“What do you mean by that?” Adrienne asked, making cooing noises at Emma. Apparently, no one was immune to the cuteness that was this baby.
“I mean, you’d think summer just started, but if you understood the amount of planning that it takes with two kids out of school, a baby not even one year old, and two adults who are working more than full-time and still like to have alone time? Yeah, summer feels like it drags on and on.” She kissed the top of Emma’s curls and sighed. “But it’s totally worth it.” She swayed back and forth and smiled at Jillian. “Hello, by the way. Emma was having a hard time when I left the room, so I figured since she still has about an hour before she needs to be asleep, she can join our girls’ night. What do you say?”
“I say welcome, Emma,” Jillian said with a grin and reached out to run her finger over Emma’s cheeks. She honestly couldn’t help herself. And when Emma batted those beautiful, gloriously long eyelashes at her, Jillian fell that much more in love.
“You ready to knit?” Meghan asked. “I can’t tell you how much it’s helped me relax my mind even when I’m growling at it.”
Jillian held up her bag of knitting goods. “I promised my dad a scarf. It seemed better than offering up something like a sock.”
Adrienne shuddered. “I looked at a pattern of a sock once. There were like six needles involved or something.”
Meghan chuckled, still swaying with Emma in her arms. “Scarves first. Then more scarves. Socks will come much later.”
“Thank God,” Adrienne said with a grin. “Wine, anyone?”
“Yes, please,” Jillian and Meghan said at the same time and laughed.
Tonight is going to be a good night, she thought. New friends, wine, and knitting. It was just one piece of her plan to find her peace. Friends came first, then dating. Because she’d told Storm the truth when she pushed him away. She was ready for her happily ever after.
She just needed to start searching.
Chapter Five
Days off for Wes were never truly days off, and he knew he should probably do something about that but also knew he wouldn’t until he was forced to. He was a workaholic like most of his family. Without his tendency to almost overwork himself, he wasn’t sure he’d be where he was today. It took a whole group of people working far too hard to get their company in the place it was, and now that the rest of the family had all married off, it was Wes’s turn to keep up the pace.
Today, however, wasn’t about work per se, so he could live in his delusions that he might actually have a life outside of Montgomery Inc. With a sigh, he stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm as he looked down at the rest of the work he had to do. He’d been neglecting his home office remodel for over a year now with all the new projects the company had taken on. Today, he’d decided that despite the heat, he’d start on the built-ins he’d prepped a while ago.
He could have asked any number of people for help, and they would have freely given up their time for him, but he wanted to do this on his own. At least for today. It was backbreaking work without help, but he didn’t mind it. It kept his mind off the list of lists he had waiting for him come Monday at work, the numerous family events he had coming up since everyone seemed to be hitting a milestone or having a celebration of some sort, and of course, her.
Wes pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. He didn’t know why he kept thinking about Jillian and that kiss, but he knew he would be better off if he never thought about it again. They’d done a great job over the past couple of days working side by side and not mentioning it. In fact, if he didn’t have the distinct memory of him being an idiot and kissing her by the bookstore, he’d have thought he made it all up.
And because of that, he knew he needed to get over it and do something else because Jillian was clearly putting off what happened as a fluke and doing what she had to do at work more than competently because she was a damn adult. He needed to act like one, too.
He rolled his shoulders and glared down at the pile he still needed to take care of before the night was over, but he wasn’t sure he had the energy at the moment.
The doorbell rang, saving him from having to lift anything else until after he had some more coffee—or even better, an ice-cold beer.
As soon as he opened the front door, he snorted and shook his head before stepping back and letting his brothers into the room. Somehow, Austin, Griffin, Alex, and Storm had gotten together without him knowing and were now in his living room with toolboxes and coolers in their hands.
“Uh, hey guys,” Wes said slowly. “Going out to join the Village People or something?”
Alex rolled his eyes, and Austin let out a groan while Storm just sighed and took a seat. Since Wes had been about to gently nudge his twin to sit and save his back anyway, he was glad that Storm did it on his own.
“There aren’t that many construction workers in YMCA,” Griffin said dryly before pausing. “Wait, are there? I mean, I only know of the four dudes in the old video, but there are more now, right?” He turned to Austin who, while the eldest of them all, wasn’t quite of the YMCA generation.
Austin flipped off Griffin as his answer before setting down his toolbox and running his hand through his big beard. “The only time I ever heard them play was during gym in elementary school. And even then they were oldies, so shut it, will you?”
“Okay, old man.”
Austin pounced on Griffin, and the two fell to the floor, wrestling like they were kids instead of the grown men they supposedly were.
“You’re not that much younger,” Wes put in as he sidestepped the duo. “And don’t you dare break anything in my house. I’ll have to kick your asses if you do.”
Griffin looked over Austin’s shoulder before pinning the bigger man for a mere second so he could speak. “Like you could,” Griffin taunted then let out a groan as Austin elbowed him in the gut before rolling to his feet.
His older brother moved far faster and more agilely than he should for a man his size, but considering he had a teenager and a young toddler at home, he probably had practice.
