“You’re just going to put it all out there then? Just change everything that we’ve ever done in this company?”
“Father,” I said, keeping my voice stern but still respectable—at least as much as I could. “We’ve already decided to do this. You were in here when we did.”
“I don’t know. I still feel like it’s too big of a change.”
“It is a change. But it’s for the good of the company. We all decided we needed to be more eco-friendly, and this is what we’re doing.”
“It costs too much,” Dad complained.
“It does cost a lot,” I said, agreeing with him. “Sustainability is something we all need to worry about. And so, we are. You agreed to this with us last month. And the month before. We’re not changing this, Dad. I know it sucks, but we’re going to do it.”
Dad glared at me for a bit before nodding tightly. I knew this wasn’t over. He’d complain again, and we’d have this same conversation at least once more. However, I was the architect. I was the one in charge of the plans that were leading us in our new direction. And Dad would have to step back eventually. I only hoped he didn’t hate us when he finally did.
By the end of the meeting, my nerves were frayed, and we still had more questions than answers. Dad didn’t quite understand what we were doing, that we weren’t running away from his plans, that we were trying to build on them. And that was a problem. A big one. I just didn’t know how to fix it.
“This is going to be a problem,” Benjamin said as he walked in, echoing my thoughts.
“I think it already is,” I whispered.
“We need to talk to Mom. She’s the only one that can talk him down.”
“Except she’s getting just as bad as he is with some things,” I said softly.
Benjamin shook his head, his eyes tight. “I don’t have answers, and I know you don’t either. But I hate this. I’m starting to hate that our parents still work here. And I like our family. I don’t want to hate my parents.”
“Ditto,” Paige said from behind him, and Archer nodded.
Beckett just shook his head, glowering. “I sent Clay home. He took a Saturday morning off away from the kids to deal with Dad’s shitshow. And I’m done. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but this isn’t working anymore.”
I met my siblings’ gazes and nodded. “I know. We’re going to have to figure it out. I just don’t have answers right now. And I was going to work today anyway because I have plans to work on. I need to let my creative juices flow, and I haven’t been able to recently.”
“Because of Jacob Queen?” Archer asked, and I flipped him off.
“No, we’re not talking about that.”
“So, no plans tonight?” Paige asked, and they all looked eager to talk about anything but our family problems.
I just glared at all of them.
“I do not have plans tonight, other than to work. And maybe do this thing called relaxing.”
“So, Mr. Fancypants hasn’t even called then?” Beckett asked.
I blinked at him. “Did you just say fancypants?”
Archer snorted, while Benjamin just shook his head, his lips twitching.
Beckett shrugged. “I don’t know. It just came to me. It doesn’t seem apt now that I think about it.”
“Okay, if this is where you want to be, fine. Since I left Jacob’s bed this morning, I’m pretty sure we didn’t need to make plans for tonight. If I see him, I will. If I don’t? Whatever. It’s not your business, any of you, and that’s the last time I’ll be talking about it in this building.” I let out a breath. “Or ever,” I added, as Paige’s eyes widened, and my brothers just stared at me, mouths agape. “Out. Go do what you need to do. Stop bugging me.”
“Where did you say you were this morning?” Beckett asked, his voice a growl.
“In Jacob’s bed. Yes, I slept with Jacob Queen. More than once. And it wasn’t even the first time. What are you going to do about it, Beckett? Are you going to beat him up? I thought you were all for your sisters being strong women who could take care of themselves. Are you going to be that kind of jerk?”
Beckett stared at me before his lips twitched just like his twin’s. “You are a brat sometimes.”
I shrugged. “Well, you make me.”
“You won’t even let me pretend to be all protective and glowering,” Beckett said, pouting a bit. I loved my brothers.
“You’re only allowed to be protective or glowering if someone hurts me. And only after they hurt me, and I ask you to help me. You don’t get to take it upon yourselves to think that you know what you’re doing.”
“You’re making this whole not-liking-this-guy thing very easy.”
“You don’t have to like or dislike Jacob, because it doesn’t matter. We’re just having fun.” I hadn’t meant to say that, and now they were all glaring at me again, including Paige. “Okay, that’s enough. No more.”
“It’s not going to get serious?” Benjamin asked, tilting his head as he stared at me. “I thought sex would be pretty serious.”
“When’s the last time you got laid, Benjamin? You want to talk about that?” I spat.
Archer rolled his eyes. “Well, since we’re talking about the last time hell froze over, we may need to sit down for a while if we’re going to think about that long-lost time.”
“You’re an asshole,” Benjamin said.
I sighed. “And this family is getting far too close. Go, do your thing. We’ll figure out the whole what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-this-family thing later.”
“Whatever you say,” Beckett said. “But if he hurts you, I reserve the right to hurt him.”
“We reserve the right,” Benjamin said, pointing at the three brothers.
Paige cleared her throat politely. “And I will be the one who helps castrate him. Do we not remember this?” All three guys winced.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “I love you. Now go.” Thankfully, this time, they did. I sank back in my chair, exhausted, even after all the coffee I’d had this morning.
