Page 45 of Inked Persuasion

“Whatever you say,” Beckett said. “But if he hurts you, I reserve the right to hurt him.”

“Wereserve the right,” Benjamin said, pointing at the three brothers.

Paige cleared her throat politely. “AndIwill be the one who helps castrate him. Do we not remember this?” All three guys winced.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “I love you. Now go.” Thankfully, this time, they did. I sank back in my chair, exhausted, even after all the coffee I’d had this morning.

Jacob hadn’t texted, hadn’t said we would see each other tonight, though I honestly didn’t think we would. And that was fine. We didn’t have plans. We didn’t need them. I didn’t want them.

At least, I didn’t think I did. But the problem was, I didn’t knowwhatI wanted from him.

And that was something I would have to add to my long list. Later.

Much, much later.

Chapter 13

Jacob

“Remind me again what Paige’s boyfriend’s name is,” I asked as I placed my hand on the small of Annabelle’s back and headed into the restaurant. She turned to look up at me, a wry expression on her face.

“Colton. They’ve been going out for a few weeks now—or rather months, I suppose.” She frowned, her nose wrinkling in that adorable way of hers. “I like him, but I don’t know much about him. He came to a couple of Montgomery family events at the bar, and one Montgomery dinner where my parents did their best not to act as if they were excited that Paige might be settling down. However, I haven’t spent too much time with him in a more intimate setting. I don’t know much about him.”

“Well, this should be interesting.” I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to say to that. I hadn’t expected to be going on a double date with Annabelle’s sister and her boyfriend, and from the uneasy look on Annabelle’s face, she felt the same. Somehow, we had been bamboozled into this thanks to Paige. But Paige Montgomery was so sweet sometimes that when she smiled at you, suddenly you were sucked into doing whatever she asked.

“I am sorry. I didn’t realize Paige was going to stop by the house when you and I were finishing up dinner last weekend.”

I shook my head, kind of knowing that it wasn’t Annabelle’s fault that Paige had shown up at her house out of the blue. But when she had, she’d seemed far too into our casual dinner conversation, seemingly noticing things that weren’t even there to begin with, and now…here we were.

“It’s fine. We can handle this.”

Annabelle studied my face, frowning. “I hope you mean handling Paige’s questions and getting to know a guy I don’t know, and not being out with me. Because this is still a double date. It does have the worddatein it. That’s not going to change.”

As we entered the foyer, I shook my head, seeing people milling about as they waited to get to the hostess stand. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers. She sighed a bit, her shoulders lowering. “It’s fine. I’m acting weird because this is different for me. I don’t know Paige either. She was basically a baby when I moved away.” Not technically, but it had felt that way years ago.

Annabelle snorted, her eyes dancing with laughter. “Oh, be sure to mention that after we sit down. She hates being the youngest of the family. And I mean of the entire family. She’s the youngest cousin of our generation. Some are a full twenty years older than her at this point.”

My eyes widened. “Oh. So, let me guess, you’ve been holding that over her head for years?”

“Of course. It’s what big sisters do.”

“Do you ever think she feels weird that she’s not a twin?” I asked, not knowing why it came to me.

Annabelle shrugged and leaned into me as someone passed us. I put my hand on her hip and pulled her closer, the movement instinctual.

“Sometimes. But we don’t talk about it much. She’s still family. Still our sister. And I don’t think Archer and I have that twin bond that others talk about. Sometimes, I feel like I know him better than anyone else. And sometimes he surprises me. But I guess that’s the best thing about family—or at least one of them. Benjamin and Beckett, on the other hand, I feel like they’re two peas in a pod, the opposite sides of a coin. Or whatever metaphor you want to use.”

I snorted. “Okay, that makes sense. I’ve just never known a family with two sets of twins.”

“I’m sure there’s more out there, but we do like to be special, us Montgomerys.”

“Why are we special?” a soft voice said from beside me, and I turned, Annabelle in my arms. Paige grinned at us, her dark hair pulled away from her face partially. A man with a chiseled jaw, bright eyes, red hair, and a mischievous smile stood behind her. “I don’t know if you guys have met before. Colton, this is Jacob, Jacob, this is Colton.”

I nodded. “We met at Riggs’.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. At least I wasn’t the one who hovered around you,” Colton said.

I shook my head. “No, but I’m pretty sure the next time I see the girls’ brothers, they’re going to do the same thing to me.”

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