He’d bought a couple of items for his house and some gifts over the past few months. In fact, he’d gotten a great piece for his parents’ anniversary that he still needed to wrap. He’d probably end up taking it back to the store so Holland could do it better, but he would try, at least.
He frowned. “Ah, I guess I didn’t realize that.”
“You didn’t talk it over with Bristol, then?” There was something in the other man’s tone that put Marcus on edge. Aaron was a good man, a better brother, but he was so damn protective that he sometimes reminded Marcus of himself.
And that wasn’t always a good thing.
“Is there something you want to ask? Because you sure are acting like you have something on your mind.” Marcus might be quiet most of the time, but he also didn’t have to take Aaron’s shit. He liked Aaron. A lot. The guy was caring, funny, and usually had a quick wit that could make anyone smile, even if they were having the shittiest of days. But he was also as overprotective as the rest of the damn Montgomerys. Like Marcus was when it came to his own family and the Montgomerys.
“Why? Is there something you need to say?”
“You’re starting to worry me,” Aaron said, and Marcus frowned, stuffing his phone into his pocket.
“I am?”
“You’re not usually the most talkative of the bunch, but I still can’t quite believe that you’re dating my sister—no, dating’s not the right word. Engaged to her. Were you lying to us all this time? Keeping your relationship a secret? I don’t know how I feel about that.”
And this was why Marcus was still on the fence about telling the truth as to exactly what was going on between him and Bristol. However, it was still his issue to contend with. They needed to work this out between them. Not anyone else. No one needed to know exactly how their relationship had come about. Because it was still in its infancy. They needed to figure it out on their own. And having everybody in their business, trying to get answers from them, wasn’t going to help that.
“I know you’re her brother and all, but I don’t think I need to tell you everything about my relationship with your sister.”
Aaron’s brows shot up. “You know, I didn’t think you’d actually step off like that. I figured you’d be the one to tell us since Bristol is always tight-lipped about her life. However, she is my sister, so I do believe you owe me an explanation.”
Liam was behind Aaron suddenly and put his hand on Aaron’s shoulder. He gave it a squeeze, and Aaron winced. Marcus tried not to find any glee in the action. It mostly worked. “Stop interrogating Marcus. Tonight is guys’ night. Meaning, don’t be a fucking idiot.”
Aaron, however, didn’t let up. “I’m just saying, I want to know how you ended up engaged to our baby sister.”
“She’s our baby sister,” Ethan said, coming up on Aaron’s other side. All the Montgomery guys were pretty much the same size—big, broad, and pure muscle. And considering that most of them worked from desk chairs, Marcus was always surprised by how beefed-up they were. It probably made sense that their guys’ night tonight was starting with a workout, and then perhaps a beer if they felt like it.
Ethan and Lincoln had a gym in their basement, and not one with only a single punching bag and maybe a treadmill. No, they had gone all out, considering that Lincoln had a kick-ass job that allowed him to spend money on the two loves of his life even if they didn’t always like it that he did.
“Yes, you’re the baby,” Liam agreed.
Aaron rolled his eyes. “But she’s the smallest. I don’t like being the baby.”
“I don’t think your place in the hierarchy of the Montgomerys has changed in the past twenty-something years,” Lincoln said, shaking his head.
Marcus grinned and got up from the seat at the desk that he’d been sitting in.
“Considering I’m the baby, too, I feel for you,” Marcus said.
Aaron’s eyes brightened. “Yes, I always forget that you’re the baby. But you have three older sisters.”
“They never let me get away with anything, even though my mother always said I was spoiled and coddled.”
“See, that makes sense, then,” Liam said, squeezing Aaron’s shoulder again. “Aaron is spoiled and coddled.”
“Fuck all y’all.”
“Y’all? We live in Colorado. Not Texas.”
“I’ve been watching westerns. Sue me.”
“You know, I was thinking of writing a western thriller,” Liam said.
Marcus frowned. “Don’t you write one main series where your leading character goes on adventures and almost dies like every other book?”
“I do, but I’ve had an inkling to write a second series.”
“Really?” Marcus grinned, his interest piqued. He loved Liam’s work and was a closet fanboy. Not that anyone other than Bristol needed to know his true love for Liam’s books.
“I always forget that you’re a junkie for his work,” Aaron said, laughing.
Marcus shrugged. “Considering I have a Lincoln painting, some of your blown glass, and Ethan built my computer, I’m pretty sure I have a collection of Montgomery creations in my house.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re marrying one of us, then,” Liam said dryly. “You can finally get that family discount.”
“Wait, there’s a discount?” Aaron asked, his mouth agape. “You always make me pay for your damn books.”
“Hell yeah, I do,” Liam said, laughing. “You don’t get things for free. Remember, you’re already spoiled and coddled.”
“I hate you all.”
“You love us, but that’s fine.” Ethan looked over at Marcus. “Okay, you ready to work out? We’re lifting tonight.”
“How the hell is this a guys’ night? Shouldn’t we like…watch sports and eat wings or something?” Aaron grumbled but still looked eager.”
