Inked Obsession (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,62

the girls. I needed to tell everybody. We had said no secrets. And now that I was in a new day in a new time zone, I figured maybe secrets were a good thing. Was I supposed to pretend that I had made a rational choice when it came to speaking with Beckett?

It had been perfect. It had been exactly what I needed, and I wanted to do it again.

That thought made me pause. Well, I hadn’t expected that. Again? Yes. I wanted to. I wanted to remember how he made me feel. The way he had touched me and made me the center of his universe for those moments. I wanted to sit across from him at dinner as he made me laugh and we talked about important things and things that weren’t so important. I loved hearing him laugh. I loved that smile of his when he finally let it free. He’d been hiding himself over the past few months to the point I had noticed but hadn’t known why. I could see the weight sliding off his shoulders inch by inch. As he took the reins more in the business, and his father backed off.

And as he told more people about what had happened, about who had been hurt, he looked more relaxed. And I had been a part of that. At least I thought so.

I shook my head and reminded myself that I needed to get ready to go see the Montgomerys. And Beckett. Did everybody know about us yet? I didn’t think so. So, that would be a secret. Wouldn’t it? And maybe I needed to stop twisting myself into circles. It wasn’t helping anyone.

The doorbell rang, and I jolted.

Tension crept up my belly. Please, don’t be my in-laws. I wasn’t ready for a confrontation. I had made no decisions, and I didn’t want to make any. At least, not yet. I hadn’t even let myself think too hard about it.

I swallowed and looked through the peephole. I sighed in relief, and then another form of tension rose as I saw who stood there.

Annabelle, Paige, and Brenna, all in cute dresses, their hair done, and their makeup applied to perfection. Annabelle looked a little pale under hers, though.

“I didn’t know you were coming over,” I said as I moved back to let them in.

Brenna gave me a soft smile and a knowing look that kind of worried me. Paige bounced in, and Annabelle slowly made her way inside.

“Do you want some water?” I asked, and she shook her head.

“No, I just had some ginger ale and crackers. Apparently, morning sickness is going to be a thing during the afternoon, as well.”

I held back my cringe. She didn’t look like she was feeling all that great. “Well, sit down.”

“We’re here to look in on you,” Annabelle said but let me lead her to the living room.

“How was your trip?” Paige asked as she came back in from my kitchen holding a glass of water for Annabelle.

“I said I didn’t need water,” Annabelle said, and I just rolled my eyes as I moved out of the way so Paige could hand her the glass.

“Drink it and be happy,” Paige said. “You’re having the first grandkids of our family. We are going to baby you. It’s what we do.”

“I can’t wait to see you waddle around,” Brenna said, and Annabelle flipped her off.

“That’s not nice.”

Annabelle just shrugged. “No, because then Jacob will be even more overprotective and overbearing when it comes to you. It’s nice. You guys are just so sweet with each other.”

“You really are. I love how he is with you.”

There was a wistfulness to my tone, and I didn’t know if it had to do with Marshall or Beckett. And that should worry me. But it didn’t.

Paige smiled over at me. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my eyes wide because it really could have been about anything. About Marshall, the trip, the anniversary, my in-laws, or Beckett. Not that I thought they knew. Did they? This was why keeping secrets was so bad. For the stomach—and everything else.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” Paige added, her voice soft.

“And tell us if anything happened on the trip,” Brenna said, and I met her gaze. She winked at me, and I snorted.

“I see you’ve already met with Beckett,” I drawled, and Paige and Annabelle gave each other confused looks.

Brenna winced. “Sorry, I already talked with him, and we