Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Lake
“I ’m so excited about this,” Diana said, and I smiled through the phone on our video chat.
“I’m excited about it too. Big things are coming, and we are only a few short weeks away.”
“At this point, I feel like there isn’t enough time.”
I nodded, excited, as I went through the spreadsheet. My team would be working on the final touches with Diana. She knew what she was doing, and I was just an investor. But Diana and I had started a friendship, and I enjoyed hearing more about the café and everything coming with it.
“You’re coming to the opening day, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Of course I am. You wouldn’t see me anywhere else.”
“And I take it you’re bringing that beautiful man I saw walking with you that day?”
I blushed, my lips twitching. “That man you saw was just my friend.” Diana gave me a look. “At the time…well…it’s a long story.”
Diana nodded solemnly. “I understand completely. I’m just being nosy.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I don’t know if it’s nosy, or just interested like everyone else seems to be around here.”
“I hope you bring him. Mostly because I want to see his take.”
“I don’t know if he’s too much into fantasy or things like that, but I already told him a little bit about what it’s about, so he’ll be excited.”
“That’s all that matters. Even if it’s not your thing, we want you to be interested enough that you’ll come for the good food and the sometimes subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle ambiance.”
I snorted. “I think you’ve found the perfect middle ground.”
“I think I did too. Now, to go through a few more things, and I’ll leave you be. I know you’ve had a long day.”
I nodded and absently rubbed the back of my neck.
“I had a few early meetings, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Let’s go through these, and then you’ll be working with my team for the rest. And I’ll see you on opening day.”
“Perfect.”
She clapped her hands excitedly, and we went through the last parts.
Diana and I finished our meeting quickly soon after, and I did a few things on my list, knowing that the next day I wanted to head to the shop.
I penciled it in and chuckled because I would see Nick later that night. I had dinner with the girls at my place, and Nick had a late evening tattoo scheduled. And after, he would come over and we’d have a drink. I didn’t know what would happen then, only that I blushed thinking about it. I knew what we had done the night before when I was alone in my bed. The first time I’d ever had phone sex, it was with Nick.
But before anything else could happen, I had dinner with the girls.
I packed up my things, said goodbye to my staff, and headed home. Most nights, I worked far later than this, but tonight was girl time. And then Nick time. Somehow I was going to find a way to balance all three, even if I might fail just a little bit. No, I wouldn’t fail. I didn’t fail. I couldn’t. Not when things were important.
I made it home, promptly put my things away, and began cooking dinner. I had a quick recipe for French onion soup, would pair it with a spring salad, and finish it off with the crusty bread that Brooke had promised to bring with her.
I chopped and minced and worked on my soup, thankful that this one didn’t take forever. The secret was Worcestershire sauce. I had turned on an audiobook and listened to my heart’s content, feeling relaxed for the first time in a long time.
Tonight was about friendship, girl time, and then later, maybe something more.
The doorbell rang, and I wiped my hands and looked at the screen.
Brooke stood there, May at her side.
I quickly ran to the front door, opened it, and grinned.
“You’re here!”
“And we have bread. All the bread,” May said.
May might be Brooke’s nanny, but she was also our friend. I liked the dynamic that we had, and I truly enjoyed being with these women.
They walked in, we hugged, and soon wine was flowing, and my other two guests, my cousins Daisy and Aria, came as well. Aria was Sebastian’s twin. I had more than a few cousins and tried my best to hang out with all of them. I might only have two of them over tonight, but I knew I would see the others soon. We were spread out over most of Colorado, with some of us even out of state for college, but in the end, Colorado was our home, and we usually ended up back here.
“Okay, tell us about Nick,” Brooke said quickly, breaking the ice.
I laughed outright and sipped my pinot noir. “I don’t think I will.”
“Are you quoting Captain America’s Chris Evans again?” Daisy said as she leaned forward.
Daisy, like me, came into the Montgomery family later in our childhood. But it didn’t matter because we were Montgomerys through and through, addicted to cheese and being in each other’s business.
“I might be quoting Chris Evans. I can’t help it. He’s just so dreamy.”
“But not as dreamy as Nick,” Brooke said pointedly, taking a sip of her wine.
“You guys are terrible.”
“No, we’re not. We’re nosy. There is a difference,” May said with a laugh.
“Fine. You guys are ridiculous.”
“Maybe, but tell us.” Daisy leaned forward, her eyes intent.