Jacob hadn’t texted, hadn’t said we would see each other tonight, though I honestly didn’t think we would. And that was fine. We didn’t have plans. We didn’t need them. I didn’t want them.
At least, I didn’t think I did. But the problem was, I didn’t know what I wanted from him.
And that was something I would have to add to my long list. Later.
Much, much later.
Chapter 13
Jacob
* * *
“Remind me again what Paige’s boyfriend’s name is,” I asked as I placed my hand on the small of Annabelle’s back and headed into the restaurant. She turned to look up at me, a wry expression on her face.
“Colton. They’ve been going out for a few weeks now—or rather months, I suppose.” She frowned, her nose wrinkling in that adorable way of hers. “I like him, but I don’t know much about him. He came to a couple of Montgomery family events at the bar, and one Montgomery dinner where my parents did their best not to act as if they were excited that Paige might be settling down. However, I haven’t spent too much time with him in a more intimate setting. I don’t know much about him.”
“Well, this should be interesting.” I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to say to that. I hadn’t expected to be going on a double date with Annabelle’s sister and her boyfriend, and from the uneasy look on Annabelle’s face, she felt the same. Somehow, we had been bamboozled into this thanks to Paige. But Paige Montgomery was so sweet sometimes that when she smiled at you, suddenly you were sucked into doing whatever she asked.
“I am sorry. I didn’t realize Paige was going to stop by the house when you and I were finishing up dinner last weekend.”
I shook my head, kind of knowing that it wasn’t Annabelle’s fault that Paige had shown up at her house out of the blue. But when she had, she’d seemed far too into our casual dinner conversation, seemingly noticing things that weren’t even there to begin w
ith, and now…here we were.
“It’s fine. We can handle this.”
Annabelle studied my face, frowning. “I hope you mean handling Paige’s questions and getting to know a guy I don’t know, and not being out with me. Because this is still a double date. It does have the word date in it. That’s not going to change.”
As we entered the foyer, I shook my head, seeing people milling about as they waited to get to the hostess stand. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers. She sighed a bit, her shoulders lowering. “It’s fine. I’m acting weird because this is different for me. I don’t know Paige either. She was basically a baby when I moved away.” Not technically, but it had felt that way years ago.
Annabelle snorted, her eyes dancing with laughter. “Oh, be sure to mention that after we sit down. She hates being the youngest of the family. And I mean of the entire family. She’s the youngest cousin of our generation. Some are a full twenty years older than her at this point.”
My eyes widened. “Oh. So, let me guess, you’ve been holding that over her head for years?”
“Of course. It’s what big sisters do.”
“Do you ever think she feels weird that she’s not a twin?” I asked, not knowing why it came to me.
Annabelle shrugged and leaned into me as someone passed us. I put my hand on her hip and pulled her closer, the movement instinctual.
“Sometimes. But we don’t talk about it much. She’s still family. Still our sister. And I don’t think Archer and I have that twin bond that others talk about. Sometimes, I feel like I know him better than anyone else. And sometimes he surprises me. But I guess that’s the best thing about family—or at least one of them. Benjamin and Beckett, on the other hand, I feel like they’re two peas in a pod, the opposite sides of a coin. Or whatever metaphor you want to use.”
I snorted. “Okay, that makes sense. I’ve just never known a family with two sets of twins.”
“I’m sure there’s more out there, but we do like to be special, us Montgomerys.”
“Why are we special?” a soft voice said from beside me, and I turned, Annabelle in my arms. Paige grinned at us, her dark hair pulled away from her face partially. A man with a chiseled jaw, bright eyes, red hair, and a mischievous smile stood behind her. “I don’t know if you guys have met before. Colton, this is Jacob, Jacob, this is Colton.”
I nodded. “We met at Riggs’.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. At least I wasn’t the one who hovered around you,” Colton said.
I shook my head. “No, but I’m pretty sure the next time I see the girls’ brothers, they’re going to do the same thing to me.”
“Probably,” Paige said, bouncing on her feet.
“We should go and tell them we’re here for our reservation.” Annabelle looked around. “They seem busy tonight.”
“It was hard to get a table for four,” Paige said, nodding. “But Colton knows the chef, and I think that’s how we got in.”
“Let me go take care of it,” Colton said before kissing the top of Paige’s head and making his way to the hostess stand.
“Well, he’s cute,” Annabelle said, and I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Hey,” I growled.
Paige laughed as Annabelle just rolled her eyes. “You’re cute, too. I’m sorry.”
“I have no idea why I put up with you.” I laughed.
She grinned. “I do, but I shouldn’t say it in front of my little sister.”
“La la la, I’m not listening,” Paige said, her hands over her ears.
I grinned then looked over at Colton as he waved us over.
“They’re ready for us,” Colton said, and Paige smiled up at him before taking his hand. I backed up so Annabelle could pass me and then followed.
The hostess started talking to Colton about something or other, and I figured he must know her, as well. She took us to a low table in the corner where we could see everything we wanted but still gave us some privacy.
