“No problem. If I’m not here, use the key to get him. I know you don’t like using it, and I understand and appreciate that, but I also can’t be here all the time for you to pick him up.”
He nodded. “No problem.” He didn’t mind using the key at times like those anyway, not when it came to Captain. With one last wave, he headed down the sidewalk and tried to just enjoy his time with his dog. Later, he’d deal with whatever was wrong with Molly’s faucet and the other myriad chores he had on his list, but for now, it was him and Captain.
And later…later, he’d go see the friend he missed.
Later.
Chapter 3
By the time Dimitri got Captain back to the house and pulled himself away, over an hour had passed, and his stomach was rumbling. He made his way to the highway and drove a couple of exits down to North Academy, where Colorado Icing was located. Thea’s building was the second to last unit in the strip, and a couple of doors down from the tattoo shop her brother and sister co-owned—Montgomery Ink Too.
He hadn’t been there for the grand opening, but he planned to stop by soon for some new ink. He’d gone to Thea’s sister, Adrienne, in the past at her old place downtown, as well as to Thea’s cousin up at the original Montgomery Ink in Denver a couple of times, but he was glad there was a place with immense talent in his neighborhood. He wanted to finish his other arm soon, and since he already had to wear sleeves, he might as well have both arms done.
He parked in the lot and looked around. He liked the area and shopped at a couple of the other places in the strip, as well. He really liked Teas’d, the newer tea shop near Montgomery Ink Too. The owner was a sweet woman with a sad smile and sorrowful eyes, but she always picked out the best tea for his mood. He had no idea how she did it, but then again, Thea could do the same with sweets and coffee.
Apparently, he was spoiled when it came to this part of town, but he wouldn’t complain. He made his way to the bakery, hoping Thea was actually working. If not, he’d still get something sweet to eat before going home to make dinner. It was Friday, so he might as well splurge on his calories for the week since he hadn’t yet.
When he went inside, he grinned. Thea was behind the counter, smiling at something another customer was saying. She had flour on her cheek, and if he didn’t know better, he’d have assumed she added it daily as part of her work attire. But since the spot seemed to be in a different place every time he came into the shop, he figured it just showed how into her work she actually was.
The place had been updated and painted a few times since she opened, and he thought the clean lines and almost French feel was perfectly suited to her. She’d finished pastry school in Colorado and had stayed because her family was here, and from what he knew, she loved the area, as well. Considering he’d stayed in the city after college too, he didn’t blame her. Nothing beat looking at the mountains to the west and wondering every time if it was a surreal painting and not something nature had created.
Dimitri moved forward and toward the front of the shop where he could order a sweet coffee and probably a brownie. He loved Thea’s brownies and usually had to work an extra set or four into his workouts so he could glut himself on them. Of course, he also loved her cookies and cakes and even the biscotti, though he hadn’t known why people liked biscotti at all before he tried hers.
The customer in front of him left with a coffee in one hand and a plate of frosted cookies in the other and gave Dimitri a nod before taking his seat. Dimitri knew that Thea usually brought orders directly to the table herself, or had one of her servers do it unless it was something simple like a black coffee and a single pastry item. The place was well run, and he had a feeling Colorado Icing was only the beginning for Thea.
“Hey,” he said quietly when her eyes widened at the sight of him.
“Hey.” She swallowed hard. “You haven’t been into the shop in…well, it’s been a while.”
He smiled, knowing the awkward feeling between them came from his speech the other night in the parking lot. He missed Thea, damn it. She’d been his friend too, and for all her saying she wouldn’t take sides in the divorce, they’d each pulled away from each other for Molly’s sake. And now he had a feeling he’d made the wrong choice.
He didn’t have many friends, not anymore. Most had been his and Molly’s, and a lot of them had gone to her. He’d understood since they were in different social and financial circles than he was, and most had been in Molly’s crowd long before Dimitri met her. But other than his family, he didn’t have as many people in his life as he would like.
And he missed his friend.
“I told you I’d try to be by more. For the cake.”
She rolled her eyes. “You sure love your sweets. I have no idea how you stay so built.”
She blushed, and Dimitri chuckled before raising his brow.
“You’re a baker, and I can say the same about you.”
She rolled her eyes. “The skinny baker schtick is freaking annoying. I’m not skinny. I have curves. And I work my ass off to keep them. Plus, you know, there’s only so many bites of brownies in my life I can deal with.”
He resisted the urge to look down at her ass at the mention of her curves. Thankfully, she was angled away so that he couldn’t see, but still.
“Speaking of brownies…”
“I have four kinds left today. We had a fifth, but I underestimated this city’s love of marshmallows.”
“Marshmallows? I missed marshmallows.”
She laughed. “Yeah, about ten minutes ago.”
“Damn it, I should have brought Captain with me so I didn’t miss it.”
Her expression softened at the mention of his golden. “I miss him so much. I don’t get to see him nearly as often as I would like.”
“Same.”