“There’s not much to tell. We’re not putting a label on it.”
All four women groaned.
“What is that?” I stared at them, narrowing my eyes.
“Was it his idea, or yours?” Brooke raised a brow.
I frowned. “Maybe his. But mine too. You know how stressful it is to date these days?”
May laughed. “I’m a serial first-dater, so yes, I do.”
“At least you didn’t get a second date with Leif. That’s all that matters,” Brooke said as she winked.
I winced. “I still feel like I should apologize for setting you guys up on that blind date.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I like being able to hold it over Leif’s head. It gives me joy,” May said with a laugh.
I shook my head. “You guys are ridiculous. And we’re not doing labels. We’re seeing each other.”
“Exclusively?” Daisy asked.
I froze. “I don’t know. I think so.”
Alarm shuddered through me, but Brooke shook her head.
“Even if it’s not explicitly exclusive, Nick doesn’t play that way. He never goes out with more than one woman at a time. I can promise you that.”
I stared at Brooke. “How do you know that?”
“Because Leif and I talked about it. And you know that—you’ve known Nick longer than me. Longer than any of us.”
“You’re right. I’m just making myself nervous for no reason.”
“You’re at the beginning of a new relationship, even if there are no labels,” Daisy added on quickly. “Your mind is going in a thousand different directions.”
“I’m just trying to figure things out. Even if I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re allowed to be stressed out. It is kind of cool, though. Nick is hot,” Daisy said.
“He is,” Aria added.
I frowned at both of them. “Should I be aware of something?” I asked with a laugh.
“Just that we like your taste. Don’t worry. He’s a little too old for us.”
The two girls looked at each other, giggling, and I scowled.
“Why did you just make me feel ancient?”
“We didn’t mean to, but it is the truth. He’s just a little too old for us. But that’s fine. We’ll find our perfect men eventually.”
I shook my head. “Hopefully, a long way away. You are still in college, Aria. You too, Daisy.”
“Hey, my twin brother is practically married any day now, and I’m about to be an auntie. I don’t think that time works the way you think it does.”
“That’s the truth,” I said with a sigh as I sipped my wine.
“I’m sorry that Marley couldn’t be here,” I added as I looked over at Brooke.
She winced. “Me too. But tonight is her personal family night or something.”
“They’re probably playing Yahtzee and telling Marley once again that she’s made a terrible mistake by dating that Montgomery boy,” Daisy added, scowling.
I sighed.
“I’m trying not to hate them because it is sort of a little scary. One minute their baby girl is in high school and living under their roof, the next minute, she’s in college and an adult and making her own choices. And oops, she’s pregnant, but that boy loves her, so what happens next?”
“They’re nineteen, or at least Sebastian is. Marley will be nineteen soon. It is young, it was unplanned, but they’re figuring it out. Marley’s parents were always like this,” Aria growled. “And it has nothing to do with my brother. They want Marley to be in a box that Marley won’t fit into. So they do all they can to force her into situations that she hates, so no matter what, it looks like she’s making mistakes.”
“I just hope she knows that we’re here for her.”
“She will if she doesn’t already. Now, let’s eat some of this soup that smells so amazing,” Brooke said, changing the subject, and I was grateful.
There was nothing we could do about Marley or her family. Because we weren’t in that situation, we would just be there when they needed us.
And frankly, I wanted to eat. That way, we could get to the next phase of my night.
Nick.
And everything that entailed.
* * *
Dinner was delicious if I did say so myself, and I ate way too much bread. By the time the girls and I cleaned up, and they headed out for the rest of their evening, I was a little tired but excited.
Nick would be over soon. And maybe finally we could spend some time together that wasn’t just over the phone. I barely had enough time for my personal life, but Nick’s schedule was ridiculous too. Montgomery Ink Legacy was doing fantastic these days. Their waiting list was ridiculous, and though they did take time off for themselves, they didn’t have a lot of time. As one of the owners, I was grateful because that meant I had profit coming in, and I could help make decisions about updates and the business side, but that also meant that finding an overlap of free time between Nick and me wasn’t easy.
I finished cleaning up the kitchen, doing one last check to make sure I didn’t have a speck of flour somewhere. I was a little messy when I cooked, but I liked a clean kitchen.
