Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Nick
I had met parents of the person I was seeing before. After all, I was in my thirties and I wasn’t a monk. I’d been in relationships before—even decently serious ones. Nothing I thought would last forever, but I had nearly been in love. I’d even been happy. I’d met Mom and Dad and siblings, smiling along and tried to act as if I knew what I was doing.
Sometimes they went well. Most times, they were the beginning of the end. It never made sense to me why someone would bring me to meet their parents when we both knew they wouldn’t like me. It wasn’t as though I was an asshole, but even in this day and age where politicians and celebrities had just as much if not more ink than I did, a lot of times parents didn’t want to see their baby with a “tattoo artist with no prospects.”
Those were the words one mother used while I was still in the room.
She had mangled the line from Pride and Prejudice as if I was going to end up with that man who loved his benefactor just as much as he loved potatoes. At least, that’s what I remembered from the movie. Like everybody else, I’d read the book in high school, but I liked the Keira Knightly movie decently well.
I hadn’t told anyone else that, because we liked to make fun of each other for the littlest things. Because we knew we could handle it.
Parents didn’t seem to like me. I didn’t know why. Maybe because I didn’t have the same parental experience they did, but I had the Montgomerys. The Denver Montgomerys, that was. I knew Austin and Sierra quite well, as well as some of Leif’s aunts and uncles. So I knew them, and they treated me like I was one of their kids.
I did not know the Boulder Montgomerys very well. It wasn’t as if it was a very far drive between the cities. One could go from each of the Montgomery families in the four major cities of Colorado within two hours. Until you got traffic on I-25, and it took a little bit longer. But either way, the family wasn’t that spread out. Some moved away for school or life, but they always returned.
I knew that Lake’s father had moved away for a while to pursue a modeling career before he returned and became a bestselling author, and that Lake’s mother had been born and raised in the same part of Colorado her whole life.
And I also knew that all of Lake’s aunts and uncles on her mother’s side lived nearby.
It was a massive family of connections that I was just on the periphery of, yet today felt weird.
I was nervous, and I had no idea why.
Oh, wait, I did, and it was because of her. Damn it.
“What’s wrong?” Lake asked as we pulled into the driveway. I drove since Lake had needed to work and answer emails on her phone. I didn’t mind that she worked even longer hours than I did. She was taking over the world with her businesses, so she needed to work for it. I was always here to ensure she didn’t work too much and hurt herself.
Figuring out exactly how to tell her that without her kicking my ass was a whole challenge.
“I’m just fine. Is it really okay to bring cheese to a Montgomery house? I mean, I assume you already have a lot of cheese.”
She put her phone in her purse and rolled her eyes.
“First off, there’s never enough cheese. Second, it’s just a joke between our families. I found this delicious apricot goat cheese from a local vendor that I wanted to try out. But honestly, you do not need to like dairy products to fit in with this family. You know that.”
“I might know that, but it’s still weird. It’s an obsession.”
We got out of the car, and I grabbed the canvas bag from the backseat, holding out my arm to help Lake maneuver the driveway.
Her parents lived in a large two-story home near the back of an older development where each neighbor had around an acre of land, and theirs happened to be full of trees with a tiny pond in the back. The tiniest of ponds, according to Lake. She had grown up in a different house, but as she and her siblings had gotten older and her father had gotten a little more famous, they moved into this gated development. What that meant was that some of the Montgomery reunions were now held here. Considering the size of the family, that had to be daunting.
“Are you ready?” she asked, and I shrugged.
“As ready as I’m going to be.”
“Well, that sounds fun,” she said with a laugh, and as I leaned down to brush my lips on the top of her head, just because I could, the door opened.
Liam Montgomery, in all of his six-foot-something, broad-shouldered, and inked-up glory, stood there, glaring at us.
“What are you doing to my baby girl?” Liam asked with a snarl, and I pulled away, straightening up.
Lake rolled her eyes, took the bag from my hand, and shoved it at her father.
“Oh, stop it.” She went to her tiptoes, kissed her dad on the cheek, and then grabbed my hand.
“Come on inside and let him growl and grumble out here. He’s like a bear with a thorn in his paw right now.”
“I am not. Treat me with respect. I’m your father.”
“Sir,” I said, my jaw tightening.
Liam looked at me before his lips twitched, and he held out his arms.
I rolled my eyes and hugged the man tightly, slapping him on the back.
“Did I scare you? Did it work? I’ve been practicing that look in the mirror,” Liam said as he moved back.
I snorted. “I’ll be honest, at first, I nearly wet my pants.”
“Well, next time I’ll make you shit your pants, and we’ll call it good.”
I snorted while Lake looked between us, her mouth agape.