“Thank you, Sandy,” Colton said, and Sandy grinned and waved at everyone.
“Your waiter tonight will be Alejandro. He will be right with you. Enjoy your meal. It was so nice to meet you, Paige.”
Sandy bounced off, and we all took our seats.
“You seem to know everybody,” Annabelle said, and Colton shrugged.
“I come here often because I know the chef.” He looked up at us. “We went to culinary school together. However, I went into the smaller restaurant-esque area. Not like Dave here. What he’s done is amazing.”
“I’m excited because I’m starving.” Paige looked up at Colton. “Though I’m sure your food will be better.”
Colton shook his head. “As I said, I only have a small bistro. We’re opening a second one down in Denver, but I’m not going to be anywhere near this level. I like what I do and have, and it’s my dream. I don’t know if I could ever do something like this.”
“I don’t know, I think you could. As it is, you seem to make Paige happy,” Annabelle said, and I wrapped my arm around her chair, giving her a look.
She just grinned and ignored me. I didn’t know if we were here so Paige could grill me, or for us to grill Colton. But in the end, I was ultimately here for food because I didn’t want to disappoint Annabelle.
How that had become a significant part of my day, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want anything serious. I had enough on my plate. Even this date tonight cut into my work schedule. And Annabelle knew that and had even mentioned that we’d have to cut tonight short and head home early because both of us had meetings in the morning. Things we couldn’t get out of. Besides seeing each other a couple of nights a week for dinner and for sex, if I were honest with myself, we didn’t get to see each other all that often. We were both working, and we saw each other at my parents’ house on the weekend, but that was it. We were playing things as casually as possible and not getting serious. Except for the fact that tonight seemed serious. It didn’t matter that weeks had passed, both of us telling each other that this was just for fun and wouldn’t mean anything. Tonight seemed a little bit too much for me. And from the way Annabelle kept glancing my way, I had a feeling she was on the same page. Or at least I hoped she was. Because I didn’t want tonight to happen again. I didn’t want to put expectations on her family or her that would hurt her in the end. We were having fun, letting off some steam, and that’s all we could do.
I wouldn’t let myself feel anything more because that would only hurt us both in the end.
And, fuck, I could not fall for my brother’s widow.
That was the warning on a loop in my brain.
I could not fall for Jonah’s widow.
They were just serving dessert when Annabelle looked at me and put her hand on my arm. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice low as Colton and Paige talked to each other, smiles on their faces.
“Nothing, just thinking.”
She frowned. “About what?”
“About what I’m going to do to you later before we call it a night,” I lied and then leaned forward to gently bite her lip. Her eyes went dark, and Paige cleared her throat.
“Well, I assumed we were going to eat this chocolate soufflé, but I suppose if you need to go and take care of your dessert, you’re welcome to it.”
“Nobody is taking this chocolate soufflé from me,” Annabelle said as she picked up the spoon. “Oh my God, it looks amazing.”
“This one is pistachio with chocolate,” Colton added, gesturing towards the airy green dough thing in front of us.
I had no idea how to cook, and I wasn’t good at picking out fancy foods, but everything in front of us tonight had been delicate and decadent. And dessert would be no different. We jokingly fought for the check, with Colton stealing the thunder from us in the end, having taken care of it even before we walked in.
“Sorry, I told you before, I’m handling this. Why do you think I needed to make sure I talked to the hostess before we sat down?” he teased.
I didn’t even think Paige had noticed it, her eyes were so full of love and whatever other emotions filled her as she looked at Colton. But I had noticed that she had accidentally offered us up for another date.
Us, as if we were a real couple and not just keeping it free and easy. We needed to take a step back, figure things out. Or maybe I just needed to get my head out of my ass and walk away.
“Okay, you guys go enjoy your second dessert of the evening,” Paige teased, and Annabelle laughed, her cheeks turning a pretty pink.
“You’re terrible, and I love you.” She kissed her sister’s cheek and then hugged Colton. “It’s nice to truly meet you and get to know you. And remember what I talked about earlier. I will hurt you,” she said, even though she was laughing. I didn’t think it was actually too much of a joke.
“You Montgomerys are vicious,” Colton said and then met my gaze. “Don’t you feel that? Are you ever afraid they’re just going to attack you en masse if you screw up?”
I swallowed hard, doing my best not to look at Paige or Annabelle. “I think Annabelle and I know what we’re doing.”
Annabelle stiffened next to me once again, and I looked over reluctantly as Paige gave me an odd look before blinking it away. “Okay, really, have a good night. We are going to have a good night of our own,” Paige said, laughing as Colton picked her up in the parking lot and carried her like a princess off to their car.
“I would pick you up and carry you, but I’m super full,” I teased.
“Oh, good, because I’m not really into the whole white knight routine.”
Yet she was still watching them, a wistful look on her face. I gave a dramatic sigh, reached down, and picked her up. She let out a yelp and grabbed me around the neck hard enough that I nearly choked.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to pick me up.”
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