Happily Ever Maybe (Montgomery Ink Legacy)

Chapter 1

Gus

Distractions killed. At least in my line of business.

I needed to keep the bestselling author turned screenwriter turned Oscar-winner safe. He’d received a few death threats in the past thanks to his current work, and my job was to keep him protected. It wasn’t any different than what I usually did. Keeping my client safe.

The man was currently on stage with a reporter from a major publication doing an interview in front of thirty-five hundred of their closest friends. I was off to the side, hands loose in front of me, looking as casual as possible as I kept scanning the room.

In addition to the death threats in the past two months, he’d also had some sexual innuendos and stalkerish behavior when it came to behind-closed-door activities.

I never understood the need to make up a relationship that had no chance of being real, yet these fans put their whole personalities into it.

They sent him flowers, anniversary cards, and gifts just to remind him they existed and, in their minds, the two of them were in a relationship.

It was downright terrifying, and while they weren’t allowed on the premises, that didn’t mean they couldn’t find a way in.

The company I worked for had done background checks on the staff and other people here, but even though certain individuals were blacklisted from getting tickets, there were still ways to get through. And that’s why I was here. Well, that’s why the team was here.

I liked working for Montgomery Security. The crew I worked for was nearly all from the same family, or about to be related with an upcoming wedding. They were smart, diligent, and knew how to use their team.

I was damn good at being a bodyguard. I could usually sense a threat before it became a dangerous situation.

In my last job, I stopped a young woman from throwing herself on the stage, screaming that she wanted to be with my client until the end of days.

There hadn’t been a scene. We had walked off calmly, and things were fine.

But for some reason, I was edgy now.

No, that was a lie. It wasn’t just some reason. I knew exactly what it was.

And it wasn’t Daisy and Kane, my fellow team members today. No, it was the other one.

Her.

I didn’t want to think about her, but I wasn’t sure I could stop. I needed to, however. My job demanded it.

I was a bodyguard and an installer. I not only protected my clients and charges, I also installed security equipment for businesses and homes.

While my bosses laid out the security profiles and programs for large corporations and small residences—and also worked with cybersecurity—I did the installs when I wasn’t on bodyguard duty.

I enjoyed both aspects of my job and was talented at it.

Yet it didn’t feel like that.

Not with her.

It was always hard to think about anything when it came to Jennifer. My coworker and my nemesis. Not that she knew she was my nemesis. No, that was all on me.

Those blue-gray eyes of hers were piercing and saw everything. At least when it came to the job. She could scent an incoming threat as quickly as I could, and that was saying something. I might be cocky as fuck when it came to my job, but it was for a reason.

And Jennifer was sometimes even better.

Her dark brown hair was pulled into a tight bun away from her face.

I liked it when her hair was down, though, since it fell in soft waves past her shoulders.

She pulled it back in a ponytail or a braid when she was working out, but when she was on duty, like today, it was in a bun, so nobody could use it against her in a fight.

I always kept my hair decently short, but my beard was getting longer. I’d probably have to trim it soon. I wasn’t trying to blend in like I had with my old job when everybody had long beards, and I was undercover. Now, I needed to trim it a bit so nobody could pull it in a fight.

But Jennifer? She’d thought about all of that already. Hence the bun.

She was slim with a narrow waist and average height—though not much about her was average.

But that delicate frame was all muscle. She could bench press more than a few of the guys on the team and kick any of our asses on any given day.

Hell, she’d pinned me to the ground once, and I nearly swallowed my tongue.

And then I’d had to hide my erection from her.

Like I did most days. Because Jennifer was a distraction.

My distraction.

I pulled my gaze from her and wondered how she couldn’t feel my eyes on her.

I would think it would be piercing, as if she was the only thing that mattered.

I could practically sense the heat of my gaze.

Yet she couldn’t feel me? That should worry me, or maybe I was just losing my damn mind because all I wanted was her.

And that was a problem. Because we worked together.

I held back a snort at that. No, that wasn’t the problem. Two of my bosses were getting married—not only to each other but also to the barista next door.

That made me smile because it was about damn time the three of them got together.

