Page 43 of Connected By Love
Sophia
What is it?
I hold my breath as he types.
Travis
You’ll see soon enough. See you tomorrow after work.
He’s not going to tell me. God, this man makes me feel. I’ve never met anyone who can turn me on just by his words.
I’m still trying to figure out what it could be when Bella andEmma come back out with more mimosas. Tomorrow’s Monday, so I have a full five days to have this on my mind. I swear he did it on purpose to drive me insane with my thoughts.
“Somebody’s all worked up,” Bella laughs. “Talking to Mr. Montgomery again? You’ve got that sex look in your eyes.”
“I don’t have a sex look.” I take a sip of my drink to cool down my body.
“Your face is all flushed, and I can tell you are thinking about sex right now.”
“Did Maverick pass on his skill to you or what? How are you picking up on this?”
“He must have,” Bella laughs.
“Montgomery…” Emma’s deep in thought as she murmurs to herself. “It can’t be.” She pulls out her phone and types something in. I look at Bella, and she shrugs her shoulders. “Oh my God! I knew his name sounded familiar, but I didn’t put two and two together.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask her confused.
“When I was getting my book illustrated, I got to know a lot of artists in the art community. I did a ton of research because I wanted to find the right one. The Montgomery brothers are very well-known artists, especially Travis Montgomery.” She turns her phone around, and I see an article about Travis standing beside a portrait he drew.
Bella looks over my shoulder as we read it. “Holy shit. His portraits are worth thousands of dollars each. He’s famous.”
I stare at the photo, trying to wrap my head around the fact that he’s a famous artist. Why didn’t he tell me? I mean, I know he’s talented because I’ve seen some of his work in his house but I had no idea he sold to art galleries around the world. The article goes on to talk about how he and his brother, Jake, are both sought-after tattoo artists and how Travis branched out as a portrait artist a couple of years ago.
Something catches my eye in the article, and I click on it. It’s a photo of him and a beautiful blonde on his arm. She’s in a gorgeous gold gown that shows off her perfect body. He looks breathtaking in his tux as he stands beside her. The picture was taken six years ago, and from the date, it looks to be right around the time Max would have been conceived.
I feel Bella’s hand on my arm but can’t break my eyes away from the couple looking into the camera. It has to be Max’s mom. I zoom in and try to see similarities, but all I see when I look at Max is Travis. I skim the article and find out she’s a famous model, Addison Monroe.
Her name is Addison.
I grip the phone tightly as jealousy winds its way through my veins.
I glance at Travis again, and if no one knew better, they would see a happy couple. His eyes are different, though. Those aren’t the same eyes that look at me. They have no light in them as he looks at the girl next to him. He’s not happy in this picture. Even though he’s smiling for the camera, it doesn’t reach his greys. He told me they were over before Max was born, and from the looks of this photo, they were having problems when this was taken despite her smiling face. I feel some of the tension leave my body. He’s telling the truth.
I sit back and set the phone down on the table. Emma takes it and reads through the article. “This was taken six years ago. Nothing changes, Soph. They obviously didn’t work out because he’s here with you now.”
“I know,” I sigh. “It still doesn’t feel good to see him with another girl, though, no matter how long ago it was. Of course, her being a gorgeous model doesn’t help. That has to be Max’s mom. The timeline would make sense.”
“He still hasn’t told you about her yet?” Bella asks softly.
“No. All I know is that she left. As far as I know, she’s notin Max’s life. He said they were over before Max was even born and has no intention of ever getting back with her.”
“How could someone just leave their child?” Emma frowns at the picture on the phone.
“I don’t understand it either. Max is perfect. How could you not love him? It makes me want to claw her eyes out.” I feel the anger rise up in my body.
“And the momma bear comes out,” Bella laughs.
“So that’s what it feels like,” I grin. The need to protect Max catches me off guard, but I would do anything to keep him safe from someone hurting him. “Why wouldn’t he tell me about his art though? Why keep it a secret?”
