“Say it again.”
He frowned. “All of that. Because I don’t know if I can get it all down the right way a second time.”
She shook her head. “No, not all of it. Just the part where you tell me you love me.”
He grinned then and rubbed his thumbs along her cheekbones. “I love you, Blake Brennen.”
“I love you, too, Graham. I’ve loved you a lot longer than just today, too.”
He was pretty sure his heart was going to burst from his chest at those words, but he didn’t crush his mouth to hers, not yet. He was almost forty years old, and had never felt anything like this.
“I know I shouldn’t have pushed you away,” she continued. “I knew I was making a mistake as soon as I watched you walk out the door. Only I didn’t know how to tell you that I was an idiot and I wanted you in my life. I suck at making good choices, and I thought that being with you was the wrong one. But hell, I made things worse because I kept second-guessing myself. You’re it for me, Graham. Don’t walk away again, even when I ask. Just be there with me, even when I’m a little crazy, and I’ll be right by your side when you do the same.”
He snorted. “Calling me crazy?”
“Yeah, but that’s why we fit.” She closed her eyes and let out a breath. “Damn it, you totally stole my thunder, you know.”
He tilted his head. “Huh?”
She rolled her eyes. “I was actually going to come to you today since Rowan is at school finally, and I had a free afternoon. Then Maya made this appointment, and I couldn’t get out of it. Turns out it was you!” She shook her head, laughing. “I can’t believe it was you.”
“I would have been here sooner, but you were booked yesterday and had taken some time off to be with Rowan. She doing okay, babe?”
Blake nodded. “Yeah, she’s so freaking strong. Though she’s been sleeping in my bed, I think she’ll be okay in her own in a bit.” She bit her lip. “She’s been asking for you.”
“I know.”
Her head shot up. “What?”
Graham shrugged. “Jake told me she wanted me to read to her. Killed me that I couldn’t do it.”
She let out a shaky breath. “Killed me, too. And that’s how I knew I’d really stepped in it.”
Graham kissed her softly, his world finally settling after being off-kilter for far too long. “Marry me, Blake. Let me make you mine in truth. And Rowan, too. Be my family.” He paused. “I’m not replacing the family I lost. I want you to know that. But I want to make a new family with you. Can you do that? Can we do that?”
Blake threw her arms around his neck. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you, and oh my God, Rowan is going to be so happy. I mean, I’d have asked her first before I answered, but she’s been all about you since you left so I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.” She kissed his face, and he laughed with her, holding her close. “Graham, Blake, and Rowan Gallagher. I like the sound of that.”
Graham’s heart swelled to twice its size. “I fucking love the sound of that.”
Blake slid back down his body and landed on her feet. “Did you really come here to get a piercing, by the way? Or was it just to get me alone? Because I’ll totally pierce your nipples right now. They’d be so hot pierced.”
Graham chuckled. “Yeah, actually, I think that sounds perfect.” He pulled a box out of his pocket. “Fitting since I have a ring for you here. You can give me a ring or two for my nipples. Or maybe a barbell, but that kind of ruins the symbolism.”
Blake froze. “You…you have a ring.”
Graham rolled his eyes and went to one knee. “Of course, I have a ring. You already said yes so you can’t take that back.”
“He’s so romantic,” Maya said dryly from behind them.
“Fuck off, Maya,” he growled.
“You ever realize how many people you tell to fuck off in that growly tone?” Derek asked innocently.
Graham ignored the fight behind him and stared into the eyes of the one woman for him. “What do you say, babe, will you wear my ring?”
Blake bit into her lip. “Hell, yeah. And I can’t wait for you to wear mine.”
He slid the solitaire on her finger and crushed his mouth to hers. He had his woman, his life, his everything.
Graham never thought he’d end up in a new life with a new family. He honestly thought he’d die the same way he’d been living—alone yet content. Working with his hands and half his heart. Then Blake had sauntered into his life and onto his jobsite. He should have known from the second time he’d seen her with his brother’s dick in one hand and a needle in the other that he’d fall in love with her, but sometimes, it took a little more than that for him to get it.
She had restored the faith he had in life and the idea of a future. He’d built the foundations long ago, though he had been afraid they’d cracked when he’d lost his purpose. But she’d restored who he was and would help him build a new life.
“I love you,” he whispered.
She ran a hand through his beard. “I love you, too. Now get on the table and take your shirt off. This will only hurt a bit.”
He laughed but did as she asked. “You’re the only woman I trust with a needle and barbell in her hand anywhere near me. Just saying.”
Blake smiled and patted his beard again. “Aw, you really do love me.”
He reached around her and gripped her ass. “Yeah, I do. Now pierce me so we can go home and fuck.”
She batted her eyelashes. “Aw, baby, you say the sweetest things.”
Graham smiled and watched as she worked. He wasn’t the most eloquent of men, but he knew she understood him and his meanings better than anyone.
He’d found his Blake, his family, his future. And with each new day, he couldn’t wait to see where this woman took him next.
