Not the One

by Toni Aleo

  His mother didn’t like that one bit as her own mother stood, reaching out for Gen’s hand. “I have something to show you.”

  Before her mother could pull her away, Montgomery said, “I’ll see you later.”

  “Are you working late?”

  “Yeah.”

  Her shoulders fell. While on one hand, that meant his mother would take forever to leave. On the other, once she did, Gen would be able to work. But it meant Verna had to leave first. “Okay.”

  He squeezed her hip before heading out the door, the shoulders of his jacket taut against his wide chest and muscular back. He had gotten a haircut the day before, so his hair was perfectly trimmed, his neck so thick and so sexy that soon a grin pulled at her lips. They had both been so busy for the last couple months that sex hadn’t been a thing that happened often, but realizing his hair was turning her on meant one thing. They needed to fuck.

  ASAP.

  Inhaling hard, she looked to her mother, ignoring the annoyed look on Verna’s face as her mom pulled her to the end of the table where a box was sitting. “Mom, what is all this?”

  Her mother’s gray eyes sparkled as she squeezed Gen’s hand. “Gen, love, I was going through the attic and found this box of your stuff. I had no clue what it was until I opened it and realized it was all your things from when you’d go and stay at Spring Grove.”

  Curiosity took over as she moved past her mother to the box. She thought she had everything packed away up in her own attic, but apparently, that wasn’t the case. On the top of all her things was a Polaroid of her laptop on a table with a beautiful lake behind it. Covering her mouth, Gen exhaled hard. “Wow. I took this when I finished, Capture Me, my first book.”

  Her mother beamed. “I know. I don’t know how this got left behind.”

  “Sorry to bother you, but are we going to get started?”

  Gen ignored Verna as she reached for another picture, this one of only the Blu, a B&B back in Spring Grove, Kentucky, with the tulips in bloom. Smiling, she moved through the contents of the box as chills ran down her back. The Blu was her favorite place in the world. When she was younger—and rebellious as hell—she had gone on a road trip. At the time, it was silly, and the trip was only supposed to be for a weekend, a last hurrah before college, but when they arrived in Spring Grove, she found herself at the Blu. So much had happened in the span of three days that before she knew it, she didn’t leave for a month. Oh, everyone was so mad, but she didn’t care. Especially when she wrote her first novel there.

  Man, the memories.

  “You haven’t been in years.”

  She nodded, running her fingers along the tulips. “Four years. I bet the tulips are up.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  A grin tickled her lips. “Man, I miss that place.”

  “You should go back.”

  She glanced over at her mother, laughing. “I can’t. So much going on. My book…and the wedding.”

  Gen’s gaze returned to the box as her mother thought for a moment. “Don’t you have to have the book finished before the wedding?”

  Gen nodded, looking up. “I do.”

  “So, go. Don’t you think it would be amazing to finish your last novel as a single woman in the house where you wrote your first?”

  Gen grinned at that. “Yeah, it would be awesome.”

  “I think it would be silly, and you’re right, we have so much planning to do,” Verna interjected. “We have a lot of work to do.”

  But her mother waved Verna off. “That we can handle, Verna, surely. She’s so stressed.”

  Verna rolled her eyes. “She wouldn’t be if she’d just quit this silly writing.”

  Gen’s mother looked back at Verna and shook her head. “It’s her dream, and I believe in her dreams. I will take more of the load. I’ll text you if I need you. Go, my love, you need this.”

  But Genevieve just laughed. “I don’t even know if they’re still open! I haven’t even seen anything about them. I don’t know…” She shook her head. It was a crazy thought, an insane one, but she couldn’t shake the feeling it was a great one. She wasn’t sure if she should or even could. She knew she would definitely finish the book. Every time she went to the Blu to write, her writing juices flowed like the Amazon, and it was almost magical. She loved that place, she did, but could she get away? Would Montgomery be okay with it?

  Probably not.

  “I’m sure my son would not appreciate his bride leaving weeks before their wedding.”