“That’s next time,” Lincoln said dryly. “I don’t think we’re allowed to gorge ourselves on fried food until after all the weddings so these guys can fit into their tuxes.”
“Hey, I’m still the best-looking,” Aaron said, sliding his hands down his chest. “Don’t you think?”
“No,” they all said at the same time, and Aaron flipped them off.
“Seriously, though, we planned on lifting because we needed to get a workout in, and finding time and spotters isn’t always easy with our schedules. Next time, it will be wings and junk food and tons of beer.” Liam looked around. “Of course, there might be beer after the workout. Just saying.”
“Then let’s get to it,” Marcus said, rolling his shoulders back. “I could punch something, too,” he said, wondering why that had come out.
Liam raised a single brow. “If it’s because of our precious baby sister, then we’re going to need to take you out back and teach you what it means to be married to a Montgomery.”
“I have no idea what that means,” Marcus said dryly.
Lincoln smiled. “All it means is that they’re going to needle you to death to try and figure out exactly what’s going on between the two of you. They’re not violent. Thankfully.”
“You know, I’ve been part of this family somehow since I was what, six? And I’m still scared of the Montgomerys.”
Lincoln laughed. “I feel you. I might’ve taken a little bit longer to be part of the Montgomerys, but from the outsider’s point of view? It’s like a cult.”
“One of us. One of us,” the three Montgomerys said and then laughed at their joke.
Liam shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. “There has to be another cult that doesn’t say that phrase. Right?”
Ethan shrugged. “True, but I’m not really in the mood to be part of the Donner Party.”
Marcus laughed. “The Donner Party isn’t a cult, is it?”
“As a studier of the occult…” Aaron began and then went off on a tangent about cults, cult leaders, and Kool-Aid.
Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose and made his way down to the basement.
The group did a little lifting, while Marcus also used the punching bag, Aaron being his spotter. They laughed, talked about work, art, and the next game. They pointedly didn’t talk about women.
And considering that was usually what they focused on these days, Marcus knew it was because of Bristol.
No one knew exactly what to think when it came to him and Bristol, and considering that he was right there with them, he was glad for the reprieve. “Hey, next time you should bring your friend, Ronin, over,” Liam said as they finished up and cleaned the equipment.
Marcus frowned. “Maybe. He doesn’t like to go out much.”
“Well, we won’t force him into working out with us. Maybe when we go out and see a game or something?”
“Yeah, he might like that. He’s a good guy, but sometimes, I feel like he hides away in the book stacks.”
“You do the same occasionally, but Bristol always brings you out.”
Marcus was silent while he waited for Liam to continue, but he didn’t.
“You’re not going to ask?”
“I don’t know if I need to ask anything. I trust my sister, and I trust you.”
They were both silent for a moment, and Marcus was grateful that the others were in the kitchen setting up stuff for dinner.
“Nevertheless, if you hurt her, I’ll end you. And not only in a book, though that will likely happen, too. We joke that she’s our baby sister, but that’s the truth. She puts herself out into the world, not simply her music but also her soul, and she needs a safe place to come home to. You’ve always been that safe place, but if you damage that, if you harm her in any way, her body, her soul, her heart? It’s over. I don’t know how the two of you started this relationship, but I see the way she looks at you, and the way you look at her. There’s something there, so I’m not going to say anything about the fact that we didn’t know ahead of time. Because that wasn’t for us to know. All I do know is that she’s always been yours, just like you’ve always been hers. So, don’t fuck it up.”
Marcus swallowed hard.
“She’s my best friend, Liam,” Marcus said—it was the only thing he could.
“I know. Like Arden’s mine.”
The others walked into the room at that moment, and they didn’t need to say anything else. Marcus picked up his glass of water instead of the beer that he wasn’t in the mood for anymore, and then they went back to talking about sports. Of course, as soon as they did, Ethan spoke up.
“Okay, I heard part of what Liam was saying, but I’m going to talk now, too,” the other man said, and Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Oh God, please don’t.”
“Don’t worry, love of my life, I’m not an asshole.”
Aaron coughed into his fist, and Ethan flipped his brother off.
“All I’m going to say is, welcome to the family.” Ethan held up his glass, and Marcus swallowed hard, giving the other men a nod.
“Thanks.”
“And if you fuck with our sister, we’ll fuck with you.”
Marcus burst out laughing with the rest of them because Ethan looked so sweet and innocent as he said the words.
Lincoln groaned and covered his face with his hands. “Seriously?” he mumbled into his palms.
“Seriously.”
“You guys weren’t this bad to me when I joined,” Lincoln said, lowering his hands.
“But you were taking Ethan off their hands. Bristol is their precious baby sister, remember?” Marcus said deadpan, and Ethan’s mouth dropped.
“I can’t believe you said that,” Ethan said and then burst out laughing with the rest of them.
Aaron looked between them, shaking his head. “You know, I might be the youngest, but I didn’t think I’d be the last one standing.”
Marcus frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The last single Montgomery. I mean, what is Boulder going to do without us? I guess I’m just going to have to carry the load and make sure that everyone knows that there is still a young, sexy, Montgomery left in waiting.”
