Page 3 of Inked Devotion

I looked at him then. I wished that were true. Because I wasn’t sure I could talk to anybody about what was on my mind. And it had nothing to do with Beckett Montgomery.

“You’re a good man, Benjamin.”

He snorted. “That’s a good way to start off the night. I’m a good man, but I’m never going to tell you my secrets.”

“You don’t need to know all of my secrets, Benjamin. They’re scary.”

“With the way that our family rolls? I’m pretty sure we all have you beat.”

“And then what are your secrets?” I asked, only slightly teasing.

He shrugged. “I don’t have any. I think I’m the most boring Montgomery.”

“That may be true,” I said deadpan.

He shoved my shoulder right when Mrs. Montgomery looked at us. “Benjamin, stop hurting that poor girl. What are you thinking?”

“Sorry, Mom.” He put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me close. “See? We’re all fine.”

“Yes, we are.” I reached around and hugged Benjamin around his hips. “See? No violence.”

“Wow, that’s just what they say before the violence starts.” Beckett walked in, holding a plate of meat. “Meat is ready. Dinner is served.”

“You know there are side dishes and salads and drinks and other things to go with that? I swear to God, you fall in love and get engaged and suddenly are all growly and weird,” Paige joked as she bounced in. “However, we do have all of the side dishes ready, so dinner is served,” she bounced, clapping her hands.

Her boyfriend Colton just rolled his eyes behind her, picked her up quickly so she let out a little giggle, and he carried her against his chest onto the back patio where the table was set up.

I nearly swooned at the image of love and happiness. They had been dating around the same length as Archer and Marc had been. In the interim, Annabelle and Jacob had gotten married, and Beckett and Eliza were engaged. The two original couples were still going strong in the dating zone. Archer looked like he was comfortable where he was at with Marc, the two of them taking their time. Only I knew Paige was antsy. The fact that she had told us she was antsy was only part of it. Her family was getting married and having children, and she felt like she was being left behind.

As somebody without even a prospect of a happy ever after, I knew exactly how that felt. Only I wasn’t going to be left behind, damn it. I had plans of my own. Plans that nobody else needed to know about.

I quickly took my seat between Benjamin and Lee as the two of them stuck their elbows on the tables, taking over my space. I rolled my eyes and elbowed them both in the guts, and they looked down at me.

“What?” They said at the same time.

“You both are hulking big men. I get it. You’re all growling and all filled with testosterone. Stop taking over my space. This is mine. I’ve made a little rectangle around my part of the table with my fingertips. All mine, mine, mine, mine.”

“So, tell us about how you feel about sharing,” Clay joked as he looked pointedly over at the three kids staring at me.

“I share quite nicely,” I replied, raising my chin to Mariah. “However, as a young girl, you should realize that when boys are so big, they don’t realize how much space they take. You need to define your boundaries. Be careful about what is yours.”

“Damn straight,” Annabelle said, before she put her hand over her mouth. “I mean darn straight. Oh my God, I’m going to have to stop cursing when the baby comes.”

Jacob chuckled into his beer.

“Maybe one step at a time. The baby’s going to be a Montgomery. It’s already going to be cursing out of the womb and pretty much covered in tattoos and piercings.” Archer grinned as he looked over his shoulder, waiting for Marc to come back to the table.

“The baby will be a Queen,” Jacob said quietly, and everyone else let out anoohat the same time.

I laughed and took a sip of my water. “It seems the gauntlet has been thrown.”

“No gauntlet, but the baby’s a Queen. Sorry.”

Annabelle smiled. “Aw, Jacob, don’t worry. The Montgomerys breed true. We’re still going to be there. Watching. Waiting. Montgomerys forever,” she whispered, while the rest of the Montgomerys repeated it back.

I looked at Lee, who winked at me, while Colton just shook his head, looking as bewildered as usual.

“Sorry, I need to head out,” Marc said as he leaned down and kissed Archer softly. “I know you just sat down for dinner, but do you want to come with me?”

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