Next Up in the Gallagher Brothers:
Owen Gallagher gets turned upside down in Passion Restored
A Note from Carrie Ann
Thank you so much for reading LOVE RESTORED. I do hope if you liked this story, that you would please leave a review. Not only does a review spread the word to other readers, they let us authors know if you’d like to see more stories like this from us. I love hearing from readers and talking to them when I can. If you want to make sure you know what’s coming next from me, you can sign up for my newsletter at www.CarrieAnnRyan.com; follow me on twitter at @CarrieAnnRyan, or like my Facebook page. I also have a Facebook Fan Club where we have trivia, chats, and other goodies. You guys are the reason I get to do what I do and I thank you.
Make sure you’re signed up for my MAILING LIST so you can know when the next releases are available as well as find giveaways and FREE READS.
The Gallagher Brothers series is a spin off of the Montgomery Ink series and I’m so happy to keep expanding that world. If you haven’t picked up the Montgomerys, DELICATE INK is the first book in the series.
Next up in the Gallagher Brothers is Passion Restored, Owen’s story. His nice and organized word is about to change dramatically. And after that, Murphy finally gets his HEA.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you loved the Gallagher Brothers!
The Gallagher Brothers Series:
A Montgomery Ink Spin Off Series
Book 1: Love Restored
Book 2: Passion Restored (Coming February 2017)
Book 3: Hope Restored (Coming July 2017)
Want to keep up to date with the next Carrie Ann Ryan Release? Receive Text Alerts easily!
Text CARRIE to 24587
About Carrie Ann and her Books
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices i
n her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.
Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon.
www.CarrieAnnRyan.com
Montgomery Ink:
Book 0.5: Ink Inspired
Book 0.6: Ink Reunited
Book 1: Delicate Ink
The Montgomery Ink Box Set #1 (Contains Books 0.5, 0.6, 1)
Book 1.5 Forever Ink
Book 2: Tempting Boundaries
Book 3: Harder than Words
Book 4: Written in Ink
Book 4.5: Hidden Ink
Book 5: Ink Enduring
Book 6: Ink Exposed (Coming November 2016)
Book 7: Inked Expressions (Coming June 2017)
The Gallagher Brothers Series:
A Montgomery Ink Spin Off Series
Book 1: Love Restored
Book 2: Passion Restored (Coming February 2017)
Book 3: Hope Restored (Coming July 2017)
Redwood Pack Series:
Book 1: An Alpha’s Path
Book 2: A Taste for a Mate
Book 3: Trinity Bound
Redwood Pack Box Set (Contains Books 1-3)
Book 3.5: A Night Away
Book 4: Enforcer’s Redemption
Book 4.5: Blurred Expectations
Book 4.7: Forgiveness
Book 5: Shattered Emotions
Book 6: Hidden Destiny
Book 6.5: A Beta’s Haven
Book 7: Fighting Fate
Book 7.5 Loving the Omega
Book 7.7: The Hunted Heart
Book 8: Wicked Wolf
The Talon Pack (Following the Redwood Pack Series):
Book 1: Tattered Loyalties
Book 2: An Alpha’s Choice
Book 3: Mated in Mist
Book 4: Wolf Betrayed (Coming October 2016)
Book 5: Fractured Silence (Coming April 2017)
The Branded Pack Series:
(Written with Alexandra Ivy)
Book 1: Stolen and Forgiven
Book 2: Abandoned and Unseen
Book 3: Buried and Shadowed
Dante’s Circle Series:
Book 1: Dust of My Wings
Book 2: Her Warriors’ Three Wishes
Book 3: An Unlucky Moon
The Dante’s Circle Box Set (Contains Books 1-3)
Book 3.5: His Choice
Book 4: Tangled Innocence
Book 5: Fierce Enchantment
Book 6: An Immortal’s Song
Book 7: Prowled Darkness
Holiday, Montana Series:
Book 1: Charmed Spirits
Book 2: Santa’s Executive
Book 3: Finding Abigail
The Holiday Montana Box Set (Contains Books 1-3)
Book 4: Her Lucky Love
Book 5: Dreams of Ivory
Stand Alone Romances:
Finally Found You
Flame and Ink
Excerpt: Delicate Ink
From New York Times Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Montgomery Ink Series
Delicate Ink
“If you don’t turn that fucking music down, I’m going to ram this tattoo gun up a place no one on this earth should ever see.”
Austin Montgomery lifted the needle from his client’s arm so he could hold back a rough chuckle. He let his foot slide off the pedal so he could keep his composure. Dear Lord, his sister Maya clearly needed more coffee in her life.
Or for someone to turn down the fucking music in the shop.
“You’re not even working, Maya. Let me have my tunes,” Sloane, another artist, mumbled under his breath. Yeah, he didn’t yell it. Didn’t need to. No one wanted to yell at Austin’s sister. The man might be as big as a house and made of pure muscle, but no one messed with Maya.
Not if they wanted to live.
“I’m sketching, you dumbass,” Maya sniped, even though the smile in her eyes belied her wrath. His sister loved Sloane like a brother. Not that she didn’t have enough brothers and sisters to begin with, but the Montgomerys always had their arms open for strays and spares.
