Inked Obsession (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,66

to pull her close and tell her that everything would be okay. When we had caught each other’s glances and did our best to look away quickly.

Because it hadn’t been appropriate before. It hadn’t been right.

And yet, right now, it felt like maybe it could be right.

Or perhaps I was just telling myself this so I wouldn’t feel like things were going too quickly. But were they? Yes, she was at my parents’ house for dinner, but it was because she was part of the family. She was Annabelle’s and Paige’s friend. She was my friend, too, but I wasn’t the connection here.

Did I want to be?

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I nearly missed the look my parents gave each other as they looked at us.

My mother had always been observant, even if she had done her best to ignore what was going on in front of her.

Well, then.

I swallowed hard, and we moved into the dining room, not sitting yet since we were all milling around, talking and getting drinks.

Eliza stood by my side, and I did my best not to notice every breath she took, but I felt the heat of her at my side.

Why had I ignored my attraction for so long? Yes, it made sense that I had and needed to. But now that I thought about it, there had always been heat there—at least on my side. Even if it was taboo.

“So, how’s the Jackson project coming?” my dad asked, and everybody stopped speaking to look over at my father. He was looking directly at me, a small smile on his face. “I’m not asking to jump in. But I am interested. I love what we do. I love the company. But I’m not going to butt in. Unless you want my opinion. Still, I want to know where you’re at. I don’t know, I feel like I’m off-balance here.” He shrugged, then stuck his hands into his pockets. My mother linked her arm with his and patted his chest.

“It’s okay, honey. I know you’re trying.”

He smiled down at her and blinked. They looked happy. Much less stressed than they had in recent years. I met my siblings’ gazes, and they shrugged.

We were all trying, doing our best not to fuck up. But life didn’t make things easy. No, it made things a little more complicated. Brenna and Lee stood off to the side, a little apart from the rest of us, and I hated that. I wanted to know what Brenna was dealing with, but I’d wait until she felt comfortable enough to tell me. Lee was never good at the whole big-family thing, but he hung out with us because he was our friend.

Paige’s significant other, Colton, was slightly off to the side, as well, but still with our people. Eliza stood behind me, closer to Annabelle and Jacob, yet still in my periphery.

We were all part of a whole, yet the complicated pieces didn’t quite fit together. Maybe it was my secrets that had made me feel slightly off. Maybe it was the way Dad had treated us at the company. I didn’t know. But I was the eldest brother; I needed to fix things—somehow. I couldn’t fix what was going on with Brenna right now, not that it was my place to do so, but I would damned well try when and if an opportunity presented itself. And I couldn’t fix this feeling inside me when it came to Eliza, at least not yet. But I could be the big brother, and I could try.

I cleared my throat.

“We’re right on track. Annabelle’s working up a new set of plans for the addition to the project that the client was asking for.”

Annabelle cleared her throat as she gave me a small smile. “Yes, and I’m having fun with it. I think you and Mom might actually want to look it over. It’s something different, but it reminds me a little bit of what you guys did back in the mid-nineties.”

“Oh?” my mom asked, grinning. It looked as if somebody had pulled a thousand pounds of weight off each of their shoulders. They both leaned forward, wanting to know more.

We weren’t quite there yet. We weren’t the cohesive, funny, loud, and sarcastic Montgomery bunch the rest of my cousins were, but we were getting there.

At least, I hoped so.

“Maybe you can come in on Monday and look?” Paige asked, bouncing on her toes. Colton had his hand on her