Inked Persuasion: A Montgomery Ink: Fort Collins Novel Read online

  “Okay, seriously, what is with you?” Brenna asked.

  Brenna had dark hair, fair skin, and the most kissable lips I had ever seen. At least, that’s what one of our guy friends back in college had said when he was drunk and had pulled away from very kissable Brenna. She was gorgeous, and I had never actually seen her go on a date before. She might razz Paige and me about relationships and the men in our lives, but Brenna did not date.

  I would love to know why, but I had a feeling I knew exactly why. I looked over her shoulder at the group of my brothers and held back a wince.

  That was why.

  “I think I need to dance,” I said. My brain was going in a thousand different directions, and I couldn’t focus.

  “Dancing would be good,” Eliza said, studying my face. “Or maybe you should go over and see if Jacob Queen needs anything.”

  “He is my neighbor. He’s Jonah’s brother,” I whispered fiercely. All three sets of eyes softened, and I could have cursed myself. “Okay, no bad feelings. These are happy times. It is our weeknight, single beer, dancing night. We all have to go to work in the morning, so let’s make sure we get our dancing out of the way now so we can go to sleep early.”

  “You’re so responsible,” Paige said as if she weren’t the first person at the office each day.

  “Go see Jacob.”

  “Too late,” Brenna said, wincing, and I looked over as Archer, Benjamin, Beckett, and the two boyfriend tagalongs made their way to the bar.

  “Oh, God, no. No, no, no, no, no.”

  Paige snorted. “I cannot believe that Colton and Marc are going along with this.”

  “I think they probably just didn’t want to be left behind,” Eliza said. “I mean, it’s a lot of testosterone and posturing. Look at them being like peacocks, fluttering around that poor, sweet man at the bar all alone, needing to be rescued...”

  I flipped off my best friend, and she laughed, Brenna and Paige joining in.

  “I hate you all.” I stomped my way over to the bar where my brothers were now glowering down at Jacob, who was calmly licking his thumb, trying to get some wing sauce off.

  My gaze zeroed in on his tongue as it swiped over his skin, and I swallowed hard, telling myself that I was losing my mind. It was hot. And I was parched. That’s all it was.

  I was not having deliciously decadent thoughts about Jacob Queen’s tongue. There were things that I shouldn’t do. Lines I could not cross. And weird, sweaty thoughts about where that tongue might go on my body was not something I should ever think about.

  Of course, now it was the only thing I was thinking about.

  I hated him, remember? Yes, that helped. I might be saving his life right now, but that was only because I was a good person, not because I liked him. I still hated Jacob Queen.

  And if I made that my mantra, I might be able to make it through the day. To their credit, both Archer’s and Paige’s boyfriends were off to the side, talking to each other, keeping an eye on the group at the bar but not joining in.

  I eyed them, and they both held up their hands in mock-innocence before taking a step back as if they’d choreographed it. They looked at each other before they burst out laughing and then walked back over to the girls.

  I narrowed my eyes at them as they left and mouthed the word: cowards.

  Archer’s boyfriend shrugged, and they took my seat and one of the empty ones at the girls’ table.

  Okay, time to do this.

  “What are we talking about?” I asked, putting my arms around the twins’ waists. Both Beckett and Benjamin glared down at me.

  “We’re just seeing what Jacob’s up to,” Archer said, grinning as he leaned on the bar on Jacob’s opposite side. Oh, Archer might be the one that smiled and was a little more jovial when it came to his needling, but I worried about him the most. Because while my brothers could bodily carry Jacob out of Riggs’ and make sure he never yelled at me or called me names again, Archer would be the one to hurt him. My sweet, kind, twin baby brother would make sure that Jacob rued the day he’d even so much as spoke a harsh word to or about me.

  “Hi, Annabelle,” Jacob said, his eyes full of humor though not fear. Silly man, he didn’t understand the precarious position he was in. He wiped his hands on the napkin in front of him and looked me right in the eyes.

