Inked Persuasion (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #1) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,41

down in Denver.”

His brows rose. “Wait, what?”

“My mother’s maiden name is Montgomery,” I said quickly. “She is the younger sister of the older generation of Montgomery guys that live in Denver. You know her brother, Harry.”

“Yeah, he went through some crap a few years ago, and I helped him with his will.” I shook my head. “Thank God the family didn’t need to utilize it then, but it was still scary.”

I pressed my lips together, swallowing a lump of emotion. “My cousins went through hell with that, but Uncle Harry’s doing just fine. My father is also a Montgomery, but from a line not related to the Montgomerys my mother is part of.”

“That would be awkward,” Jacob said dryly.

I snorted. “Tell me about it. I have cousins in pretty much every state it seems, and it gets a little complicated, so there’s not a huge family reunion, but it’s nice. I like knowing that wherever I go, I can find family. Even if we’ve never met or are fourth cousins twice removed or something like that.”

“My parents were only children, and then they only had Jonah and me. I don’t have any cousins, and I don’t think I have any aunts and uncles in the second generation either.”

“I didn’t mean to make you sad,” I said, reaching out to touch his hand.

“You’re not making me sad. I find it a little overwhelming, but it’s nice that you have so much family. My parents and I do okay, even though it’s just the three of us now.”

Unsaid was that one day soon, it might only be the two of them, but I wasn’t going to think on that. After all, anyone could have their last moments on this Earth taken from them at any given time. It would be wrong to focus on what we could lose in the next breath rather than focusing on what we had.

That was something I had to remind myself often and was something I would have to continue reminding myself while I was in Jacob’s presence.

“So, have you decided what you’d like for tonight?” our waiter said as he came back to the table.

I winced. “I’m sorry. I haven’t even looked.” I scrolled through the menu again. “I have no idea.”

“Are you allergic to anything?” Jacob asked, looking over the menu in front of me.

“No, but I’m not a huge fan of crab or shrimp.”

Jacob let out a mock gasp. “Well, it’s over,” he said, and I laughed. The waiter joined in on the laughter, but there was a little nervous tension, as if he didn’t know whether we were kidding or not. Since I was getting to know Jacob, as well, I didn’t blame the man.

“They have a tasting profile here,” Jacob began. “What do you think? It should be enough for two, right?” Jacob asked, and the waiter nodded. “That was what I was going to suggest. As long as you don’t have any allergies, we can make this work easily for you. And you’re both already drinking the wine I would have suggested for it, so we’re winning there.”

“That sounds wonderful, then,” I said, handing the menu over. “Is that going to be enough?” I asked.

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to have leftovers, even with tapas,” the waiter said before he moved away.

“I don’t think he realizes how hungry I am,” I said dryly.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure we’re going to eat every single morsel.”

Jacob held up his drink, and I did the same with mine. We clinked glasses. “To taking an evening off,” he said.

I sighed. “I love the sound of that. Although I do have to go to work tomorrow.”

Jacob shook his head. “Really?” he asked.

We each took a sip of our wine, and I swallowed, letting the light pear flavor settle over my tongue. “Yes, we have a huge project coming up for the family, and many of us are still working on individual smaller projects, as well. It’s a little time-consuming right now, and Dad wants us to come together to talk it all out, on top of our regular meetings.”

Jacob frowned. “I thought that Beckett was the project manager, and Clay worked with him.”

I played with the stem of my glass. “Yes. But our father is still technically in charge of it all. He doesn’t have a title, other than to say he’s the final authority on everything. After all, it’s his family business.”

I hadn’t even realized the bitterness in my tone until Jacob’s brows rose. “Really? Is