Page 46 of Last Chance Seduction
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?Have fun tonight.Be safe.And well if you get a little tipsy and want to drunk text, I’m here.”
“You’re a menace, you know that?”
“I’ve always been a menace, Mercy.I’m glad you’re figuring that out.”
And with that, he left my house, pressing the button on the door so it locked itself.
Always keeping me safe that Lex Montgomery.Indeed a menace.
Knowing I was running out of time, I ran upstairs and slid on that maroon dress, black boots, and thick tights.Should it worry me that he remembered this outfit so much?
Or should it worry me even more that dancing with him that one night even though I had been seriously dating Justin at the time, had been one of my favorite nights in my life.
It just hadn’t clicked that it had been because of Lex.
I gripped the edge of my vanity and let out a breath.Going any deeper into whatever this kind of relationship was with him would be a serious mistake.Our lives were already tangled enough.But maybe it was okay that I was living a bit.Maybe it was okay to be reckless.
Maybe it was okay to let Lexington Montgomery seduce me.
I shook my head, finished my makeup, and was just sliding on a thick black knee-length coat as my doorbell rang again.
When I answered, Brooklyn stood there, dressed to the nines, looking sexy as hell in a red dress, brown knee boots, and a similar jacket to mine.
“You look amazing.Are you ready for tonight?”
I shook my head.“Maybe.You scare me.”
“That’s what all of her friends say,” Daisy Montgomery said as she leaned forward and hugged me tightly.Daisy was a couple of years older than us, older than the rest of us, and another one of Lex’s many cousins.She worked in the Montgomery security branch of the family and was such a badass that I wanted to be her when I grew up.
And when I told her that in the restaurant later, she had thrown her head back and laughed.
“You don’t really want to be me when you grow up.You end up with a lot of bruising.”
“I end up with bruising too, mostly because I trip over things,” I said with a laugh.“And you actually know how to protect yourself.”
Shivers ran up my spine, and I looked behind our booth but shook my head.Nobody was there.I was just imagining things.Of course, I couldn’t help but remember that time in the grocery store, when I had overreacted because a man had dared to shop at the same time as me.
“If you want to take self-defense lessons, I can help.”
“She’s great at it,” Brooklyn put in as she poured us more wine.
We were a large group tonight, but I didn’t know the other women very well.They weren’t Montgomerys, but friends of Brooklyn and Daisy.Sasha, Mercedes, Clarisse, and Justine had introduced themselves but were all quieter than the Montgomerys.I was grateful to meet new people, but I worried I’d forget names by the end of the night.
Jamie, one of the others who worked with Lex had wanted to come out, but she had a last-minute emergency.She was fine but hadn’t been able to make it.And my bestie Posy hadn’t been able to come either because she was out of town with Cullen on a road trip to see each of their families.I knew there was a story there, and I would have to wait until she got back until I heard it.
“Maybe self-defense training would be a good thing.It’s weird being a woman living alone.And I only have a cat to protect me.”
“Mr.Darcy is amazing, but yes, you should.And we can put in an alarm if you want?”Daisy answered.“You can go over and look at Lex’s and see what we did.It’s subtle.”
“So does everyone know that Lex and I are neighbors?”I asked, putting emphasis on the word neighbors.
Sasha laughed.“As in the two of you are maybe dating?Yes, word spreads fast in the Montgomery network.”
“That’s a little jarring.I forgot about that aspect.”
“We’re a small town in ourselves,” Brooklyn answered.“It’s annoying, but sometimes it’s nice.Because you always have someone to lean on.”Her gaze brightened as her phone buzzed.She looked down and started to text back quickly.
“I thought we said no phones,” Daisy teased.“I’m not allowed to text my beautiful British husband with the accent that makes me want to faint, and you’re not allowed to text Duke.The man that puts that look on your face.”