“Really? You’re just going full-on bodily fluids.”
“What?” Lake’s dad and I said simultaneously before we looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Men. I swear to God.”
“That’s what happens when you date a man like your father,” Arden Montgomery said as she walked in, kissed Lake’s shocked face, and moved to me. She hugged me tightly.
“I wouldn’t say that. You just creeped your daughter out.”
“But it’s my job.”
“Hey, are we making fun of Lake? I’m in. I have so many questions for Nick,” Jemma said as she ran in. She was sixteen and all legs. She had a short pixie cut thing going on, but the last time I saw her, she’d had an undercut too. Right now, the pixie cut was bright purple with silver streaks, and I just shook my head.
“How do you get your hair to keep that color? Wait, why am I even asking? You look good, pixie.”
She beamed and hugged me tight. “Thank you. And I have to take cold showers, which sucks.”
“But at least she doesn’t hog all the water like she used to. She’s in and out, no lollygagging,” Lake’s brother said as he walked in. Anton was fourteen, already taller than both girls, and getting wider in muscle too.
“I see the spring training camp for football’s going well,” I said as I fist-bumped the kid.
“Decently. I could still use a few more muscles, but Dad says I’m not allowed to overwork it.”
“You’re still a kid. I expect you to gorge on junk food and rot your teeth; thank you very much.”
Lake looked at all of us before she laughed. “I was a little nervous before this, but look at you guys, acting as if you’ve known each other for years.”
I looked at all of them and shrugged. “I have known you guys for years. Though I will say, I am nervous.”
“Why would you be nervous? It’s not like you’re defiling our sister,” Jemma said as she skipped away.
Anton led out a groan as Lake’s father froze, and I looked for a good place to hide.
“Jemma Montgomery. You apologize right now,” Arden snapped.
Jemma nearly tripped over her feet and turned. “Wow. Mom voice and everything.”
Arden narrowed her eyes. “Do it.”
“I’m sorry for telling the truth,” she mumbled.
“Jemma,” Liam warned.
But it was Lake who spoke up. “No, no, it’s fine. I’ll get her later. When she least expects it. I’ll take that fake apology. Don’t you worry. I’ll repay you in kind later.”
Jemma’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really, really, really sorry,” she said quickly, and I just laughed as the two began to playfully bicker. Because I had a feeling Lake would get back at her sister in the best ways possible, and everybody was just enjoying themselves.
“So I see you brought cheese,” Arden said as she pointed to the bag Lake had set down.
I nodded and handed it to her. “It’s some fruit and goat cheese thing. I’m not sure.”
“Did someone say goat cheese?” Jemma turned, her eyes wide. “For me?” she asked, her voice playful.
Lake shook her head. “Maybe not. Little sisters who make fun of big sisters should know better.”
“Is that my punishment? No cheese?”
Lake grinned. “No, I’ll let you have that. Your punishment will come when you least expect it.”
Jemma winced, then took the bag from her mom. “I’ll go set the table…”
“I like the fact that she’s sucking up to you. She’s afraid. I like them afraid,” Arden said with a mischievous grin.
I snorted. “You guys are a lot to take in, and I’m used to Montgomerys.”
“Each of us is different in our own ways, so you’re not used to us yet,” Arden corrected.
As I followed everybody else into the dining room, the conversation turned to work and to life. Everything felt so damn surreal. What the hell was I doing here? I liked these people, I was friends with them, but Lake and I? We were still really new. And yet, I was already here about to eat dinner with her family as if I had done this my entire life.
Liam handed me a beer and raised a brow. “So. What are your intentions with my baby girl?”
Lake cursed under her breath. “Dad!”
“No, I want the answer. It’s not every day you bring a boy home. Oh wait, you’ve never done it.”
Unsaid was the fact that she had never brought Zach, despite how serious they were. Her parents had met Zach at a public event, but he had never stepped through these doors. And part of me was happy for that, a little prideful. But I didn’t preen like a peacock.
“Well, we’re friends. I’m not with her for the money. The only reason I’m here at all is because we’ve been friends forever and you know me. And we’re still new, so you can step off.”
I hadn’t meant to add that last part, even though I grinned as I said it.
Lake’s eyes widened as her two siblings stood beside her, mouths open.
Arden looked between us as if we were entertainment, and I had no idea if she was going to slap me upside the head for mouthing off like that.
But instead of saying anything, Liam just burst out laughing.
“Okay then. I didn’t ask, but you’ve got this.”
Lake moved between us, her gaze befuddled. “Excuse me? You guys don’t get to growl over me. He’s not my owner. You’re not getting a dowry. And oh my God, we’re just dating.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re amazing and I’m an asshole. Get over it.”