I swept up, knowing that this was just me nervous because I was waiting on Nick, and went to put the broom back in the closet. Something fell in the back, and I groaned, knowing it was one of the attachments to my vacuum that I had never used. It was one with spikes and I had no idea what it was for. I was probably going to have to look that up so I could figure it out. I bent over to pick it up, and everything froze.
It wasn’t the only thing that had fallen.
A mint green shirt, a button-up that I hated. But his mother had given it to him, so he wore it on special occasions. But I joked once that he reminded me of mint chocolate chip ice cream, my least favorite ice cream, and he yelled at me. Had called me something I didn’t want to repeat, and why couldn’t I breathe?
I fell back to the floor, the shirt in my hand.
When had I picked it up?
My chest tightened and I gasped for breath, shaking.
Why was it here? How had I missed it? I thought I had cleansed my entire house of him.
Zach couldn’t be here. Was he here? I could feel his hands around my throat, as he squeezed, as he told me that I wasn’t worth living. That I wasn’t worth anything.
I tried to breathe, tried to do anything, but there was nothing.
Something banged behind me and I flinched, curling into myself, the shirt still in my hand.
“Lake!”
It was him. It was Zach. It had to be him. Why couldn’t I breathe? What the hell is wrong with me?
And then someone was holding me and I was screaming, pushing.
“No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.”
“Baby. It’s me. It’s Nick.”
“Nick?” I asked, his name a light through the fog and I tried to suck in breaths.
“It’s me, baby. I’m here. You’re fine. What’s wrong? Tell me. Are you hurt? Did you hurt yourself?”
Sweat covered my body, and my tongue tasted metallic, bile rocketing up my throat.
“You’re here. How did you get in?”
He just looked at me, cupping my face.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“I just…I think I had a panic attack.”
He cursed under his breath as I tried to stop hyperventilating, though it wasn’t easy. He held me as we sat on the floor, and I tried to figure out how he got in.
“What, why are you here?”
“I’m here because we have a date, and I saw you on the floor, not breathing.” He blushed and held me close. “I sort of broke through your back door. You didn’t have the deadbolt on, and I don’t have a key to your house. I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry,” I said, embarrassment rolling over me. He’d broken into my house because he had seen me on the floor, helpless. How horrible was that?
Tears filled my eyes and he cursed, holding me closer.
“I’m glad your family is in the construction business. They can fix things because I’ve no idea how to do it.”
I kept crying, the adrenaline wearing off as he rocked me in his lap.
I hadn’t even realized I was curled into a ball until he kissed the top of my head.
“Is this too much? Do you need me to stop holding you?”
I shook my head, leaning into him. He smelled so good, and I just wanted to wrap his scent around me and never let it go.
“No, it’s not too much. I’m going to call my therapist in the morning, but I’ll be okay.” I let out a breath, annoyed with myself. “I’m allowed to have a life. I don’t need to go out and party every night, but I’m allowed to do this. Why am I freaking out over a stupid shirt?”
He cupped my face before he kissed me softly. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“You do, but now you’re spending your evening comforting me instead of us doing something fun. I’m just going to be too much for you.”
He cursed. “If I’m not too much for you, then you’re not too much for me. Hello, parental drama much? If I can handle it, so can you.”
I blinked up at him. “So you’re not going to deny I’m a lot to handle?” I laughed. I was laughing. How could he make me do that so easily?
“I’m a fuck-ton to handle. I think we can do it together. Okay? Now just let me hold you for a minute or two longer because you kind of stressed me out. But that means I get to hold you longer.”
I swallowed hard and leaned into him and thought maybe everything would be okay.
That’s when I knew I was in trouble because this had been a long time coming, even in the few brief moments that we’d had together since everything changed.
I was falling in love with Nick.
I didn’t know how long we sat together, him holding me, me shaking, before my phone buzzed on the counter.
He sighed, then reached up and grabbed it for me.
“Just in case it’s an emergency. I know you’re running the world and all.”
I smiled, feeling better. Now I was just cuddling with him, even if it was uncomfortable on the floor. But I didn’t want to stop.
“It’s Diana. I wonder why she’s calling this late?”
“Answer it. I don’t mind.”
I nodded, kissed his jaw, and answered.
“Hi, Diana, is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry to call. But the authorities are here. Somebody sprayed blood all over the outside of our café. I figured you’d want to know.”
I froze. Tonight might have started off wonderfully, but had gone downhill fast, and it sounded like it wasn’t over.