  Rolling her eyes, Genevieve tried to ignore Montgomery’s mother, but her mother was glaring back at Verna. “I doubt Montgomery would even notice with how much he is working lately.”

  “Well, Fawn, he is very successful. He has to work.”

  “I never said he didn’t,” her mother countered. “But like your son, my daughter is extremely successful, and she needs to get away.”

  Verna rolled her eyes. “She can write anywhere.”

  Fawn glared. “While this may be true, why don’t you look out for yours, and I’ll look out for mine. She needs a getaway, just her. She’s breaking out.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Genevieve glared as her mother ran her hands along her pimpled jaw. She was like a teenager going through puberty, but it always happened when she was stressed. She knew she was under pressure, but maybe it was more than usual.

  Shit, maybe her mom was right.

  Shooting her a forgiving smile, Fawn patted her hand. “Go.”

  But Genevieve still wasn’t sure.

  She wanted to. Lord, did she. She’d leave right that second, with nothing but her laptop and toothbrush, but she didn’t. Instead, she replaced the pictures in the box and sat down to plan her wedding.

  While she was sure her mother knew, Gen would never admit to Verna that she wasn’t paying even the least bit of attention to the plans they were making.

  Because her thoughts were captivated by all her memories of the Blu.

  Chapter Two

  When Gen heard the front door close downstairs, she turned off her music and swallowed hard as she shut the lid of her laptop. She hadn’t planned on staying up and waiting for Montgomery to get home, but the more she’d thought about the Blu, the more she knew she had to go. It would be so great for her. Time to herself. Get away from his awful mother and the planning of this spectacle called a wedding. She needed this. For her sanity, at the very least.

  Twirling her engagement ring on the desk, she watched as it spun, the light catching the over-the-top diamond she really didn’t care for. She’d told Montgomery she didn’t want such a huge diamond. She’d wanted a small one, something easy to type with but, of course, this damn diamond weighed more than a baby! Okay, that was an exaggeration, but still. It was heavy, and she hardly ever wore it.

  Placing the ring in the little bowl she kept on her desk for it, she turned in her seat, pushing her hair up into a better bun as she listened to Montgomery move around the downstairs, probably putting away his keys, taking off his coat, and getting something to drink. He had a routine when he came home late at night. He usually settled down with a beer while watching the sports highlights. She was about to get up when she heard him coming up the stairs, which was a tad surprising. When he appeared in the doorway, his brows were raised.

  “I thought I heard you up. I didn’t expect you to be,” he said, undoing the buttons on his wrists before shaking his sleeves out as he came toward her. “It’s almost midnight.”

  She nodded, crossing her legs. “Just working. Our mothers didn’t leave until ten.”

  He made a face before rolling his eyes. He leaned down then, kissing the top of her head. “Yeah, my mother called.” He cupped her chin. “You look exhausted.”

  Her brows pulled together as she nodded. “I am, but what did she want?”

  He shook his head, running his hands through his hair before he tucked them into his pockets. “She wasn’t very happy with your meeting. Asked me not to have your mother
there—” Gen went to protest, but he held up his hand. “But I told her, no way, that your mother will be one hundred percent in this.”

  She smiled weakly. “Thank you.”

  His lips quirked a bit, showing a bit of the guy she had fallen for so long ago. It seemed like eons ago. She hadn’t wanted to go out with him. She had grown up with him and wasn’t the least bit attracted to him, but then her mother pushed and his mother pushed and she found herself at dinner with him. It was that quirky grin that got her. She found it endearing, and back then, when he wasn’t stressed with work and they were having a lot more sex, she fell in love. Her smile grew a bit as she reached up, taking his hand. He was a good man, and she knew he would be supportive of her going to the Blu. He knew how much it meant to her.

  Clearing his throat, he rolled his eyes once more. “She told me everything that was going on with the wedding, and then told me to remind you that you have a fitting this week.”

  Gen’s brows pulled together, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “That doesn’t make sense. I already had my fitting.”