I had always thought Noah and Ford, while best friends, were better suited as something more. But it wasn’t until Greer showed up that I realized what had been missing.

When it came to interdepartmental relationships, I didn’t really care. It was fine as long as everyone kept their shit together and didn’t let it interfere with work. Ford and Noah didn’t. They loved each other, fought with each other, fought for each other, and kept the ship running.

Noah’s cousins—Daisy, Kane, and Kingston—were also our bosses.

We had a few other part-time and contract workers who helped with installations and when we needed larger teams, but they liked being contractors because they could work for a few people and control their schedules.

Jennifer and I were the only two full-time employees who weren’t at the head of the company.

It might seem awkward for some to be working with the Montgomerys so closely like that, but it worked for us.

We got paid well, had decent benefits, and my dumbass could be near Jennifer more often.

I pulled my gaze from her and looked back at the crowd. Something tingled, and it wasn’t just that I couldn’t keep my eyes off Jennifer. While that was a problem, it wasn’t the only one.

My client laughed at something on stage, and so did the crowd, but I was missing someone. I’d seen something, missed something.

“You okay, Gus?” Jennifer asked, her voice low, slightly smoky in a way that only happened when she was on duty.

I wondered what it would sound like in bed. But just because we had chemistry and constantly flirted with each other didn’t mean I was allowed to think about that.

There were rules and guidelines about that. That had to be some form of sexual harassment. There was something fucking wrong with me.

“Just getting an itch,” I whispered into the receiver.

Of course, that itch only partially had to do with something I sensed in the crowd. But I wouldn’t put that out into the universe.

“I have a disturbance in section four. I’m going to check it out.

” Daisy’s voice was low as she moved forward, and I was grateful that she was on it.

She was still recovering from the incident that’d nearly killed her and scared all of us.

But she was fine now, or so she said. I knew that Kane would be keeping an eye on her.

They were cousins, just like most of our workforce, and he would ensure she was good.

They were partners here, while Jennifer was mine.

“Are you sure everything is good?” she asked, her voice still low.

“Yeah. We’re good.”

She moved closer to me so we weren’t talking on the mics. “I don’t see anything on my end. What about you?”

I could feel her heat, just like always.

I was in fucking trouble. But it was my problem.

We had been flirting off and on since we met.

We enjoyed it, the chemistry and heat between us.

And we ignored it. We checked each other out and joked about going out, but we never did anything.

Everybody gave us shit about it, too. It didn’t matter because we all made it work, and we never let it get in the way.

And yet, it felt like something was off. Like something was different about this. Or maybe that was just me. Perhaps she didn’t want anything more than joking, and that was why I was so distracted.

“False alarm,” Daisy said over the earpiece, and I nodded, though she couldn’t see me.

“Understood,” Jennifer and I said at the same time as we kept our eyes on the audience.

“What’s wrong?” Jennifer asked softly, and I turned to her.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just trying to focus.”

“I know. Same here. Did you see something? You seem off.”

I was off because of her, but it wasn’t as if I was going to tell her that.

We both turned back to the audience, though I wanted to say something. Only it seemed I had been distracted, after all.

“Dylan! I love you. Won’t you think of our future children?”

We were off in an instant, moving before the woman even finished her statement. I went toward our client, Dylan, and Jennifer was on the woman as she screamed about her long-lost love as the crowd started screaming and yelling.

She threw a water bottle—just a water bottle—and it splashed all over the podium. I didn’t know what was in it, if it was acid, something combustible, or worse, but I got the client away, all the while knowing I’d fucked up.

I had once again been distracted by Jennifer, talking to her when I should have been paying attention. When I saw the glint in that woman’s eyes and ignored it because I wanted to look at a person I shouldn’t.

Everything moved fast after that. Kane spoke over the intercom, telling the people to remain calm as we escorted the woman out. The authorities would be called, and we would deal, but I had fucked up.

“Let me go back out, it’s fine. It’s happened before.” Dylan ran his hands through his hair and looked at me. “Don’t kick yourself about this. It’s not your fault.”

I raised a brow. “I’m going to have to disagree, sir. But we’ll handle it.”

