Page 61 of Inked Obsession

“What mottos?” Dad asked gruffly. “And why do we keep talking about lopping off someone’s balls? That’s violent. And kind of rude.”

“Only kind of?” Paige asked as she kissed Dad’s cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now, no more talking about that. It’s your mother’s birthday. We are here to celebrate.”

“And this is only one celebration of two,” Mom said, grinning. “We’ll have the bigger Montgomery birthday party next weekend.”

“It should be fun,” my dad said. And considering that it was a meal with Mom’s siblings and some of the Montgomerys from around the state and country, he didn’t sound like he was faking it. He was trying. Getting over whatever illusions he’d had about being not quite as successful and popular as the other Montgomery family.

I had never seen it that way. We all worked hard and did our best in our respective lanes, but my dad had always been competitive. And because of that, it put a strain on the family. But we were dealing with it. Getting better.

But that tension, coupled with the attack, had changed things for me, and I had pushed everything deep inside to the point that I had hurt myself. But thingsweregetting better. At least, I hoped so.

“Okay, now, let’s get started on hors d’oeuvres, and then I’m going to work towards everything else,” Mom said, clapping her hands together. “I’m so glad all my babies are here. And they brought all of their babies.”

Mom kept talking, going around and hugging each of my siblings again, but I only had eyes for one person.

Tension slid through me, but I ignored it. Eliza was here. Standing right next to Annabelle, her gaze on mine.

She was here.

Why was everything so awkward?

My mother hugged Eliza again, breaking our eye contact, and I moved out of the way, ignoring Lee’s glance and others’ as we filed into the dining room. Eliza came to my side, and I looked down at her, not saying anything. Then again, she didn’t say anything to me, either. Instead, I reached out my pinky and gently brushed hers. She blinked, looked down at our hands where they barely touched, and I heard the sharp intake of her breath. “Hi,” I whispered.

She looked up at me again. “Hi.”

“Will you sit next to me at dinner?” I asked softly.

Her eyes warmed, even as she bit her plump lower lip. “Does everybody know?”

“Most. Not Mom and Dad yet.”

“No secrets?”

“No. No secrets. But let’s not take over Mom’s birthday.”

Relief filled her gaze. “Thank God. Okay, I’d love to sit with you at dinner.”

“Okay, then.”

I had no idea what I was doing. This felt like it had happened out of the blue, but had it? She had always been there, had always been on my mind. There were always those little moments. Especially in the past year. Times when I had wanted to touch her, to pull her close and tell her that everything would be okay. When we had caught each other’s glances and did our best to look away quickly.

Because it hadn’t been appropriate before. It hadn’t been right.

And yet, right now, it felt like maybe it could be right.

Or perhaps I was just telling myself this so I wouldn’t feel like things were going too quickly. But were they? Yes, she was at my parents’ house for dinner, but it was because she was part of the family. She was Annabelle’s and Paige’s friend. She was my friend, too, but I wasn’t the connection here.

Did I want to be?

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I nearly missed the look my parents gave each other as they looked at us.

My mother had always been observant, even if she had done her best to ignore what was going on in front of her.

Well, then.

I swallowed hard, and we moved into the dining room, not sitting yet since we were all milling around, talking and getting drinks.

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