  He shrugged. “She said she wanted it more formfitting, so she ordered a size down.”

  Gen’s eyes widened as her stomach dropped. “Um, that won’t work. I’m a size fourteen. Going down is a twelve. There is no way.”

  He shrugged. “She has full faith you’ll be able to fit into it with the diet and all—”

  She threw her hands up, anger vibrating her body. “Mont, I’m not on a diet! I haven’t been. I told her I was to get her off my back. My dress is in the closet. I don’t want another size. I’m fine!”

  He held his hands up. “Then ignore it.”

  “Mont, that’s bullshit. She wants me to be a fucking Barbie!”

  He rolled his eyes. “But I don’t,” he said simply, taking her hips in his hands. “I love your shape. Could you lose some weight? Sure. But then, so could I.”

  She glared, moving out of his hands. “You think I need to lose weight?

  He met her gaze, and she could see the realization of what he’d said. Shaking his head, he muttered, “Fuck, no. I’m sorry. That came out so wrong. I love you. I love you the way you are. I promise.” Taking her face in his hands, he pressed his nose to hers. “Really, Gen, I’m sorry.”

  She bit into her lip, exhaling hard. “It’s fine.” But it wasn’t. She was very confident in her body. She loved herself, but there was always that little bit of self-consciousness when it came to his mother. Verna always made her feel like a cow, and damn it, she wasn’t. She was curvy and fucking beautiful, damn it.

  “It isn’t. I’m sorry.”

  She smiled, covering his hands with hers. “Okay.” He moved his nose along hers, and her eyes drifted shut slowly, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. “I miss you.”

  He nodded. “I know, it’s been crazy.”

  “It has.” She cleared her throat. “Which I wanted to talk to you about.”

  He opened his eyes as he pulled back some. “Gen, you know I can’t take off any time. I know you miss me—”

  “No, I know that,” she interjected, holding his gaze. “I want to go away and finish my book.”

  His brows pulled together. “What? Why?”

  “Because I can’t get anything done here. I’m distracted by you, when you are home, by our mothers, this wedding—which should be done and you know it. Even my mom said I should go away.”

  He shook his head. “I mean, yeah, but why? Why do you have to go away? I’ll just tell my mom to let it go. Let the planners take over.”

  Her shoulders fell. “Mont, I’m not inspired here. Usually, my books flow, but I’m stuck. I need to go somewhere where I can get my writing juices flowing.”

  His brow furrowed as he gazed down at her. “So where are you trying to go?”

  “The Blu.”

  He scoffed. “You want to go all the way to Spring Grove, Kentucky to write? That’s a twelve-hour drive from here, or a two-hour drive from the nearest airport since they don’t have a damn airport of their own.”

  “I know, but I write so well there.”

  He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Fine, you go, and then you’re done when you finish.” He didn’t put it to her as a question; he almost demanded it, though she wasn’t sure what the hell he was talking about.

  She pulled her brows together as she shook her head. “I don’t understand. Of course, I’ll be done when I finish.”

  “No, I mean done, done. This ‘career’ will be over.”

  She laughed, her eyes widening. “Are you insane? No, no it won’t.”

  “My mom thinks it’s—”

  “I don’t give seven shits what your mother thinks of my career. It only matters what I think—”

  “That’s selfish! You have to worry about what I think.”

  “And I take that into consideration, I do, but this is who I am. You knew this before we ever got together. I am a writer.”

  “It’s pointless.”

  “No, it’s not!” she yelled back, her eyes wide and full of anger. “Mont, like your job is a part of you, my writing is a part of me.”

  “It’s not a career.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Montgomery, I make six figures a year. Tell me that is not a successful career. Please. Tell me.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You can’t go out and tell people, I’m a smut writer.”

  “Yes, I can,” she insisted, throwing her hands up. “It’s not just smut, though. It’s love. It’s heartbreak, loss, vulnerability. It’s life. I give my characters a life for people to get lost in. How dare you not understand this is a part of me. Do you not know me?”

