Inked Obsession (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,2

are ridiculous. I’m not even hugely pregnant yet. What are you going to do when I hit my third trimester?”

“You’ll be in your house with your feet up, of course. And, yes, at that point, we’ll probably be a little overprotective,” I said and looked at my brother-in-law.

Jacob shrugged. “Probably a lot overprotective. It’s what we do.”

She rolled her eyes before she let Jacob help her onto the stool. Not that she needed the help, but my sister was good to her husband and meeting his growly needs. “Fine. Whatever. And thank you, Riggs.”

“You’re welcome. And that’s on the house.”

I looked at Jacob as he narrowed his eyes at the other man. “Stop hitting on my wife.”

“What? It’s just for old times’ sake. It’s practice. You know, for when Clay shows up again.”

This time, Jacob was the one who rolled his eyes. I snorted. “You are ridiculous, you know that?”

Riggs shrugged. “Maybe. And I see the other taken Montgomery woman is on her way here. What’s with you guys? All of the Montgomerys seem to be taken except for the B-twins and y’all won’t give me the time of day.” He winked as he said it, referencing Benjamin and me, but I just shook my head.

I looked over as Paige and her boyfriend Colton made their way over. They had been together longer than Annabelle and Jacob had, but Colton hadn’t popped the question yet. I hoped it would happen sooner or later, though, because I knew my little sister was antsy for marriage. Or at least a commitment. She was ready. While she may be the youngest out of all of us, I felt as if she were ready for that next step. I sure as hell wasn’t. And my twin, Benjamin, wasn’t either.

Benjamin was over playing pool with a few of our friends, Lee being one of them. Lee was another who sure as hell wasn’t ready to get married anytime soon. I wasn’t even sure he was dating anyone. He was like me and tended to flit around, but not much else. Lee worked long hours and rarely had time for nights like this. When he did, he hung out with us and our other close friend, Brenna.

I had no idea what Benjamin did when it came to his relationships. He might be my twin, but we couldn’t read each other’s thoughts. If anything, it seemed as if his thoughts were as shrouded as mine. As if he knew I was thinking about him, he looked up and quirked a brow. I shrugged and then looked over at Paige and Colton as they reached us.

“I saw you dancing with Sally,” Paige said in lieu of a greeting, and I sighed. Colton just shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. I liked the guy. He was uncomplicated, a little goofy, and loved my sister. If he ever hurt her, he knew I’d rend him limb from limb.

“Sally went home like she’d been planning. You know Sally’s just my friend, right?”

Paige shrugged. “True, but you guys seem nice together.”

I needed to nip this in the bud. Paige liked matchmaking, though she wasn’t always good at it. “She’s a good person, but she’s not my forever. And she sure as hell doesn’t see me as dating material beyond the night.”

“That’s always something a younger sister wants to hear,” Annabelle said dryly.

I sighed and looked around at my family. We came here once a week and did our best to remain close. The only person we were missing tonight was Archer—Annabelle’s twin and my younger brother. Archer was out with his boyfriend tonight. They had been going strong for over a year now, and Archer spent a lot of time with Marc and his friends. They seemed to mesh, and they were happy, but I was still that overprotective asshole brother. And much like I would glare at Jacob and Colton, I would do the same with Marc when I got the chance. Just for propriety’s sake. After all, I was the eldest brother, even if it was only by a few minutes.

“Are you ready for the meeting tomorrow?” Paige asked.

Jacob sighed, though I saw the humor in his gaze. “No, we are not discussing Montgomery work. You promised me when we came tonight.”

“Sorry.” Annabelle winced.

Paige shook her head. “Oh, no. I like that promise. Forget I even said anything.”

I snorted. “I can do that.” I didn’t want to talk about work, especially since this was a project