  “What are we doing over here, boys?” I asked again, focusing on my brothers rather than Jacob. Not because I didn’t want to look at him, but because I knew it was necessary to make sure my brothers didn’t do anything. Yet I could feel Jacob’s gaze on me, and I wondered why. I shouldn’t. He had hated me for how many years? He couldn’t suddenly want to stare at me the way I thought he was. Maybe he imagined hating me even more. That was it. It was still loathing, something he was trying to hide, though wasn’t doing a very good job of.

  “We were just seeing how Jacob likes his wings,” Beckett said, far too smoothly.

  “Okay, Montgomerys,” Riggs said as he strolled over to us. “Y’all are not bar fighters. Let’s not become them.”

  “It’s not going to be a problem,” Benjamin said, his voice cool.

  “Of course, not. Jacob’s an old friend.” Benjamin smiled slowly.

  “Seriously, stop it,” I said. “This is enough.”

  “What’s enough?” Beckett asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Please. People are starting to stare.”

  The man in question cleared his throat. “I’m pretty sure they always stare when the Montgomerys are together. You guys tend to take up a lot of space.”

  I rolled my eyes before I glared at Jacob. “You’re not helping the situation.”

  Jacob wiped his hands on his napkin once again before he slowly drained the rest of his beer, his gaze not leaving mine. Was he trying to get beat up by my brothers? Or maybe me? Perhaps I would be the one who swung first.

  “Let’s dance,” Jacob said, startling me.

  “Excuse me?” Archer asked, his eyes wide.

  “What? I came here for a beer, wings, and maybe a dance. Come on, Annabelle. Help me get to know my old hometown.”

  “Jacob,” I whispered.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Benjamin asked, while Beckett moved closer.

  I tugged on their belt loops. Thankfully, the twins moved back. “Come on, let’s get out of their way before they hurt you,” I muttered.

  “I am shocked,” Beckett said. “I would never hurt a fellow human being.”

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. I held out my hand, and Jacob slid his palm into mine. He stood, and I ignored the warmth of him and the fact that my brothers were all watching.

  “Come on, let’s head to the dance floor. Your brothers aren’t going to beat me up. They were only crowding me because I was an asshole before. And I deserved it. If they did hit me, I would probably deserve that, too. I mean, I was a jerk to you. They should stand up for you. That’s what brothers do.”

  He met my gaze, and my shoulders slumped. “Why are you being so nice?” I asked as he led me to the dance floor.

  “Come on, Annabelle, dance with me.” He put a hand around my back, the other holding mine, and I swallowed hard.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said as if unaware that he was saying the words. “I saw you, and I wanted to dance. It’s probably the most idiotic thing I could have done, but here we are.”

  “Here we are,” I repeated.

  “So, those are your brothers these days, huh? How are the twins doing?”

  “They are just fine. As is Archer. The other two guys, the ones that walked away, are Archer’s and Paige’s boyfriends.”

  “Who are the girls with Paige?”

  My gaze shot up. “You remember what Paige looks like? After all these years?”

  “She looks like you, though a little younger, a little more innocent.”

  I narrowed my gaze. “Did you just call me a not-so-innocent, aging
woman?”

  Jacob winced. “I meant to say that I like the looks of you, and it came out weird.”

  “Oh,” I said, not exactly sure what to say to that. “Well, it was weird. You don’t need to call me old or experienced.”

  Jacob winced again. “I’m trying to be nice. Because I want to, not because I said I would. It’s coming out as me being a jerk.”

  “Well...” I said, trailing off.

  He snorted. “I see.” He sighed. “I am a jerk,” he repeated.

  “You don’t have to keep calling yourself that. You apologized. And now look at us, nearly acting civilized except for the fact that you called me ancient.”

  “I did not.”

  “I’m pretty sure you did.”

  “Anyway, who are the other two girls?”

  “My friends, Eliza and Brenna. Brenna is single, but Eliza’s married.”

  Jacob narrowed his eyes. “And why are you telling me that?”