She winced. “I’m sorry. That has to suck.”
“Pretty much. But I’m still looking for a place that lets in big dogs.”
“I’ll keep an eye out, as well. I’m sure one of the Montgomerys will be able to find one for you. We’re good at things like that.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
The light flickered above her, and she let out a curse.
“Need help with that?”
“No, I have it. It’s that damn light bulb. I switched it out a month ago, and it’s already going out again. Meaning, I need to find an electrician. I can probably call one of my cousins who are the only ones I trust since it’s their job and they’re the best, but it’s still a pain in the ass.”
She went about getting him a caramel brownie without him even having to ask since, yes, he’d go for caramel if marshmallow wasn’t available. Then she set about working on a vanilla latte for him. Apparently, she knew him better than he remembered.
“How late do you work tonight?” he asked as she handed him his order.
“I close tonight since I didn’t open. But not too much longer.” Something beeped behind her, and she turned, bent over, and reached to tap something on the counter.
He blinked and did his best not to look at her, not to stare. And that’s when he knew he was screwed. Because he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head, and she was the one person he shouldn’t be looking at.
He wanted her as his friend. Nothing more.
And nothing less.
“I don’t close tomorrow, though.” He blinked as she turned back to him, biting her lip. “And you were right about the whole being friends things. We were friends before you got married, and I miss you, too.” She swallowed hard. “So, anyway, I’m having a family and friends game night at my house. Silly games and lots of snacks and booze because…why not. Do you want to come?”
He let out a breath. “I might have plans with my brother. I have to see what he’s thinking for tonight, and then I’ll let you know. But, Thea? Thanks for the invite.”
She smiled. “I hope you can come, but I understand if you can’t. It’s at seven at my place. Show up if you can.�
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And with that, he paid for his snack and headed out of the shop, the image of her very pert backside firmly in his mind. He couldn’t help but want to kick himself. That was not how to keep being her friend, damn it.
And the sooner he got that through his thick skull, the better. Because Thea Montgomery was only his friend. That was all she’d ever been. He’d never thought about her in any other way before this, and he wouldn’t start now.
No matter how hard it was.
Chapter 4
How was half the day gone already? Thea shook her head, that same question running through her mind for the eighth time that day. She had worked that morning before handing over the reins to one of her assistants. It wasn’t like she worked twenty-four hours a day every day, but sometimes, it sure felt like it.
Once she’d left her bakery, she went to the store to pick up all the groceries she would need to start making everything for their game night. The others had offered to do some of the cooking and were each bringing a dish, but she was the one doing the heavy-lifting.
When her brother, Shep, and his wife and baby girl moved back to Colorado Springs, she and her siblings had decided to start a game night. They did dinners often with the whole family at her parents’ house, but this was more for the Montgomery kids, even if the kids were all in their thirties and forties at this point. Okay, Roxy was twenty-eight, but Thea wasn’t going to think about the fact that she was getting closer and closer to being old.
She already used enough serum and night cream every night to pray away the wrinkles.
She wrinkled her nose, then stopped, remembering the time her mother had said that wrinkling her nose—or wrinkling anything—would lead to wrinkles in general. She was already thirty years old and counting on upcoming fine lines and the oncoming gray hairs. Maybe if she focused more on her personal life instead of just her work life and business, she wouldn’t be looking for every nonexistent wrinkle and gray hair.
And now she was once again thinking herself into a corner, so she pushed those weird thoughts out of her mind and stared at the groceries in front of her on the kitchen counter.
She already had a few things in the oven, chilling in the fridge, and simmering in the crockpot, but she still had a couple of other things to make and bake. She should’ve just brought some stuff home from the bakery. But in her mind, she wanted to make something special for her siblings. She hadn’t wanted to bring work home, but rather make this a family thing. A family and friends thing now since, sometimes, Abby, her new friend and fellow business owner, joined them, as did Kaylee, another business owner and artist. Those two weren’t coming tonight, but they were planning on coming next time. It wasn’t easy to match everybody’s schedules, and Thea understood that. And considering that she had invited Dimitri, who she was pretty sure wouldn’t be able to come, she really understood that.
Thea still couldn’t believe she had invited him. Dimitri and Molly had already been divorced by the time Shep moved up north. That meant they were already having big game nights when he was in her life—at least more than he was now. But they were both trying to change that. It was still awkward, but she was glad that she’d invited him. He had been the one to put himself on the line and ask to be friends again, so she’d decided to take the step she had.
And she was only slightly disappointed that he probably wouldn’t be able to make it.
Her stomach rolled, and she frowned. Okay, so maybe she was more than slightly disappointed, but that didn’t mean anything. Just because she had watched the way he moved in his jeans, and noticed the way her eyes always glanced at his forearms didn’t mean that their friendship was going to be any different than it was. It just meant that she was going to have to split her time between Molly and Dimitri.