  He shook his head. “Of course I do, Gen. I just hate that part of you. It’s silly to me.”

  She glared, her heart aching in her chest. “Montgomery, do you know how that hurts me?” Her eyes burned into his, but he showed no remorse. “I have no clue what you do. I have no need to know because, no matter what, I support you because I love you. Unlike other women would, I don’t question your late nights, your meetings, nothing—because I trust you and I support you. I know for a fact you’re working hard for us, for our future. Don’t you realize I’m doing the same? That my career will be able to put our children through college?”

  He rolled his eyes. “We don’t need it.”

  “But I do,” she said simply. “I need this outlet.”

  “If you’d get a normal job—”

  She rolled her eyes. “No. I won’t.”

  “Genevieve.”

  “Mont.” She held his heated gaze, inhaling hard as she shook her head. “This is who I am. This is who you’re marrying. I’m not quitting. I’m not stopping. I’m going to the Blu, where I’ll write this novel—”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve made it clear I don’t want you to go.”

  She glared up at him. “No, you said, I go, I quit after I’m done. Which I told you, no, I’m not.”

  He glared back. “Fine. I don’t want you to go.”

  Her blood boiled. “Okay. Why?”

  “Because we’re getting married in a matter of weeks!”

  “And I’ll be back in time—”

  “We have parties to attend the next three weeks.”

  “And you can go stag, say I’m away.”

  “Gen, this is ridiculous.”

  She laughed as it all dawned on her. “You know what I think is ridiculous, Mont? The fact that I’m just now realizing you have no intention of accepting my career. I think, for the longest time, I was trying to convince myself that one day you would. That you’d be supportive once we were married, but now I know that’s not true.”

  “It’s not a real career!”

  “It is to me,” she answered back, shaking her head. “But, Montgomery, I’m not walking down that aisle if you can’t accept me for who I am. I am an author. It is who I am. Just like the chip in my front tooth or the stretch marks on my hips or even the curves that you
love. It is all a part of me.” Clearing her throat free of the emotion that was threatening to choke her, she looked down at the ground. “We’ve danced around this for years, and I can’t anymore, Mont. I won’t do this if you can’t accept me.”

  “So you’re calling off the wedding?”

  She looked up, a serious expression on her face. “Do you want that?”

  “No.” His gaze was wild as it bored into hers. “I want you to quit, be a regular housewife.”

  “It’s not in my makeup, never has it been. When I look at my future, I see a baby on my boob as I work. Or one in a wrap on my back while I map out my stories. There isn’t a moment in my future where I don’t see myself writing.”

  He just shook his head, looking away. “This is all insane.”

  “It is. It’s a fight we don’t need to have if you’d just accept it.”

  “Or you can just quit.”

  “Not happening.”

  Their gazes locked, anguished, as she cleared her throat. Her heart was pounding, and her chest hurt. She knew he didn’t do ultimatums, but she wouldn’t back down on this. She wasn’t the kind of girl to change herself for a man. She hadn’t before Montgomery, and she wouldn’t now. She loved him, she did, but she’d be damned if he wouldn’t accept her as she was. “Use these two weeks to figure out what you want, Montgomery. I’ll have my phone.”

  He snorted loudly in disbelief. “Just like that.”

  “Just like that.”

  Turning on his heel, he left the room in a huff. What she hated most was that she wanted to chase him, ask him to support her and believe in her.

  But she didn’t, because he wasn’t chasing her.

  Chapter Three

  He wasn’t good enough for her. He knew that, staring deep into her brown gaze that was drowning in tears. He couldn’t be the man she needed. The man she deserved. He wasn’t that guy.

  “Don’t leave, Travis. Please.”

  “Ash, I’m not good.”

  “You are,” she stressed, pressing her hands into his chest. “I know you are.”

  “I’m the furthest from a good man. I’ve cheated, I’ve stolen. Ash, I’ve fucking killed.”