Page 87 of Lorcan's Obsession
“C’mon, don’t be an ass. Send someone to get me. It’s easier.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. Rian would have a servant hand-feed him if he could.
“You are a lazy monkey. Hold on a sec, let me call my girlfriend and see what she can arrange.”
“What the fuck? Did you just say girlfr—?”
I placed Rian on hold and did my favorite activity of the day: calling my girlfriend. As a matter of fact, I called her at least ten times a day. Anyone who thinks it’s obsessive has it wrong. I’m simply a man in love.
“Hey, love.”
“Hey, baby.”
“My brother is at the airport. Can we send Samir to pick him up?”
“Sure!”
“Will you come by to meet him later?”
“Of course.”
“I love you.”
“Okay, see ya!”
I won’t lie, it stung.
Sure, I would wait for Tristen as long as it took, but just how long would that take? Every time I said “I love you” to her face, she would blush and redirect the conversation. What was I doing that was keeping us from getting to the next level? I didn’t want to go too fast because I didn’t want to push her away. However, I was confident that regularly reminding Tristen of my devotion was helping nudge her to explore her feelings for me.
Just a few more reminders to go.
When I arrived home later, Rian was halfway through a bottle of Tito’s. I dropped my office bag on the floor and poured myself a glass of scotch.
“No one’s cleaning your puke, Ri,” I jested.
“Hello to you too, lil’ bro.”
I scrutinized my brother. He looked tired and disheveled. His ocean-bright eyes were dulled, and his dirty blond hair was spiky and untrimmed. Hell, simply being in a city was unlike Rian’s usual behavior. He was a man who relished visiting places like Mount Thor or Angel Falls, not NYC and Dubai.
“Wanna share what's bothering you?” I unbuttoned my gray suit jacket and plopped down on the couch across from him.
"Kayla left Barbuda with Lilibet three weeks ago.” He chugged the remaining vodka in his glass and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “She gave me an ultimatum: settle down in LA or get a divorce. I have no fucking idea what to do."
“Do you still love her?”
Rian hesitated, and the silence was deafening.
“I don’t know,” he sighed at last. “I want to do what’s best for Lil, but I don’t want to give up what I love doing either. Settling in one place is not for me. I don't know why I got married in the first place."
I hummed in thought and knocked back my own glass. Nothing I said could solve his problems. So I told him the only thing I knew. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Loki. It means a lot. You don’t mind if I hang around here for a bit until I figure things out?” A smile was already tugging at his lips—he had planned this ahead. “Just a couple weeks, nothing too long.”
“The spare key is in the fourth drawer on the kitchen island.”
“Perfect. Any house rules?”
“No parties on weekdays because I gotta work.”