  “I don’t know, you seemed interested.”

  “Only in dancing with you, darling Annabelle.”

  I nearly tripped over his feet, but he kept me steady, the pressure of his hand on the small of my back firm. “What are you doing, Jacob?”

  “I have no fucking clue.”

  The song ended, and he looked at me, swallowed hard, and nodded. “Good night, Annabelle.”

  I let out a breath. “Bye, Jacob,” I whispered.

  And then he walked away, leaving me standing on the edge of the dance floor near Brenna, Eliza, and Paige.

  “What was that?” Paige asked, coming to my side.

  “Oh, just a distraction to get him away from the brothers.”

  I watched as Jacob nodded at my brothers on the other side of the dance floor before leaving money on the bar for Riggs and heading out. He had danced with me, said odd things, made me feel even more inexplicable things, and then walked away. What the hell was going on?

  I cleared my throat. “I’m going to go now.”

  “Did he say something to you?” Beckett asked.

  I huffed out a breath and then grabbed my bag. “No. Jacob danced with me because he wanted to get away from you. That was the only reason.” The only reason it could be. “He danced and found a way to get out of the place without you guys acting all caveman and beating him up. He took a chance, and now he’s gone. I danced, I had wings, nachos, and beer. I’m bloated, and I’m tired. I’m going home.”

  “Seriously? That’s what you’re going with?” my twin asked, and I narrowed my eyes at Archer.

  “Hey, that’s enough of that,” I said. “I love you all. I do. Okay, I love most of you. I don’t really know you two,” I said to the boyfriends as they laughed at me. “But, seriously, I’m an adult. Like all of you. Go out and do whatever you want to do. Go pick up ladies, go dancing, do what you want. I don’t care. I’m not your keeper. Just like you’re not my keeper. Now, let me be.”

  “Jacob Queen? Seriously?” Beckett asked.

  I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to scream. “He’s my...friend. We’re trying to be anyway. He’s my neighbor, and we still have a lot in common because of his parents. That’s not going to change.” I saw something shift in Beckett’s expression. I didn’t know if it was pity or worry—maybe a mixture of both. I didn’t care. I didn’t have the energy anymore. “Again, I love you all. Now, I’m going home. Have a great night.”

  “You’re welcome to leave, but we’re going to grill you later,” Brenna said, while Eliza nodded.

  I scrunched up my nose at them. “Please, don’t. Nothing happened. You all saw, it was only dancing.”

  “Sexy dancing,” Eliza said, and I flipped her off.

  “Not very ladylike,” Brenna said, so I flipped her off using my other hand.

  We all laughed, while Paige clapped her hands behind the girls. “Wow, this is going to be interesting.”

  “It’s not. And I can’t deal with all of you right now. Now, darlings, get out of my way.”

  Thankfully, they did. I made my way out of the bar, got into my car, then drove home, doing my best not to think about Jacob Queen. That, of course, meant that’s all I did. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. About how it felt with his hand on my back, the way he looked at me. What the hell was going on with that man? Was he trying to be my friend but not doing a very good job of it?

  I had to be imagining the heat and whatever the hell attraction was flaring between us. Because thinking about him in that way would be wrong.

  Very, very wrong. And yet, I was terrified that maybe it wasn’t. Perhaps I wasn’t allowing myself to think anything else.

  I pulled into my driveway and noticed Jacob’s light on. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he noticed me or wanted to come outside. Not that I thought he would. Because, after all, it had only been a distraction.

  I needed to stop overthinking.

  I got out of the car just as another vehicle pulled into the driveway of the house next to me. Hotch got out and waved as he walked toward his front door. I waved back, wondering why I couldn’t like a nice man like him. Why did I have to start having weird feelings about a man I didn’t even know. A man I shouldn’t want.

  I was going inside to take a bath, and then I would go to bed, alone, to get ready for the workday. Because that’s what I needed to focus on. Work and family. Not a man I knew I would dream about once again.

  The one person I knew I shouldn’t.

