Inked Obsession by Carrie Ann Ryan

Chapter 17

Eliza

Had I agreed to a date with Beckett Montgomery? I think I had. Maybe I was still on vacation fervor and had agreed because I wasn’t thinking clearly. I didn’t think so. I was going on a date with Beckett. Eventually. Once we figured things out.

First, I was apparently going to Mrs. Montgomery’s birthday party.

Why had I agreed to that?

Oh, yes. Because I liked Beckett’s mother. Usually. I hadn’t liked how she treated her kids when it came to the business, but things had changed. Their mother had stopped placating their father when it came to running the business, and the family feud with the Montgomerys seemed to have downshifted into a truce…or faded away altogether.

I didn’t know the other Montgomerys as well. I knew Brenna knew some of the Denver Montgomerys at least decently well because of her tattoos, but they weren’t close friends of mine—I hadn’t gotten a Montgomery tattoo yet.

I knew I was the only one in our group that didn’t have one, and the few small pieces of ink that I had weren’t anywhere near the caliber of the rest of the family’s. Maybe I would change that. I could go down with Annabelle or Beckett and get a tattoo.

Now I was thinking about getting tattoos. With the Montgomerys. Next thing you knew, I would be jumping on a Harley and driving off into the wind. Not that any of the Montgomerys I knew actually owned motorcycles, but it could happen.

And if I kept letting my mind go down all of these different thought paths, perhaps I wouldn’t worry about the fact that I had to make a decision when it came to Marshall’s child.

Not mine.

I would never hold his child.

Did Natasha want the money? Because she hadn’t asked me outright. No. Marshall’s parents had. They had left a couple of messages, mostly to ask how I was doing. They hadn’t called on the anniversary of Marshall’s death. And they hadn’t asked about money again. They didn’t seem to be pursuing it hard yet. And I didn’t know when or if they would. What would I say if they did?

Why did I feel like I was running out of time? As if in every moment, I was forced to look at the choices others had made and how they affected my future. The stress felt as if it were catapulting me into making bad decisions. Not that sleeping with Beckett was a bad decision. It was a decision that I had made, knowing it might be a mistake. But I couldn’t just pretend it hadn’t happened. I couldn’t hide from the ramifications.

And I needed to tell the girls. I needed to tell everybody. We had said no secrets. And now that I was in a new day in a new time zone, I figured maybe secrets were a good thing. Was I supposed to pretend that I had made a rational choice when it came to speaking with Beckett?

It had been perfect. It had been exactly what I needed, and I wanted to do it again.

That thought made me pause. Well, I hadn’t expected that. Again? Yes. I wanted to. I wanted to remember how he made me feel. The way he had touched me and made me the center of his universe for those moments. I wanted to sit across from him at dinner as he made me laugh and we talked about important things and things that weren’t so important. I loved hearing him laugh. I loved that smile of his when he finally let it free. He’d been hiding himself over the past few months to the point I had noticed but hadn’t known why. I could see the weight sliding off his shoulders inch by inch. As he took the reins more in the business, and his father backed off.

And as he told more people about what had happened, about who had been hurt, he looked more relaxed. And I had been a part of that. At least I thought so.

I shook my head and reminded myself that I needed to get ready to go see the Montgomerys. And Beckett. Did everybody know about us yet? I didn’t think so. So, that would be a secret. Wouldn’t it? And maybe I needed to stop twisting myself into circles. It wasn’t helping anyone.

The doorbell rang, and I jolted.

Tension crept up my belly. Please, don’t be my in-laws. I wasn’t ready for a confrontation. I had made no decisions, and I didn’t want to make any. At least, not yet. I hadn’t even let myself think too hard about it.

I swallowed and looked through the peephole. I sighed in relief, and then another form of tension rose as I saw who stood there.

Annabelle, Paige, and Brenna, all in cute dresses, their hair done, and their makeup applied to perfection. Annabelle looked a little pale under hers, though.

“I didn’t know you were coming over,” I said as I moved back to let them in.

Brenna gave me a soft smile and a knowing look that kind of worried me. Paige bounced in, and Annabelle slowly made her way inside.

“Do you want some water?” I asked, and she shook her head.

“No, I just had some ginger ale and crackers. Apparently, morning sickness is going to be a thing during the afternoon, as well.”

I held back my cringe. She didn’t look like she was feeling all that great. “Well, sit down.”

“We’re here to look in on you,” Annabelle said but let me lead her to the living room.

“How was your trip?” Paige asked as she came back in from my kitchen holding a glass of water for Annabelle.

“I said I didn’t need water,” Annabelle said, and I just rolled my eyes as I moved out of the way so Paige could hand her the glass.

“Drink it and be happy,” Paige said. “You’re having the first grandkids of our family. We are going to baby you. It’s what we do.”

“I can’t wait to see you waddle around,” Brenna said, and Annabelle flipped her off.

“That’s not nice.”

Annabelle just shrugged. “No, because then Jacob will be even more overprotective and overbearing when it comes to you. It’s nice. You guys are just so sweet with each other.”

“You really are. I love how he is with you.”

There was a wistfulness to my tone, and I didn’t know if it had to do with Marshall or Beckett. And that should worry me. But it didn’t.

