by Laura Pavlov
“Hmmm…” She paused to think it over. “Both were unexpected.”
“Both were better than that dickhead, Thyme, I’m sure.”
She smiled. Her blue gaze locked with mine in the dim lighting coming through the window from the streetlights as we drove toward her apartment.
“Yes. Thyme wasn’t much for kissing. He was more of a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type of guy. I mean, he had sex in the coat closet at my company party.”
“With another herb, at that.”
Her head fell back in laughter. “Exactly. So, you were definitely better than Thyme, and better than Celine, if I’m being honest. I mean, don’t get a big head. She was a bit rough. Our teeth clanked when she forced her mouth over mine and she tasted like pork rinds. And not in a good way. So yes, you win by default.”
I nodded. “Okay. I can work with that. I happen to love pork rinds though.”
“Of course, you do.” She rolled her eyes.
We pulled up to her building and I started to follow her out of the car, but she turned to stop me. “You don’t need to walk me to my door. This isn’t a date. It was a mission gone awry. But thanks for going with me.”
“I’m not walking you up because I think it’s a date. I do have manners, you know.”
“I couldn’t tell with the way you came at me all hungry and needy when you kissed me,” she teased as a man held the door to her building open behind her. “Seriously. I have a doorman. Hal’s great. I’ve been walking myself to the door most of my life, Montgomery. See you tomorrow.”
“All right, Blue Jay. See you tomorrow. We’ll get him next time.”
“Yep. We will.”
She turned on her heels and paused to hug her doorman. She was much friendlier to him than she was to me. Hell, she was friendlier to everyone than she was to me. But tonight, we’d made progress. And she was Buck’s little sister. It would be nice to be friends with her.
She’d told me about her mother’s passing, and I wanted to ask more, but I didn’t know if she would be okay with it. I’d give it time and bring it up again. I understood what it was like to lose a parent. Miles had been a huge support to me during that time. I wondered who Monroe leaned on for support outside of her brother. Definitely not her piece of shit ex-boyfriend.
Big Tony pulled away from the curb and turned his head to speak to me. “I like that girl.”
“Yeah. You and me both, brother.”
Maybe a little more than I should.
Chapter Six
Monroe
“I like what I’m seeing, Monroe. How are you adapting? Everyone treating you well?” Ford asked. I guess this was my one-month check-in.
“Yeah. It’s been a great first couple of weeks. I mean, obviously, I’d like to write more political pieces, but I’ll take what I can get for now.”
“I can appreciate that. I’m not the most patient man. You know what you want and you’re not afraid to go after it. Keep it up. You’ll get there. And Jack tells me today is a special day? Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. And thanks for this opportunity. I won’t disappoint you,” I said, pushing to my feet.
“I have no doubt you’re right about that.” He stood and escorted me to the door.
“I saw Harley this morning. She looks like she’s about to pop, huh?”
He groaned. “Don’t get me started. My wife is a stubborn woman, whom I happen to be crazy about. She refuses to stay home and rest. Thankfully, she’s just downstairs.”
I laughed. It was sweet, seeing them together. I remember meeting Ford at a few of Miles and Jack’s football games in college and he was much colder and more standoffish. Harley was clearly good for him. You couldn’t miss the genuine love that lived between them. It made me long for that type of relationship. Someone who cared so much for you, their own life depended on your happiness. It was something I’d always steered away from, caring about someone that much. The risk. The looming heartache. But seeing it in real life made it all the more appealing.
“I’m sure it’s hard to sit still. She needs to keep busy. She was sitting in a chair when I popped in earlier if that makes you feel better.”
His lips turned up in the corners. “It actually does. Thank you. I’ll run down and check on her now.”
“Thanks, Ford. See you later.”
He nodded, and we both turned in opposite directions down the hallway. There were elevators on each end of the floor, and I was heading up to the newsroom while he was heading down to the bakery. When I made it back to my office, I found a small cake sitting on my desk with Happy Birthday, Blue Jay written on top in pink icing. My stomach fluttered and I scolded myself for reacting that way.