  Chapter 8

  Jacob

  * * *

  I groaned as I looked over my paperwork and leaned back against my couch to take a sip of coffee. I needed a couple of hours off to get a few household chores done, and work on my yard, things that any new homeowner should focus on.

  Yet I knew I wouldn’t be able to do any of that until I focused on what was right in front of me. A woman had given up most of her life and time to take care of her dying mother, and once her mother finally passed after a long battle with cancer, the woman’s siblings had come out of nowhere and demanded more money from the will. I was defending the woman, who had lost her mother, hadn’t had time to grieve, and was dealing with three siblings who were possibly some of the worst people on the planet.

  They hadn’t even bothered to visit their dying mother until it looked as if things were going to take a turn for the worst. They had gone for posterity’s sake, not because they were losing the woman who had taken care of them. I had seen that much from meeting them.

  I would be the shark my client needed, but it was a lot of stress for her. Therefore, I was doing my best to make sure she won. And since I was down two staff members, I was doing more work than usual on top of relocating.

  But we would win this, damn it, I just had to learn that things worked a little bit differently up in Fort Collins than they did in Denver. Who knew an hour or so could change so much? I closed my laptop and stacked the files on top of it, telling myself I would only take a little break. I drained the last of my coffee, wincing as it had gone cold at least thirty minutes ago, and stood up to stretch my back.

  Today was technically my day off, not something I usually allowed myself, but my staff had pushed me out the doors the night before and told me not to come back until Monday. Considering I had already threatened to do the same to them, I wasn’t sure I liked that we were mothering each other. Though maybe that’s what we needed.

  I put my work away and went to get myself some water since I’d already had two cups of coffee. Considering it was the weekend, I should probably limit my caffeine intake. Maybe. I looked down at my phone and immediately called my parents because I could. I could go over there right now and check on them, and it wouldn’t take me over an hour in traffic to get there. There were reasons I’d moved here, and that was only one of them.

  “Hey there,” my dad said. “Mom’s sleeping.”

  I paused, not liking the tone of his voice. “You okay?” I asked. I didn’t ask if Mom was all right. My father would tell me either way. And
first, someone needed to take care of Dad.

  “It was a long night, but the nurse is here, doing what she can. Your mom is fine now. She’s resting, and we had a good morning. It was just a long night.”

  I held back a curse and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Good. That’s good. Well, not about last night, but this morning. Did you get any sleep?”

  I swore I could hear the smile in my father’s voice as he answered. “You know I didn’t. But I’m about to take a nap and possibly do some yardwork later.”

  That made me smile even as I pushed away the fear. There wasn’t anything I could do but be there for them both. “I was about to do the same. And I should probably clean and vacuum or something.”

  “Don’t you have one of those robot vacuums?”

  “I do. Best invention ever.”

  My dad sighed. “Wish we could have one, but I can’t have it tangling up in cords.”

  “You’re using the cleaning service I hired?”

  “We are. And I’m forever grateful for you providing that. While I still have the dexterity to get on my hands and knees and clean the tile, I’m glad I don’t have to.”

  “You say the word, and I’ll start sending that food service there, too. They send meals already cooked, right to your door.”

  “Maybe. Right now, we’re finding our normal, and I don’t think your mom or I are ready for that yet.”

  “Understood. I would offer to cook for you, but we all know that would only hurt somebody in the end.” My dad laughed, and it was the most incredible sound in the world because it sounded real, not tired or forced—just my dad.

  “I have no idea how you ended up such a poor cook. Your mother and I both do a decent job in the kitchen, and yet you can’t boil an egg.”

  “I only blackened a pot once while boiling an egg.”

  “And it was a nice pot. Never did get it clean again.”

  I laughed and talked to my father for a few more minutes, reminiscing about the good times we’d had, something that we needed to do more often. These days, it seemed I only wallowed in the bad parts—Jonah, Susan, and now Mom. There needed to be good parts, too. If not, it would only get harder and harder to make it through each day.