Austin rolled his eyes at the pair’s antics and stood up from his stool, his body aching from being bent over for too long. He refrained from saying that aloud as Maya and Sloane would have a joke for that. He usually preferred to have the other person in bed—or in the kitchen, office, doorway, etc—bent over, but that wasn’t where he would allow his mind to go. As it was, he was too damn old to be sitting in that position for too long, but he wanted to get this sleeve done for his customer.
“Hold on a sec, Rick,” he said to the man in the chair. “Want juice or anything? I’m going to stretch my legs and make sure Maya doesn’t kill Sloane.” He winked as he said it, just in case his client didn’t get the joke.
People could be so touchy when siblings threatened each other with bodily harm even while they smiled as they said it.
“Juice sounds good,” Rick slurred, a sappy smile on his face. “Don’t let Maya kill you.”
Rick blinked his eyes open, the adrenaline running through his system giving him the high that a few patrons got once they were in the chair for a couple hours. To Austin, there was nothing better than having Maya ink his skin—or doing it himself—and letting the needle do its work. He wasn’t a pain junkie, far from it if he was honest with himself, but he liked the adrenaline that led the way into fucking fantastic art. While some people thought bodies were sacred and tattoos only marred them, he knew it differently. Art on canvas, any canvas, could have the potential to be art worth bleeding for. As such, he was particular as to who laid a needle on his skin. He only let Maya ink him when he couldn’t do it himself. Maya was the same way. Whatever she couldn’t do herself, he did.
They were brother and sister, friends, and co-owners of Montgomery Ink.
He and Maya had opened the shop a decade ago when she’d turned twenty. He probably could have opened it a few years earlier since he was eight years older than Maya, but he’d wanted to wait until she was ready. They were joint owners. It had never been his shop while she worked with him. They both had equal say, although with the way Maya spoke, sometimes her voice seemed louder. His deeper one carried just as much weight, even if he didn’t yell as much.
Barely.
Sure, he wasn’t as loud as Maya, but he got his point across when needed. His voice held control and authority.
He picked up a juice box for Rick from their mini-fridge and turned down the music on his way back. Sloane scowled at him, but the corner of his mouth twitched as if he held back a laugh.
“Thank God one of you has a brain in his head,” Maya mumbled in the now quieter room. She rolled her eyes as both he and Sloane flipped her off then went back to her sketch. Yeah, she could have gotten up to turn the music down herself, but then she couldn’t have vented her excess energy at the two of them. That was just how his sister worked, and there would be no changing that.
He went back to his station situated in the back so he had the corner space, handed Rick his juice, then rubbed his back. Damn, he was getting old. Thirty-eight wasn’t that far up there on the scales, but ever since he’d gotten back from New Orleans, he hadn’t been able to shake the weight of something off of his chest.
He needed to be honest. He’d started feeling this way since before New Orleans. He’d gone down to the city to visit his cousin Shep and try to get out of his funk. He’d broken up with Shannon right before then; however, in reality, it wasn’t as much a breakup as a lack of connection and communication. They hadn’t cared about each other enough to move on to the next level, and as sad as that was, he was fine with it. If he couldn’t get up the energy to pursue a woman beyond a couple of weeks or months of heat, then he knew he was the problem. He just didn’t know the solution. Shannon hadn’t been the first woman who had ended the relationship in that f
ashion. There’d been Brenda, Sandrine, and another one named Maggie.
He’d cared for all of them at the time. He wasn’t a complete asshole, but he’d known deep down that they weren’t going to be with him forever, and they thought the same of him. He also knew that it was time to actually find a woman to settle down with. If he wanted a future, a family, he was running out of time.
Going to New Orleans hadn’t worked out in the least considering, at the time, Shep was falling in love with a pretty blonde named Shea. Not that Austin begrudged the man that. Shep had been his best friend growing up, closer to him than his four brothers and three sisters. It’d helped that he and Shep were the same age while the next of his siblings, the twins Storm and Wes, were four years younger.
His parents had taken their time to have eight kids, meaning he was a full fifteen years older than the baby, Miranda, but he hadn’t cared. The eight of them, most of his cousins, and a few strays were as close as ever. He’d helped raise the youngest ones as an older brother but had never felt like he had to. His parents, Marie and Harry, loved each of their kids equally and had put their whole beings into their roles as parents. Every single concert, game, ceremony, or even parent-teacher meeting was attended by at least one of them. On the good days, the ones where Dad could get off work and Mom had the day off from Montgomery Inc., they both would attend. They loved their kids.
He loved being a Montgomery.
The sound of Sloane’s needle buzzing as he sang whatever tune played in his head made Austin grin.
And he fucking loved his shop.
Every bare brick and block of polished wood, every splash of black and hot pink—colors he and Maya had fought on and he’d eventually given in to—made him feel at home. He’d taken the family crest and symbol, the large MI surrounded by a broken floral circle, and used it as their logo. His brothers, Storm and Wes, owned Montgomery Inc., a family construction company that their father had once owned and where their mother had worked at his side before they’d retired. They, too, used the same logo since it meant family to them.
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