“Anyway, why are you here?” Wes asked with a laugh.
“We’re here to help,” Alex said with a shrug. “Tabby mentioned that you put your office on your planner for the day and didn’t ask us for help, so we’re offering.”
Tabby was in love with her planners and organization just like Wes, so it was no wonder she’d made sure Wes was taken care of for the weekend by talking to her fiancé, Alex. “And by offering, you mean coming in and helping even if I don’t want it?” he asked, though he truly didn’t mind, and from the laughter ringing throughout the room, he knew they understood.
“Of course,” Storm said as he leaned back on the couch. “I’ll supervise, of course, since Wes will kick my ass if I fuck up my back again.”
“We also thought it would be nice if it was just us for the afternoon since we rarely spend time together like this. Decker, Luc, Jake, and Border can be here, though, if you need more help.”
Wes liked the idea of the original Montgomery guys hanging out together. They didn’t do it often anymore since everyone but Wes had a family at home, and they were all so busy. Plus, the guys who had married Wes’s sisters were usually around. And while Wes loved them and thought of them as brothers—hell, he liked some of them more than his brothers on occasion—it was nice to have things like they used to be back in the day. Of course, nothing was like it had been years ago, and Wes was just fine with that, but reminiscing never hurt…too much.
“As long as Griffin doesn’t go anywhere near a saw, I’d appreciate the help.” Wes smiled as Griffin stood up and wiped off his jeans—as if Wes would dare have dirt and crap on his floor. It’s like he didn’t even know him.
“It was one time,” Griffin complained yet again. “And no one died or lost a limb.”
Storm snorted and stood up with Alex’s help. Wes didn’t think Storm actually needed the aid in standing, but it probab
ly made Alex feel better, and Everly would probably hear about it and be relieved, as well.
“If you have to clarify any accident with a saw like that, then there’s no way we’re ever letting you touch one again,” Wes put in and ducked out of the way as Griffin came at him.
“And no roughhousing next to the construction equipment,” Austin put in. “Don’t make me call Dad.” He paused. “Or Mom.”
The rest of them laughed and went back to Wes’s office. The idea of tattling on them to their mother made Wes grin. It had been a while since he’d just relaxed—even while doing heavy lifting—with his brothers, and he knew as time went on, days like this would become fewer and farther between. Not all families were as close at the Montgomerys, and he knew he had to be grateful that they even saw each other as much as they did. But for now, he’d take what he could get and relish it.
The Montgomerys could soothe a soul and patch up any wanting he could feel, and for that, he knew he’d never take them for granted. Ever.
It was still light out when the guys left, but just barely. They all had to get home to their families for dinner, leaving Wes alone to scrounge up something for himself. Each brother had offered for him to come over and eat with them and their families, and he knew they’d been talking to the girls during the day since Maya, Miranda, and Meghan had texted the same, but he’d sent everyone on their ways. He didn’t need a pity invite, even if the others might not have felt it was one. Just because he was the last single Montgomery didn’t mean he was lonely.
Well, at least not all the time.
Now that the guys were gone and his office was mostly complete, he was alone in his house, sweaty, and oddly starving. They’d snacked a bit on what Alex had brought them in his cooler, but now he was ready for real food. His stomach growled as if it agreed with his assessment. He stripped off his shirt to wipe off most of the sweat and dust and then went back to his bedroom to toss it in the hamper. He figured he’d shower after he ate since he was a little too hungry to think about anything else at the moment.
He was just about to head to the kitchen when his doorbell rang again. Thinking one of his brothers had forgotten something or were back to drag him to dinner, he opened the door without looking.
And froze.
He’d gone back in time. That had to be it. There was no other possible explanation for why she would be on his doorstep.
“Sophia,” he whispered.
His ex-fiancée.
The woman he hadn’t seen in years—and with good reason.
Well, he’d asked the Universe for help getting his mind off work and Jillian, and now it seemed he would regret that favor.
“Hi, Wes,” the possible figment of his imagination said. She stood with her shoulders straight, but not too far back as to look overconfident. Her long, dark hair lay in waves over her shoulders while bangs framed her face. Her bright, caramel-colored eyes bored into him, and he tried to come up with what he could say while he took in the rest of her.
She’d filled out since he last saw her, and he thought it suited her. A ruby-red dress fell to her knees in a slight flair while the rest of the fabric clung to her curves. She had a sweetheart neckline that only emphasized her chest, though he was pretty sure that part of her hadn’t changed since he saw her last. She wore no jewelry except for a thin silver bracelet around her wrist, and her makeup was perfectly done. Her lips matched her dress, ruby-colored and sparkling under the fading sun in the sky and his porch light.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, not unkindly. He’d never hated Sophia, but she hadn’t been good for him.
“Can I come in?” she asked, her voice hesitant, yet stronger than he remembered from back when they’d been together. “I won’t stay past my welcome, but I’d like to talk.”
He swallowed hard and took a step back without thinking. She brushed past him, and he thought the graze of her curves to his front was deliberate, but he’d never been sure about Sophia.
