Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Leif
M ontgomery Ink Legacy’s one-year anniversary was coming up, yet it still felt like opening day had been just yesterday.
Our shop wasn’t downtown, surrounded by extraordinary architecture and busy necessities. But we did have the mountains as our backdrop and trees surrounding us, though we were technically in a strip mall.
My aunt and uncle’s place down in Colorado Springs was also in a strip mall right off the highway. Our legacy establishment at least had trees surrounding us. It didn’t make it any easier for us to not compare ourselves to the original shop in downtown Denver, but that was something I did every day anyway, even if my family didn’t.
The original Montgomery Ink had a few cosmetic changes over time. It had once been bright hot pink and black with chrome, then had gone a little more subtle, and then went back to nearly princess goth, according to my cousin.
Now it looked like a professional art-house with a similar feel to my place. Not because I wanted to emulate my parents, but because we had similar taste.
When I was younger, I tried to figure out what I wanted to be. Who I want to be. I had tried to figure out exactly where I wanted to find myself. I thought I’d be an artist of some sort because that’s what I loved. At one point, I thought I would go to culinary school, but no, art in some fashion had been for me.
When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, Lake had come to me with an idea. She was an investor, a brilliant woman who had her own tech company and made a shit ton of money. She constantly put that back into other women-owned businesses but wanted something of her own that was family-driven.
So she and I decided to do something with it. I had saved and scrimped for the past ten years or so, working at my dad’s shop, then down in New Orleans at my uncle’s old place, and countless other sites learning art and getting experience. That’s why I had gone to Paris all those years ago.
When the time came for a new branch of Montgomery Ink to open, Lake and I had come up with a plan. And then my best friend Nick had wanted in, had saved up as well, and had wanted to be a full partner.
He might not be a Montgomery, but in my heart, he was. And frankly, with how much time he spent with my family and how he’d practically lived with us when we were kids, he was a Montgomery.
Sebastian was our fourth partner, or at least he would be. He still needed to finish college, something he wanted to do, not just for his parents, and had a few more years of apprenticeship ahead of him, but when the time came, he was going to buy into our branch as well.
As we had come up with this plan as a group of four, we had gone to my father and aunt to discuss how we could make this happen.
That was two years ago, and now here I was today, sitting in my booth, going over sketches for my next client. All while trying not to feel like I was failing because I wasn’t living up to anyone’s expectations.
Not that those expectations were put on me by anyone but myself. It was complicated, and I hated that my mind kept doing this. I’d lived ten years of twisted shit in my brain before becoming a Montgomery. Those years didn’t just fade away, despite trying to bury them for as long as I had.
“Okay, get it out,” my best friend said from the booth beside me, and I narrowed my gaze at him.
“What?” I asked, though I knew that Nick could read my mind like no other. It should probably bother me that Nick knew me better than my siblings did, but my siblings were a lot younger than me. I loved my brothers and sister. They were everything to me. But Nick and I bonded from the moment we first met. There was no changing that bond.
The only other person I was as close to was Lake, and she hadn’t come into my life until years later. My cousin and I had just clicked, and we hadn’t been apart since.
“I think Nick is wondering why you are growling to yourself as you draw,” Tristan clarified as he worked on a floral piece on his client’s ribs.
“Maybe he’s thinking about his date tonight,” Taryn added, her lips twitching into a smile.
“Oh, so he finally asked her out? I missed that part.” Leo ran his hands through his hair and grinned up at me. “Congrats, man.”
I glared at my friends and coworkers and shook my head. “You guys know far too much about me. I don’t like it.”
“They just like you,” Tristan’s client said from where she lay face-down on the bench, her eyes closed in peace as if she wasn’t getting a tattoo.
I loved that nearly every woman who came in for a tattoo either smiled, held an entire conversation, or fell asleep. It was often the big beefy guys who were assholes to us, talking about the little women who couldn’t handle pain, who were usually the ones that screamed the loudest.
That always made me smile.
“What did I miss?” Sebastian asked as he walked through the door, Lake right behind him.
I shook my head, laughing now. “We’re a full house here, and everybody’s up in my business.”
“Oh, about your date with Brooke?” Lake asked as she walked toward the back office, her high heels echoing off the walls.
We had painted the place soft cream with white trim. That way, we could add artwork and other pieces to personalize each individual station. Lake had wanted to go gold with the fixtures, with funky lighting and chandeliers to make it look elegant and yet artsy at the same time. I had gone along with it since she knew better than I did, and the guys had agreed.
We had a set of offices in the back where we did a lot of the paperwork, and Lake was there more often than I was. I had a business degree and had gotten it so I could do exactly this, but Lake enjoyed that part. Since she was the one that was a master with money and tech, I let her do it.