Lake looked at me and sighed. “Really?”
Her father cleared his throat. “You’re the one dating a tattoo artist, Lake. You know how our family is.”
Lake cringed. “Oh, God.”
I just laughed and knew that dinner might be better than I expected.
* * *
Later, full of cheese and other delicious foods, I held hands with Lake as we made our way up to her place. We had spent the night at my place the night before, but Lake had an early morning meeting, so she needed to be closer. We were falling into a routine and it confused me, and yet, maybe it should have been this way long before this. Maybe I shouldn’t have been such a coward and done something about it.
As we walked inside and set down our things, she turned to me.
“That went amazing. Way too amazing. And it seemed a lot more important than I thought it would be.”
Understanding, I nodded. “Yeah. I guess it was a lot more of a thing than we planned on.”
“It doesn’t have to be a huge thing. We haven’t changed, and I know that we keep saying we’re still new, but we’ve been friends forever, Nick. I guess there are expectations from others. We don’t need to put them on ourselves.”
“Yeah. I get it.” I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers.
There was a problem with that. A damn problem.
I was already falling in love with her, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could—or wanted—to do about that.
But one day, she would wake up and realize exactly what we were doing. And she would figure out that the princess in the tower, with the great family, the thousands of connections, and the millions of dollars in the bank, wasn’t going to want to stay with the tattoo artist next door. And that would be fine. Because we would always have to be friends. We owned a business together, and I was one of those connections.
But I wasn’t sure what I would do when she walked away.
When there was nothing left.
Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I kissed her, picked her up, and carried her to the bedroom.
She smiled up at me, dreamy-eyed. “What are you doing?”
“What I should have done before.”
I slowly set her down on the floor, her shoes long since fallen off, and kissed her softly, just needing to touch her.
Why did this feel like a goodbye? It didn’t need to be. And yet, it felt like it should be. Because people put all those thoughts and expectations on us, and one day she would wake up and realize she could do better. She would leave, and she would need to. So I would take tonight. Because I had a feeling that the worry on her face was from when people kept talking about the future, kept talking about things like a dowry.
She didn’t want forever. She thought she had wanted it with Zach and it hadn’t worked out, so she wasn’t letting herself want it with me. But I would let myself have tonight.
Before it all fell apart in the morning.
It didn’t matter that tonight had gone well, I just had this feeling that she would wake up and realize that I wasn’t good enough for her.
She looked at me, confusion in her gaze, but I didn’t want her to think about anything else. I kissed her again, this time a little harder, this time a little more needing. We stripped, her soft cotton dress falling to the floor. I licked at her nipples, sucking and biting.
“Nick?” she asked, her voice urgent, questioning.
“I just, let me need you.”
I hadn’t meant to say the words, and as she searched my face I was afraid she would see what I didn’t want her to see. What I didn’t know existed.
I stripped her out of her panties, took off my shirt, and toed off my pants. I stood there in my boxer briefs, and lifted her into my arms. She was so light, so tiny. So fucking breakable.
But I didn’t want to think about that. I couldn’t think about that.
I set her on her dresser so I could see the long lines of her back in the mirror. I freed myself from my boxer briefs and reached for the condom I had already pulled out, sliding it over my length.
“Nick, it’s okay. I’m here.”
I shook my head and met her gaze as I slowly entered her. She was a hot wet vise around me, clenching me. She was wet and wanting me. Just a few kisses, a few touches, and she was already needing me.
But it wouldn’t last.
It never lasted.
I moved, meeting her thrust for thrust as we shook the dresser, the stack of towels she had set there earlier falling to the ground. I cursed under my breath, lifted her up, still balls deep inside her, and set her on the edge of the bed. She let out a little oof, but I kept going, needing her, not wanting to stop. She wrapped her legs around my back, crossing her ankles, and then she gripped the edge of the bed. I pounded into her, needing her. Her breasts bounced, her body shook, but all I wanted was for her to come. To watch her body blush and her nipples tighten as she orgasmed around me. I needed to fuck her, to claim her, but I wouldn’t. Because she wasn’t mine.
And that was the one thing I always had to remember. Because she was Lake, the princess, and I was just fucking me.
She came, clenching around me, hugging me tightly as she moved her arms around me. She slid her hands through my hair and kissed me, and I broke.
Right then and there I broke.
I was falling in love with my best friend. The one woman I knew I couldn’t have.
The one woman who I fought with more than anything.
And the one woman I knew would leave me when she realized exactly what she wanted.
I wouldn’t be that person.
It didn’t matter that I had accidentally begun to fall for her when we first met. Because she would walk away, like she should. She would be whole, and I would be fractured.
Just like it was always meant to be.