Marcus snorted. “I’m pretty sure everybody always knew you were always available.”
“I don’t know if you’re trying to clap back at me with that or not, but I’m going to take it as a compliment. Everyone does know my prowess.”
“Please don’t say prowess again,” Liam said, shaking his head.
“Seriously. Never again.” Ethan shivered.
“Hey. All I’m saying is that in the last book I read, prowess is a big thing.”
“Stop saying prowess,” Lincoln grumbled.
“And for someone who reads the number of romance books that you do, you seriously don’t understand women,” Ethan said.
“And you do?” Lincoln asked his lover.
Ethan grinned. “Holland thinks so.”
“Okay,” Lincoln said, a sarcastic note to his tone.
“I don’t like your tone, mister.”
“You can deal with it later,” Lincoln practically purred. Marcus closed his eyes, holding back a laugh.
There had been threats, sure, but they were good-natured. No one was digging, as if they’d always known this was inevitable. Were he and Bristol inevitable? He’d like to think so. Only, sometimes, he wasn’t sure. Mostly because he hadn’t let himself think about it.
He wasn’t going to mess this up, though. He couldn’t. Not only because of the people in this room, and what they would do if he did. No, he wouldn’t mess this up because he wanted Bristol. There, he’d said it. He wanted her. He wanted to see who they could be together, and what would happen if they took that next step. When they did.
Because tomorrow they would go on a date, and he would be with her. And while they might be going about this relationship backward, they were still making it work.
And he wouldn’t let his insecurities hurt her or make the Montgomerys want to take vengeance out on him.
Because the Montgomerys were family, they were steady. Just like he had always thought he was with Bristol.
And so, he was going to make sure that happened. No matter what.
Chapter 9
What did one wear for your first date with your fiancé, when said fiancé was also your best friend and had been in your life for twenty-four years?
“Not what you’re wearing, Bristol Montgomery.”
She pulled off her top and stood there in black pants and her bra, wondering when she had lost her mind. Oh, probably around ten years ago when she asked her friend and confidante to marry her out of the blue.
And the fact that she kept talking to herself meant that she was beyond the point where she could bring back her sanity. Which was fine, artists were allowed to lose their minds. It helped them create. It assisted with their art.
And if she gagged as she thought that, she didn’t blame herself.
What to wear, what to wear.
She pulled off her pants, leaving her in a lacy bra and matching panties. They were new, and totally fuck-me-against-a-door underwear, and she had no idea if they were going to be used tonight.
Was she going to sleep with Marcus? She didn’t know. The thought sent shivers through her body, and her stomach clenched. Not to mention her pussy that went wet at the thought.
Well then, apparently, since dream Marcus was very good with his hands, his mouth, and that meaty cock of his, perhaps she hoped real Marcus was the same way.
She really had to stop thinking the phrase meaty cock because that sounded weird for anyone other than dream Marcus.
She would not say that to his face, though.
She knew the moment she least expected it, the phrase meaty cock would come out, and she would die of mortification.
“Enough of that,” she told herself.
She just happened to be wearing pretty panties and a gorgeous bra. Because she liked to wear them. And because she didn’t know what was going to happen tonight, so she might as well feel pretty under whatever clothes she decided on.
Had she groomed herself? Yes. Had she shaved her legs? Yes. Had she made sure her hair was smooth and in waves? Yes. She hadn’t finished her makeup yet, mostly because she wanted to make sure that it matched her clothes, but at this point, she didn’t know. So, she quickly ran to the bathroom to finish up the last of her eyeshadow.
She had everything else done but was seriously worried that she would end up only wearing the pale lavender lace panties and bra.
Her boobs did look great, and as she turned, her ass looked great, too.
Was Marcus going to see that? Who knew?
Because this was just a first date. She generally didn’t sleep with anyone on the first date. In fact, she didn’t think she ever had.
She frowned, thinking. Nope, never. But this was Marcus. This was different.
And she had done her best to never think about her best friend in this situation, but now she was going to have to because…here they were. She added a bit of color to her eyelids and tried to take deep breaths. Was she going to sleep with Marcus tonight? She didn’t know. She didn’t know how this date was going to go at all.
She wanted him. She truly wanted him. And that scared her. She hadn’t allowed herself to feel the depths of this emotion before. And now that it was an option? She wasn’t sure she could actually focus.
But that was Marcus with her. He always made her breath catch, even if she hadn’t realized that was what was happening.
The idea of being with Marcus tonight? She had to get the thought out of her head that they were best friends with all their history. She had to go at this like a real date. Because she liked dates. She liked dating.
She liked touching, feeling, laughing. She liked that butterfly sensation within her belly as she tried to suck in a breath and…be.
She wasn’t the best at dating, not that great at relationships either. But she tried. Her work took her out of the country often, and sometimes, she had to throw herself into practice, too. Well, that was most of the time.
She did her best to be there for the person she was with, but sometimes, she had to focus on herself. It had taken a lot of therapy, and even more family time for her to realize that that was okay. Marcus had always understood. And the fact that she was somehow getting a chance with him after all this time? It had to mean something. Right?
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