She leaned against the wall, slid off her high heels, let out a groan, and then slid on a pair of flats that she kept here.
“I don’t understand why you wear those high heels if you just come here and take them off. Why didn’t you take them off in the car? Why wear them at all?” Nick asked, grumbling.
The two were friends, business partners, and adversaries. They always rubbed each other the wrong way, and yet I knew they would do anything for each other. Just like I would for either of them.
Lake gave him her prim and proper gaze, and I held back a laugh. Nick hated when she did that. It just made me smile.
“I’ve been wearing heels all day, and I can constantly wear them, but I wasn’t in the mood. I like how my legs look in them, so get over yourself, Nick.”
“Ooh,” Tristan, Taryn, and Leo cheered simultaneously.
I looked at Sebastian and we shook our heads before he came to sit next to me and look over what I was doing. Sebastian and I knew better than to egg the two of them on in their bickering. It wasn’t like they were truly fighting. They just enjoyed the push.
Nick growled. “I was just wondering why you were hurting yourself. Far be it for me to talk about women’s fashion.”
“You really shouldn’t be talking about women’s fashion,” Taryn said with a laugh.
“Fine.” Nick rolled his eyes. I looked over at Sebastian.
“How was class today?” I asked, and Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck.
“Fine. I know I need a degree because I want to learn how to help take care of the business, but it’s a little weird already knowing what I’m going to do for the rest of my life while a lot of my friends in college are trying to figure out where is the best place to party.”
My cousin sometimes seemed older than his years, but it also made me sad because he should be able to go out to party to have fun.
“Are you going out with your girlfriend at all? Beyond your old people dates?”
“Old people dates?” Lake asked as she walked forward, looking over a stack of papers.
“He’s just being a jerk. I do not go on old people dates.”
“You guys went to a stamp collection event last week,” I said dryly.
“That’s a thing?” Nick asked.
Sebastian held out his hands. “I’m eighteen. I can’t drink. Not that I’m sure I even want to. And Marley wanted to see if it was fun.” He gave me a dry look. “It was not fun.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You love that girl something fierce.”
Sebastian grinned. “I do. And one day, she’s going to be my wife.”
Leo coughed into his fist. “You’re eighteen, man. I understand young love and all that, but have you dated anyone other than her?”
Sebastian shook his head. “No, but why should I have to date other people to know that Marley is it for me?”
“Childhood loves can be the sweetest thing,” Lake put in.
“Really? How’s that guy Deke that you dated in high school?” Nick asked.
In answer, Lake flipped him off. “Go to hell.”
“Already there, babe.”
The two went at it again. I sighed.
“They should just make out already,” Sebastian grumbled, and I held back a laugh.
“I think they would kill each other if they ever dated. Plus, Lake is dating that guy. Zach.”
Sebastian shook his head. “The guy from that double date?”
“Same guy. He seems good for her. Or at least she’s happy. And Nick and Lake just like butting heads. Not every frenemy you have turns into something more.”
“Well, if that isn’t an ominous saying, I don’t know what is.” Sebastian grinned, then looked over my work. “You have an appointment later today?”
“Tomorrow. I’m just getting everything prepped because I’m going out with Brooke tonight.”
“So, tell us about this Brooke. I hear she’s the one that you dated in Paris.”
I scowled over at Lake. “Did you tell everybody?
“Maybe.” My cousin raised her chin. “Or maybe I just told the crew here when you weren’t looking.”
“Don’t you dare tell my parents,” I growled.
“Oh, they already know.” Sebastian beamed.
I scowled over at my cousin. “What?”
“You practically claimed her in front of Aunt Maya and Hailey. Of course, the family knows. Now we’re all invested in this relationship with Brooke. I’m surprised it took you this long to ask her out.”
“Dear God,” I grumbled.
“It’s your fault for laying claim to her inside the family café,” Lake warned.
“With that logic, there’s no place safe in the state of Colorado when it comes to you Montgomerys,” Nick complained.
“That is true. It’s why I’ll never date a Montgomery, and I always ask for someone’s birth records before I go out with them.” Leo laughed, his eyes twinkling.
I rolled my eyes. “You guys are hilarious. I’m so happy that we’re sitting here discussing dating my family, not working.”
“You’re just salty because we’re all interested in your relationship,” Lake teased. “Seriously though, make this work because I want to go on a double date.”
“We all know how well the double date with you worked out last time.” I crossed my eyes.
“It’s not my fault it didn’t work. That just means you were waiting for Brooke.” She rolled her eyes and went back to the office to work. I scowled at my family and friends and did the same, knowing that I needed to head home and get ready soon.
I had a date with Brooke tonight, and I knew this was my last chance.
At what?
I didn’t know.
But some part of me wanted to find out.