And now she felt a little sick, and a little bit like she wasn’t making the right choices. She needed to talk to Molly to make sure the other woman was okay with Thea hanging out with Dimitri. Her best friends had said more than once that Thea didn’t have to make a choice, didn’t have to take sides. But she was going to double-check, just in case. Because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt her friends.
Knowing that she was probably making too much of it, Thea started the call to Molly, putting it on speaker so her hands would be free to continue work around the kitchen. Molly picked up on the third ring, her voice soft and sweet.
“Hey there. I was just thinking about you. I take it you have the afternoon off?”
Molly didn’t work a nine-to-five job and usually only volunteered for different committees and charities around the city. More often than not, her friend was up in Denver, working with the bigwigs, trying to raise funds for one cause or another. Molly came from money, and she’d never held a job where she earned a wage for herself. Then again, the amount of time and energy that the other woman put into raising money for others constituted more than a full-time job in Thea’s opinion. At least the times when Molly was actually working. Sometimes, Molly got burned-out from volunteering and committees and jumped into the Denver socialite circles. Thea hadn’t even known that existed before she and Molly became friends, but then again, that wasn’t her world. From what Thea could remember, it wasn’t Dimitri’s either.
“Thankfully, yes. I didn’t know if I was going to actually work today at all, but you know me, I can’t stay away.”
“You and your baked goods, Thea. Luckily, you don’t sample every single piece you make, or your ass would be twice as big.”
Thea winced and did her best to try and take that as a compliment. After all, Molly’s butt was firm, high, and tight, but she also had far more time to go to the gym and work with her personal trainer to ensure it stayed that way. Thea walked the hills of her neighborhood. She never ran. The idea of running unless there was a serial killer chasing her made her want to throw up. She would just deal with any extra pounds on her behind.
“Thankfully,” Thea said dryly. “Anyway, I was calling to see if you wanted to come to game night tonight. I know I’ve invited you before, but you weren’t able to make it. Just letting you know that we’ll have an extra seat in the circle if you’re interested.”
“Oh? Who’s coming?”
“The usual. My brother, Shep. His wife, Shea. My sister, Adrienne and her dude, Mace. And my other sister, Roxie, and her husband, Carter.” Thea paused, wondering if she should say who else she’d invited, then thought she might as well broach the subject that she’d actually called about. “I also invited Dimitri since he and I are friends, but he doesn’t think he’ll be able to make it since he might be going to visit his brother. So, you’re not going to have to deal with that if that would be an issue. Is it an issue?”
Not the smoothest way to bring it all up. But now, it was out in the open, and she would go with it.
“That sounds like it’s going to be fun. I can’t make it, but I’m glad you invited Dimitri. He seemed a bit lonely the last time I saw him. Maybe you and your family can cheer him up. Anyway, I must be off, I’m going shopping with the girls to find a new dress for our next event. You have no idea how hard it is to find something these days. Have fun tonight, and give Dimitri my…well, just have fun.”
And with that, her friend hung up, and Thea just shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. That might’ve been a strange conversation, but it was still very much a Molly conversation.
Shaking off that weird feeling, Thea went to make her veggie and cheese plates. She’d only bought three cheeses because Shep had made fun of her last time when she had an array of ten. But she was a cheesemonger and loved all things cheese. She was even an honorary Green Bay Packers fan, merely because of the headwear. She’d been ten when she made that choice, and she still had jerseys and the foam cheesehead that she wore when she was alone in her house watching the games. She figured if she hadn’t become a baker, she probably would have become a chef who worked primarily with cheese.
She didn’t necessarily think the smellier the be
tter, but she liked smelly, and she liked buttery. For tonight, she’d only bought a Gouda, some cheddar, and a soft white, which pretty much rounded out the main cheese groups. Of course, now that she looked at the plates, she realized that some of her favorites were missing, as well as some of her favored crackers, but she didn’t have enough time to head to the grocery store to get more. Plus, she didn’t want to deal with her brother making fun of her in her own house, so three cheeses would have to do.
Thea put on her latest audiobook about a fae prince and a human woman and finished getting the food ready, along with setting out a selection of cookies and brownies because there was no way she was hosting a party without baked goods. Once things were either warming, cooling, or setting, she went to work cleaning up around her home, straightening pillows and tossing blankets artfully along the couch like her mother had taught her to do. None of her siblings were particularly amazing when it came to decorating or keeping their houses perfect, but that’s not what her parents had taught them. Instead, all of their homes had their own touches with the little bit of mess that came from living.
Thea had bought her house the same year she opened the bakery. She’d been living on ramen and canned green beans along with any stale cookies from her shop for over a year because of it. She hadn’t meant to go into that much debt all at once, but her perfect three-bedroom house with its mountain views and a full wall of windows facing that view had gone on sale during the best buyer’s market ever. She’d practically bled for the loan paperwork and had almost been forced to ask her parents to co-sign—something they had already offered—but in the end, she had her house and her business.
Restless Ink (Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs Book 2) Page 3