Inked Obsession (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,3

my dad had gotten on my case about in the past. He might be better now, but I was still jumpy. I tilted my glass towards Jacob in thanks. He winked. I was starting to like my brother-in-law more and more.

“Oh, good, they came,” Annabelle said as she looked over my shoulder. I turned around to see her two best friends walking in. They were my friends, too. Brenna and Eliza walked towards us as they smiled and waved. Well, Brenna waved, though it was a little awkward, the one she did when she felt out of sorts. I had known Brenna longer than even Annabelle had. I was the one who’d introduced them. Lee, Brenna, Benjamin, and I were a unit. We just fit together. I wouldn’t call Brenna one of the guys because she wasn’t, but I liked having her around. She wasn’t my sister, but she was a friend that knew nearly everything about me.

Not everything, I reminded myself.

And then there was Eliza Wilder-Strong. I had no idea how to feel about Eliza—and it had nothing to do with what she’d been through, and everything to do with what I shouldn’t be feeling or wanting.

It had been a year since her husband hadn’t come home from his tour overseas, and I knew the anniversary was coming up. And all of us were doing an excellent job of not talking about it when we were in a big group. I knew she talked with Annabelle and Brenna because she had mentioned it, but that wasn’t something we talked about.

I was friends with Brenna, but not so much Eliza. However, Eliza was always on the periphery. She had been married when I met her, and I hadn’t really known her for long. We were friends, and I did my best not to think of her in any way but as my married friend. Fuck, she was sexy as hell and had the best smile.

Her eyes were still sad but maybe I was just seeing things. She was so damn strong, and I liked her—I just didn’t know what to do around her. And I knew she hated that, so I tried to be my normal, gruff self. Probably not the best way to go about things, but I couldn’t change that without wanting more, and there was no way I would cross that line.

Ever.

“I’m glad you guys made it,” Annabelle said as she tried to scoot off the barstool to hug the girls.

Brenna waved her hand. “No, you stay right there, pregnant lady.”

“Oh my God, it’s going to be all of you, isn’t it?” Annabelle asked. “You’re all going to force me to sit and rest and eat well and take care of myself…and why am I even complaining?” She laughed as Brenna leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Eliza slid between Annabelle and me, and I inhaled her soft scent. That was odd. I’d never noticed the way Eliza smelled before—or at least I tried to hold back so I wouldn’t accidentally want more. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe it was because I’d been thinking about what I might be doing later with Sally and then that hadn’t panned out. My mind had gone to the only other available woman. Because Brenna was not in that box for me, and I was related to everyone else. Hell, Eliza wasn’t exactly available either. At least, I didn’t think so. Jesus, I needed to stop thinking about her in that way. I was usually better about putting her in the friend box because she needed to be off-limits.

And she was off-limits, damn it.

“We made it,” Eliza said with a small smile, her voice soft. “I always find it weird that you guys come on weeknights instead of weekends.” She’d pulled her long, dark hair back from her face in a messy bun that seemed almost chic. She wore tight jeans, and a flowy top with sparkles that made me glance at her chest. I did my best not to look down, but hell, her breasts were fucking amazing.

And, once again, I was going to hell. Maybe I needed to go home and get some sleep. Not that I liked sleeping these days. The nightmares always came. Once again, I wasn’t going to let my thoughts go down that path.

I cleared my throat, doing my best to not think about Eliza or her curves. “We like to come on weeknights because we plan a late morning on Fridays. That