Page 82 of Blindsided

“It sucks that they have to deal with the press every time they leave here.”

“My doorman keeps them safe, and the paparazzi vultures don’t care about our parents. They want Tilly or me, I guess.”

I grunt in agreement. I can’t even imagine the frenzy that would overtake us if Tilly and I tried to walk out the front door. It would be a madhouse.

We sit in stilted silence for a while. I wish I knew what to say to make things better between us. I have no regrets about keeping my relationship with Tilly a secret. I’m sorry he got blindsided by the news. I would’ve rather told him myself first, but I wouldn’t have traded those weeks with Tilly for anything.

“How long do you think you’ll stay mad at me?” I finally ask to break the weighted awkwardness between us.

“Not mad. Just don’t feel like I have a best friend anymore.”

I scoff. “That’s dramatic. Look, I’m sorry we kept our relationship a secret. We should’ve told you ourselves instead of you finding out by accident, but if we would’ve told you at the beginning, you would’ve tried to ruin it. I know you. I know how you’ve approached every single relationship Tilly’s ever had. I love her. That’s the bottom line, and a part of me knew how much I cared about her from the very beginning. I didn’t want you to ruin it before we ever had a chance.”

“I wouldn’t have—”

“Don’t lie to me. And more importantly, don’t lie to yourself. You would have said whatever it took to keep Tilly from me, and you know it.”

“Fine. I probably would’ve told her what a player you were. It’s why I would’ve objected.”

“And that’s fair. I was a player. But you also know I would never cheat on, lie to, or hurt a woman I’m interested in dating.”

“Yeah, I know,” Desmond grumbles.

“So, can we put this behind us? I’d really like to go back to being best friends again.”

“Yeah, we can go back to being friends. Although, I can’t promise not to punch you. And no PDA in front of me.”

“That’s a no from me, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.”

Desmond rolls his eyes at the same time Tilly’s parents walk into his apartment. They’ve got bags of food in their hands that bear the heavy scent of garlic.

“What are you guys chatting about in here?” Jerry asks as he sits down on the couch by me.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” I start. Nerves flutter in my stomach as I peek over my shoulder to make sure Tilly hasn’t come out of her room yet.

Jerry turns to me. “What’s going on, son?”

“I’d like to have your blessing to ask Tilly to marry me. I have no clue when I’ll ask her, but since I’ve got you here for a minute, I thought I’d take advantage of the moment.”

Jerry grins at me while Desmond’s mouth drops in shock. I get a small amount of satisfaction at seeing that look on his face.

“You have every ounce of my blessing, not that you really need it. We both know Tilly would do whatever she wanted if she put her mind to it,” Jerry teases.

“She absolutely would, but she’d also struggle if she knew you didn’t approve,” I say.

Jerry reaches over and slaps me on the shoulder. “Well, we couldn’t be more tickled about the two of you being together. Maybe just give us a heads-up when you’re thinking about doing it?”

I nod. “I can do that.”

Tilly comes walking down the hallway and frowns in question at her dad’s hand on my shoulder. I just shrug, throwing her a full-wattage smile. I can’t hold back my excitement. I’m going to marry that girl one day.

I can’t wait.

CHAPTER38

Matthew

Tilly paces from one end of the living room to the other. Her thumbnail is jammed between her teeth, and her other arm is wrapped around her middle.

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