Paige smiled over at me. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my eyes wide because it really could have been about anything. About Marshall, the trip, the anniversary, my in-laws, or Beckett. Not that I thought they knew. Did they? This was why keeping secrets was so bad. For the stomach—and everything else.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” Paige added, her voice soft.

“And tell us if anything happened on the trip,” Brenna said, and I met her gaze. She winked at me, and I snorted.

“I see you’ve already met with Beckett,” I drawled, and Paige and Annabelle gave each other confused looks.

Brenna winced. “Sorry, I already talked with him, and we said no secrets, and then I didn’t want to pretend that I didn’t know and not bring it up because you said you were going to mention it. And I keep talking really quickly so I’m going to stop now,” Brenna said and then laughed.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. I looked to the two Montgomery sisters who were staring at me, mouths gaping wide.

“You and Beckett?” Paige asked, clapping her hands together. “Where? When? What? Give me all the details.” She paused. Considered. “Maybe not all the details. Maybe small details. Little ones. Not crazy things.”

Annabelle’s smile widened. “I knew Beckett went on vacation, but with you? Well, that’s just a crazy coincidence.”

“Apparently, Eli and Lee know the same person. I don’t know. We’re just going to call it a Montgomery thing,” I said, shaking my head. “Not that it was really the Montgomerys who did it, but Beckett said we should.”

“Beckett said we should,” Paige said dreamily.

I waved my finger at her. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?” Annabelle asked, fluttering her eyelashes. “What happened on this mysterious trip of yours?”

There was no going back now. Not that there ever had been. “I went because my brothers and I realized that I needed time away. Away from my in-laws and everything. Just to be alone on the anniversary of losing Marshall. And, honestly, after losing a lot more than him because things aren’t exactly the way they should be.”

“I’m sorry for that,” Paige whispered.

“Me, too. However, Beckett was there, and we hung out a lot. Our rooms were next to each other. We did lunch and dinner.”

“And each other,” Annabelle added and then put her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she squeaked.

I blew out a breath. “It just happened. And we might do it again.”

“It?” Paige squealed.

“I mean going on a date. I don’t know.” I looked at Brenna. “Is this weird?”

Brenna frowned, holding up her hands. “Not for me. I don’t know, he seemed befuddled when it came to you. I kind of liked it. He’s not befuddled often when it’s something important.

“Befuddled’s a good word,” I said, rubbing my temples. “I thought we needed to go to the Montgomerys’ for dinner. It’s your mom’s birthday. And, oh my God, I’m going to have to go face your mother knowing that I slept with her son.”

I put my hands over my face, and Brenna started laughing. “Hey, at least you really slept with him and don’t have everybody wondering if you actually slept with him like I do.”

I glanced over at her. “What?”

“Beckett’s mother is a hundred percent sure that I’ve slept with Beckett. I have not. I promise you. I have never slept with Beckett Montgomery. Nor have I wanted to. I mean, there was a time when I had a tiny crush on him. And everybody thought that I loved him madly,” Brenna said, glaring at Annabelle.

Annabelle rolled her eyes. “You had puppy-dog eyes. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I do not love Beckett. He’s my best friend. We have issues. And I have a lot more of my own. However, I’ve never slept with him. You did, though. You and the Montgomery prince.”

“I thought Archer was the prince,” Paige grumbled.

That made me laugh. “Okay. Well, if you know, then the guys probably do, too,” I said to Brenna.

Brenna shrugged. “You’re right about that, even though it is odd, circular reasoning. They were there when Beckett called me.”

“He told you over the phone?” I asked, my eyes wide.

Brenna shook her head. “It’s a long story. But he told me because…no secrets. So, you and Beckett.”

“I don’t know if there is a me and Becket. It just happened. Now, we need to go to dinner and not talk about it again.”

“Okay, so we’re not talking about Beckett. We’re not talking about Marshall. We’re not talking about the love child,” Paige said and winced.

I sighed. “At least, not today. Today’s about your mother.”

“And yummy food,” Paige said. “And all the cheese.”

Annabelle sighed. “I miss cheese.”

“I’ll eat the cheese for you,” Brenna teased and winked.

Annabelle once again flipped her off and grumbled. “I don’t know if I like this solidarity.”

“You love us,” Paige said and pulled her sister to her feet.

“Okay, so we’re going to dinner, we’re going to celebrate your mom’s birthday, and we’re not going to mention that Beckett and I slept together. Or the love child. Not my love child with Beckett, I meant Marshall and what’s her face’s,” I added as the girls looked at me slightly cross-eyed.

“When did my life become a soap opera?” I asked, frowning.

“Probably around the time you were born with six strapping brothers and became the wee baby Wilder,” Paige said, grinning.

I laughed. “You’re the wee baby Montgomery. I bet your life is just as melodramatic.”

“I don’t know. I have a sweet boyfriend, one I love very much. And I’m happy.”

There was something in her tone that told me that maybe that wasn’t truly the case. After all, Paige wanted marriage. It had been over a year, and it still hadn’t happened. But I wasn’t going to mention it. I wasn’t even going to think about it. Because it wasn’t my place. Today, we were going to pretend that everything was fine—even though it wasn’t.

Today, I would have dinner with the Montgomerys and Beckett, and try to figure out what the hell I was doing. Because things were moving quickly, more so than I ever imagined.

Tonight, I needed to sit near Beckett and pretend that I hadn’t had his lips on mine, his hands everywhere.

And not wonder when we would do it again.