Wes cleared his throat, deciding to see what she wanted and get out of his head. This might be out of the blue, but he didn’t have to be a complete asshole about what the heck was going on…at least not yet.
“Your place looks different,” she said softly, her back to him.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets, aware he wasn’t wearing a shirt at the moment and was covered in sweat and dust and not looking his best. But hell, it wasn’t as if he’d been expecting his ex to show up out of the blue.
“I’ve remodeled some,” he said softly. “You look…good.”
She turned to face him fully and smiled, her eyes brightening. “Thank you. I feel good.” Her gaze traveled over his body, and he held back a sigh. He really should have put on a shirt. “You look good, too.”
“If you’ll give me one moment.” He gestured toward the dining table instead of the couch so she wouldn’t get too comfortable and stay too long since he had no idea why she was here in the first place. “Take a seat.”
He practically ran back to his bedroom, threw on a cotton shirt from his chest of drawers, and was back in the front of the house in less than a minute. While she might have seen and touched every inch of him back in the day, he needed a little more armor to deal with Sophia and what she could possibly need at the moment.
“So, what are you doing here, Sophia?” He was aware that this was the second time in as many minutes that he’d asked that question, and she hadn’t responded the first time.
She stood up from where she was sitting at his large, oak table and gave a delicate shrug. “I wanted to see you.”
Annoyed, he snorted. “You saw me, Sophia. You didn’t have to come to my house out of nowhere to do that, so why don’t you explain why you’re really here.”
She looked up at him with her big eyes and long lashes and sighed. “Was it really all that bad?”
He held back the curse he wanted to say and thought yes, it really was all that bad. Sure, there had been good times, but those were few and far between—especially at the end of their relationship.
He’d thought he loved her and planned to marry her, but she hadn’t felt the same way. Sophia had been a thrill seeker, an adrenaline junkie that had nothing to do with extreme sports.
She gambled and used her credit—and sometimes his—for high-end shopping she couldn’t afford. She got into so much debt, he’d had to save her—twice—from going bankrupt or doing something worse like credit card fraud.
Sophia hadn’t always been that way, or maybe she had, and he’d been too blind to see it. She’d been sweet and had similar interests as he did—at least in the beginning. When he realized she had a problem, it had been too late. She drank too much when she gambled, but she never drank at home. He knew she’d tried a few recreational drugs, but he hadn’t found out about that until she left him.
And yet after everything she’d done to him and his trust, she’d been the one to leave him for another man. Wes hadn’t been able to stop trying to help her and had screwed himself over instead. That was why he’d never told his family why he and Sophia broke off the engagement. They had their guesses, of course, but no one really mentioned her because she hadn’t been a part of their lives as much as the other significant others threaded throughout the Montgomerys.
That probably should have told him something, but he’d needed perspective to understand that.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, breaking through his thoughts. “I’m sorry I was an idiot and an addict. I’m still an addict, but I’m in recovery.” She rolled her shoulders back as if gaining strength. “You deserved so much better than a liar and a cheat. You still do. It took me hitting rock bottom more than once for me to realize that I gambled away the best part of my life because I was so stupid.”
He listened to her but didn’t really know what he was going to say. His brother, Alex, was an addict and had gone through his own steps of recovery. Wes had listened and opened his arms to his baby brother because he’d known the
strength of the man beneath the bruises of bad decisions and addiction.
Wes wasn’t sure he’d ever truly known Sophia.
“I’m here to not only say I’m sorry but to pay you back.” She pulled out an envelope from her purse and held it out to him. “It’s a cashier’s check, so it’s not going to bounce. And I didn’t want to carry cash around with me like that.”
He frowned at her but took the envelope, aware that forcing her to hold it would just make him an ass. “You didn’t need to pay me back.”
“Yes, I did. There are no excuses I can make for what I did in the past other than to say I am sorry and that I’m not that woman anymore. I have my life together.” She let out a breath. “I missed you.”
His jaw tensed. “Sophia.”
“I did. I missed what we could have had together. Not what we had because I ruined that, but I missed what could have been.”
His head ached, and his stomach no longer growled—she’d taken away his appetite once his mind dug up all of those old memories. He had no idea what he was going to say and, thankfully, his phone rang in his pocket before he had to come up with something.
“One second,” he said to Sophia, who nodded patiently. “Yes?”
He hadn’t bothered to look at the screen before he answered, so he had to hold in his shock at the sound of Jillian’s voice on the other end of the call.
“Hey. I know it’s Saturday night, and I shouldn’t be working, but I needed busy work,” she began as way of hello. “Anyway, I can’t find that one form we talked about yesterday morning. Is it printed out in the office? Or in one of these folders? Or can I print one out at home?” she continued, and he nodded along as if she could see him.
“It’s in the shared folder under deadlines,” he answered. “If you can’t find it, don’t worry about it. It’s Saturday, Jillian.” He couldn’t help but smile at the fact that she was doing what he probably would have been doing if he hadn’t had unexpected company.
Inked Memories (Montgomery Ink Book 8) Page 5