exactly what Poppy described.
It’s a storybook type of cottage surrounded by old trees and giant fallen leaves. There’s a table outside, and it’s obviously a well-loved area for the Harris kids.
Tilly stands in front of it and turns on her heel to face me.
“Should we go inside?” I suggest with a laugh, gesturing to the small front door.
“This is private enough,” she snaps, her tone crisp as she crosses her arms over her chest.
I breathe out slowly and unbutton my jacket. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
“Why should I?” she barks, her eyes wide with fury. “You were an eejit to me last weekend. You let me get on that train and go home by myself at night. You didn’t text or phone to see if I made it safely. You just let me walk out of your life without even a look back. Were you even bothered this week? Or was it just another week at the office laughing about how another two-month chump bites the dust?”
“Tilly,” I reply with a heavy sigh. The ache in my body over how awful I was to her makes it difficult for me to stay upright.
“Answer me,” she demands, stamping her foot and crunching the dry leaves beneath her.
My jaw clenches with frustration.