Page 66 of Inked Temptation
“I’m not going to the whole reunion, am I?” he asked, his eyes wide. “I mean, I like you, Archer. A lot. But I don’t think I’m ready for nine hundred Montgomerys.”
That made me laugh. “I don’t think we’re that many. At least, I hope there aren’t that many. Mom and I are still working on the plans for the reunion, and I don’t have that many invites out.”
“You still have enough time for her, if you’re spending a lot of your evenings with me?”
“You’re spending just as many evenings with me,” I added. “But I’m trying. And my mom likes my help. This reunion is going to be fucking amazing.”
“That’s good. And I still don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
“Nobody’s ready for that. I’m not going to force you to go.” However, I did feel a little odd about that, actually. But I had to remind myself it’d only been three weeks since our date, six weeks or so since we had met. A huge family reunion was probably a little too much too soon. Even for me, the guy who liked happily ever afters as quickly as possible. But I had tried that with Marc and it hadn’t turned out too well, so maybe going as slow as possible this time was good. Of course, Killian and I were already sleeping together, and I was taking him to a family dinner, but that was my version of slow.
“Okay, let’s go. We’re dropping off Cora at Penny’s, and then we’re heading back down to Fort Collins.”
“The drive is a lot, isn’t it?” I asked, trying to be casual.
There was nothing casual about what I was saying, though, and Killian could hear it in my voice.
“It is a bit of a drive. But you’re here for the house often enough.”
“I am,” I said after a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied. I needed to be better than that, to not lie, but I also needed a moment to think, because frankly, I was worried. Worried because I was starting to fall for him. And it was far too soon. And the last time I had fallen too soon, I had broken.
I didn’t want to break again.
“Let’s get there,” I said and smiled, telling myself that I was doing much better than I had in the past. I was getting to be happy. Something I hadn’t thought I could do before. Yes, I had been finding my happiness along the way on my own, with my work, with this project that was finally coming along for Robert and Evelyn’s home, the property next to Killian’s. But now I was finding out who I was with someone. Someone that made me happy. Someone who didn’t treat me like I needed to change.
I swallowed hard and followed Killian to my car after dropping off Cora with Penny. The woman had winked at me, smiled, and then kissed me on the cheek before pushing me out of the house. We were taking my car down to my family’s house because we planned to spend the night in my apartment.
The apartment that felt a little too small for the two of us, but there was not much I could do about that now. I needed to figure out what I wanted to do in the next few months because my lease would be up. Did I want to build a new house? Find one that a Montgomery already built? Or do the unthinkable and buy the house of my heart?
Tonight was not about those thoughts though. Tonight was about a family dinner.
The drive was quiet, the two of us enjoying a podcast that was about one of our favorite books, and we finally pulled up to Annabelle’s house, the last ones to arrive, if how many cars were out front was any indication.
“There sure are a lot of you,” Killian mumbled, running his hands up and down his thighs.
I reached out and gripped his hand, consoling him. “We can walk away right now. If this is too much, we do not have to be here.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m okay.” He looked at me, then smiled. It was like a kick in the gut, and I let out a breath.
“If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure. I’m okay. I’m just getting used to this. This is a new experience. And I told myself I needed to try those.”
“Okay. Just be warned. The Montgomerys are loud, and we love cheese.”
“That’s why I brought the gifts.” He pulled out the two bags and I smiled, knowing exactly what was in each, since I helped him pick them out.
“Okay. Just be warned, we like hugs.”
“Oh,” he said, blanching.
“But they won’t hug you right away. They’ll give you space.”
“How much do they know about me?” he asked suddenly, his body going still.