“It’s fine. Nobody was hurt. I just hope she’s okay.”

The man was so damn nice. Nicer than I would’ve been. Then again, I was on the other side of the dividing line. The guy who was supposed to protect him. And I’d nearly failed.

“Can you take my spot?” I asked Kane, who gave me a look but nodded. I went to Daisy’s side to take the back of the building. Dylan would finish the interview. And then we could regroup.

I would have to pretend that I hadn’t just fucked up.

Still, I couldn’t help but think about the one woman I shouldn’t. My partner. Not my lover.

* * *

When we got back, we were all exhausted, and Kane was on the phone with Ford.

“Got it. Yeah, we’ll meet you tomorrow.” He hung up and looked at us.

“It’s late. We’ll go over everything later.

But from what we can tell, there wasn’t anything we could have done differently.

The auditorium allows water bottles. And according to the authorities, it was just water.

It happens. We’ll go through training again to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Don’t kick yourself. We got it done.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything. Jennifer frowned at my side. Daisy started limping to the door, and Kane cursed under his breath. “I’m going to make sure she gets home.”

I sighed and nodded at him. “We’ll close up.”

“Yeah, just make sure she didn’t overdo it today,” Jennifer added.

And with that, it was just me and Jennifer alone in the office.

The one place I didn’t want to be.

“So, what the hell was that?” Jennifer snapped.

I whirled on her. “What the hell was what?”

“That expression. Why are you glaring at me? It’s not our fault.

Yes, we missed the woman rushing the stage, but we got her before she could do any real damage.

It could have been worse, but we got her.

The client is safe, everybody who needed to have fun at the event did, and they also have a story to tell. ”

“Yeah? And if I wasn’t fucking distracted by you, then maybe I would’ve caught it earlier.” I hadn’t meant to say that, and I had a feeling I should have kept my mouth shut.

Her eyes narrowed, her chest rising and falling in a rapid rhythm that drew my gaze before I looked back up to her eyes. “Excuse me? You’re blaming me for this?”

I rubbed my hand over my face, knowing there was no way back from this particular conversation. I should have let it go. But I was a masochist with my emotions and didn’t care. “No. I don’t know. Hell, Jennifer, you’re always a fucking distraction.”

“Are you calling me unprofessional?”

“Of course, not. I’m calling you a distraction.”

She sighed, meeting my gaze. “Explain. Tell me what the hell you’re talking about because there’s no way what happened is my fault.”

“You know what you did. What you always do.” I cursed. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t keep my eyes off you, Jennifer. You know that. You know we flirt and joke around. Apparently, my dick couldn’t get in line because all I could do was think about you. Want to be near you. And I missed the woman. So yes, it’s your fault. Just as it’s mine.”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s the problem. I’m not.”

She snorted. “If you wanted me, you could have had me when we first met. You’re the one who walked away.”

I staggered back, shocked. “What?”

“We went out the first night we met. I flirted hard, and you backed down.”

I shook my head, not quite believing her. “I flirted right back. But I wasn’t about to get in your pants the first day we met when we had to work together.”

“You didn’t want me. And now you’re pretending you do and saying I’m the reason you fucked up? Which you didn’t, by the way. Neither of us did. It happened; we fixed it. But it’s not our fault. And it’s damn sure not my fault that, apparently, you can’t keep your eyes off me.”

“I can’t keep my eyes off you because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. You’re hilarious, brilliant, and good at what you do. Plus, you’re fucking sexy. That’s why I can’t keep my eyes off you.”

“So somehow things I can’t change are why you’re pissed off at me?”

I threw up my hands. “I don’t fucking know. I want you. And that’s a problem.”

She was silent for a few moments before seeming to come to a decision. “Then have me. Get it out of your system. And maybe I’ll get it out of mine.”

I must have fallen asleep and was in the middle of a damn wet dream, because there was no way I had heard what I thought I did. “What?”

“Do something about it. Because you’re as much of a distraction for me.”

I blinked at her, wondering what was going on. So, I figured…why not? Why not make this mistake?

I grabbed her shoulders and crushed my mouth to hers, hoping to hell we weren’t making things worse.