I used the intercom system on my office phone and dialed him.
“Happy Birthday, Little Bird,” he purred through the speaker.
“Why must you call me that, and why did you tell your brother it was my birthday?”
“Because it is your birthday,” he said, like it was common knowledge, and I should know this.
“Well, thank you for the cake.” I dipped my finger along the bottom seam and sampled the icing, moaning as the sugary sweetness hit my system.
“Was that moan for me?” he teased, and I startled.
“Oh, no. No. I just took a taste of the frosting. Is this a DeLiciously Yours cake?” I cleared my throat and pushed my nerves aside.
“It sure is. She made it just for you.”
“That was sweet. Thank you.”
“Your brother is going to stop by and see me before you all head to dinner. Have fun tonight. You deserve it.”
“You know I’d rather be going to The Dark Temptress to catch that dirtbag in the act than to dinner with Thirsty Thelma.”
“Come on. We’ll get him next week. Enjoy your birthday. It only comes around once a year.”
Jack had such a vibrance for life. I envied it, honestly. I’d never embraced my birthday, for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, my birthday was also the day of my mother’s passing. A blessing and a curse I guess you’d say. She’d traded her life for mine. And I’d spend my entire life trying to make mine worthy of her giving her own in exchange. So, popping the bubbly wasn’t high on my list. The second reason was that I despised being the center of attention. Always had. So, this day could pass just as quickly as it arrived, and I’d be fine with it. It was a tough day for my father, though he always tried to hide it. He’d drink a bit too much tonight, and I knew why. He liked to pretend it was in celebration, but we both knew he was numbing the pain of losing the love of his life, all these years later. I was a constant reminder of what he’d lost, and that was a heavy burden to carry at times. So, I’d do my best to make my parents proud, and be worthy of the sacrifice that my mother made for me.
“All right. See you later,” I said.
A sadness blanketed my chest, almost suffocating me at times. My brother understood it. Hell, it was the reason he always showed up on my birthday. No matter where we both were, he’d always show up. Miles, Dad, and I had spent every single birthday together since the day I was born. Such a strange day celebrating my birth and the loss of a woman I’d never even known, yet I felt her presence with me always.
The day moved by quickly, as I buried myself in work. I was doing a column on trendy fall fashion which was a bit more fun than any I’d written thus far. Only because I actually cared about clothing. It was a hell of a lot better than researching dating websites and hot spots for meeting your perfect mate. I was all about leggings, cute sweaters, and ankle boots at the moment, so my research was putting a serious dent on my credit card this month. Montgomery Media paid me well, but it wouldn’t begin to cover the high-rise that I lived in, nor the amount that I spent on clothing binges. My brother and I had hearty trust funds from both our grandfather and our father. I never
took for granted the affluent lifestyle I was born into, but at times I felt like it meant that my life was supposed to be perfect. At least that’s the perception from the outside world. I had everything I’d ever want—yet, I’d always had a gaping hole in the middle of my heart, the place that I guessed only my mother would have filled. So, yes. I was thankful for all that I had—but it was far from perfect. If you were able to see into someone’s soul the way you gazed through a window, you would most likely find a whole lot of cobwebs and dust in mine. Tattered and bruised. Life was messy, and I did my best to maneuver around it. I was born with a dark cloud surrounding me, and I worked hard to escape it. Throwing myself into work. Striving to be the best at whatever I did to make up for the pain that I’d caused. It was a heavy weight, but I was surviving.
I was a proven survivor.
There was a knock on my open door, and I looked up to see Miles. I pushed to my feet and hurried over to hug my brother. He stood there with Jack right behind him.
“Happy Birthday, sis.” He lifted me off the ground and spun me around.
“Put me down, you big buffoon.” I laughed as he settled me on my feet.
My office phone rang just then, and I walked back around my desk to answer it.
“Hey Monroe, I have Thelma Buckley on the line. She said it’s urgent that she speak to you,” Talia, the office manager who handled all incoming calls, said.
My head fell back in irritation, and I closed my eyes as I spoke. “Thank you. You can put her through.”
My brother laughed and I put Thelma on speakerphone. “Monroe? Are you there?”
“Yep. I’m here. What’s up? Do you need to cancel?” I said, connecting my hands as if I were praying and smiling at my brother and Jack, who covered their mouths to muffle their laughter.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s your special day, baby girl,” Thelma said. She was only eight years older than me, for the record, so baby girl was a bit of a stretch. “No, no. The reason I’m calling is because, well, I know that you and Thyme broke up quite a while ago and you’ve been single for what feels like—forever. Am I right?” She paused to cackle—her laugh grated my nerves. A cross between the laugh of a chain smoker and an evil witch. Neither appealing. I let my forehead rest on the desk and closed my eyes as I listened. She was obsessed with the fact that I was single. Not that Thyme ever attended family events with me anyway. In hindsight, he was an extremely selfish boyfriend. Thelma acted as if being single were the most pathetic thing she’d ever heard. Mind you, this was a woman married to a man almost twice her age. “So, I’m guessing you’re still single, right? I just didn’t know if I should set a plate for someone, or just seat you solo per usual?”
Well, thanks for that reminder. Per usual.
“Um.” It’s the only word that came to mind as I tried to find a way to tell her it was just me without sounding like a complete loser with my brother and Jack standing there listening to our conversation. Thelma always looked at me with such pity. Sometimes I wondered if it was because I’d lost my mother in such a horrific way—but most of the time I truly thought it was because she really believed that a man defined you. Her entire being was based around being Ryan Buckley’s wife. He was a celebrity in this town, and his wife thrived on that attention. My father’s fame had never been important to him—Thirsty Thelma was a different story. I believed it was the reason she was with him. I didn’t buy into that round of crazy, but it didn’t mean that her words didn’t get to me sometimes. And I had zero respect for her, so I wasn’t sure why I allowed it to bother me.
“Oh, sweetie. It’s okay. You can make it your mission this year. You know—start making more of an effort to have a man in your life. They aren’t going to find you if you’re always working, and most men appreciate a woman who puts a little more effort into fixing herself up, you know? Not that you aren’t gorgeous. Of course, you are, baby girl. But you could put some curl in that straight hair of yours and spruce it up. Maybe try some better bras and push those girls up a bit, what little you have to work with.” She cackled again and I cringed.
“Actually, Thelma, Monroe hasn’t wanted to tell anyone because she didn’t want the pressure, being in a new relationship and all,” Miles said, holding his finger up to stop me from jumping in, as he winked at me. “She’s been dating Jack Montgomery. You remember my best friend, right?”
An indescribable sound left Thelma’s mouth as I buried my face in my hands and heard Jack laugh. “Jack Montgomery is dating our Monroe? Really? He’s so yummy. Wow. How’d she reel in such a big fish? Oh man, is he a big fish. In more ways than one, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m still here, Thelma, and I can obviously hear you.” I scowled at my brother, half wanting to murder him and half wanting to hug him for rescuing me. I gave an apologetic shrug to Jack, who didn’t seem fazed in the slightest by the lie my brother just told.
“Oh, sweetie. I mean no offense. I just, wow. Jack Montgomery. Score, girl. Big score,” she said, her tone going from shrieking to serene.
I rolled my eyes as Jack beamed at me, puffing his chest out like the arrogant ass he was.
“He’s not that big of a score,” I said, trying to hide my smile as my brother laughed. “He’s all right though. It’s new.”
“Hello, Thelma. Big Jack here. Grateful that our girl scored and all, but I think I’m the one who scored,” he purred, and Miles high fived him.
I shook my head with annoyance. This was going to be a disastrous evening. But I could fake date Jack Montgomery for one night if it meant getting my awful stepmother off my case, couldn’t I? I’d have a couple of glasses of wine. Hell, I’d already kissed the man and seen fireworks for days after, so this would be a walk in the park. Maybe he’d fake kiss me once more. It wouldn’t be tragic, seeing as this whole thing was Miles’ doing, so he couldn’t get angry about it. And it was fake after all.
“So, will you be joining us for dinner, Jack?” Thelma asked.
“I wouldn’t miss my girl’s special day for the world. I’ll see you soon.” Jack dropped down in the chair across from me and raised a brow as if he were challenging me to join in.
“Yep. We’ll see you soon. Goodbye.” I ended the call and groaned before reaching for the empty water bottle on my desk and chucking it at my brother. “What are you thinking?”
He caught the bottle and dropped it in the trash before turning to face me. “I’m thinking it’s your birthday and you don’t need to be harassed by Thirsty Thelma all night, and well, he’s my best friend, so I’d like him to come to dinner with us anyway—so I killed two birds with one stone.”
“She’ll never let this go. Are you sure you’re fine with this?” I asked Jack.
“Hell yeah. We already went to the sex den together, so this’ll be a cakewalk.” He pushed to his feet and laughed.
“Excuse me?” Miles asked, his gaze bouncing between us.
I waved my hand in front of my face. “It was an undercover mission, which someone seems to keep forgetting is supposed to be on the down-low. It was nothing. We went to get a picture of someone. And don’t ask questions because we’ve already said too much.”
“And did you get the picture?” he asked with a chuckle.
“No. He no-showed that night. We can’t go back until next week because of my stupid birthday.” I pushed to my feet and reached for my purse.
“Okay. One night of fake dating is harmless. You can tell her you broke up next week.” Miles held the door as we all three stepped out and made our way to the garage.
“Fine. But don’t overdo it.” I shot Jack a look. “I’ve never been a touchy-feely girlfriend, so she won’t expect any of that.”
“I’m kind of a needy boyfriend, Blue Jay. You’re going to have to deal with it.” He laughed and my brother rolled his eyes.
“Keep it light, brother. No handsy bullshit. But the
cute nickname is a nice touch. Good thinking.” Miles and Jack sat on each side of me. There was no need to tell my brother that the nickname wasn’t new. Jack had been calling me Blue Jay for weeks—but we both kept that to ourselves. It was harmless. Jack Montgomery was a flirt by nature. He couldn’t help himself.
Big Tony drove us to my family home. The home I’d grown up in. Jack insisted Big Tony pull over in front of a jewelry store in the city and he dashed inside, after mumbling something about not going empty-handed to his girlfriend’s birthday dinner.
“Look at the mess you’ve made. Now he feels like he has to buy me a gift. This is ridiculous, Miles.” I huffed in my seat.
“Relax. Jack is a generous guy. Just have fun tonight,” he said as he scrolled through his phone like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Jack was back within minutes, and I didn’t see a gift in his hand, so maybe he’d changed his mind. One could only hope. This was already awkward enough. When we arrived at the house, the door flew open and Thelma stood there clapping her hands.
Let the shitshow begin.
Jack draped an arm over my shoulder, and I tried to slap it away, but he just gathered my hand in his and grasped my shoulder tighter.
“Hey, Thelma. Where’s Dad?” I asked, giving her a quick hug. Her gargantuan fake boobs always slammed into my chest, and I swear they hit me hard enough to leave a bruise.
“Happy Birthday, baby girl. Dad’s been in his office, so why don’t you run and get him?” she said to me, but her gaze remained on my fake boyfriend. “And hello, Jack Montgomery.”
I rolled my eyes and took off down the hall. The door was cracked open and I peeked my head inside. Dad sat on his brown leather couch surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a large desk. The smell of cigars wafted around the room. He had his eyes closed, rocks glass in hand, as he tipped the last of his drink back and pushed to his feet.
He turned to see me standing there, and he straightened his dress shirt. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”