“Charlotte Montgomery. Your buddy’s business partner.”
“Get out of here. There’s no way—Charlotte Montgomery? The billionaire?” Now she leaned back and searched his face, dredging her memory of the wealthy businesswoman to the forefront of her thoughts. In Griffin, she saw the same piercing gold eyes and aquiline nose.
Dimples. They both had dimples when they smiled.
“Charlotte Montgomery is your sister and you never told me! Does Maddie know?”
“She doesn’t. Though I suspect Char plans to tell her. It’s just, back when she was hunting for an investor, her uncle came to me because I sent Charlotte to him to get some work on our grandfather’s old car. He said he needed a favor, and it was absolutely okay to turn him down, but to please hear him out.”
“And you heard him out?”
“Yeah. I’ve gone a long time without mentioning my sister to anyone. People know you’re related to a billionaire, they tend to want to know what they can get from you. It isn’t about who you are anymore. It’s what you can do for them.”
“I’m not that way.”
“I wouldn’t be telling you anything about this if I thought you were, darling.” Griffin framed her face in his hands and swept one thumb across her cheek. “I trust you. I trust Madeleine, too, so if you both want to discuss it, you’re welcome to.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
And now she felt absolutely silly for being on the fence about inviting him to stay overnight in her home. Here the man had just told her a major secret that could get half the city on his ass, begging for financial help and connections to his sister.
He trusted her with his privacy, but she hadn’t trusted him with hers.
Impulsively, Ellie grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him.
“Stay with me tonight,” she whispered against his lips, suddenly eager for what she’d denied herself the past three years.
Griffin didn’t answer right away. His hands smoothed up and down her hips, tracing the silhouette of her waist before gliding to her rear and squeezing a tight handful of her ass. He hauled her against him, and she delighted in the strength of his body—chiseled pectorals, rock-hard biceps, and a rigid cock straining against his jeans.
God, yes.
A moment passed before she realized he was guiding her back to the couch. They fell onto it, kissing, hands roaming in a mutual exploration that somehow ended with her skirt gathered around her waist and his hands stroking between her bare thighs, close to the edge of her panties.
“Fuck, I love kissing you,” he muttered.
The next caress smoothed over the strip of cotton covering her mound. She sighed into his mouth and ground against his hand.
“Impatient?”
“Very.”
Strong and capable fingers eased her panties to the side. The first touch was like a zing to her core, her need for it as startling as the pleasure it gave. He stroked bare skin, gliding up and down her slit in a moisture-gathering glide.
One moment, he teased her entrance; in the next, he barely grazed her clit, denying her the full-on contact she desired. She tried to grind against him, tried to sate her mounting need, but he withdrew and drove her mad.
Finally, two digits slipped inside her. As they plunged in to the last knuckle, she clenched around them. Still, it wasn’t enough. The part of Griffin she wanted the most was firmly concealed within his jeans. She pulled at his belt, desperately, but he took her hand and pinned it to the couch.
“This is about you right now.”
“Huh?”
“The way I see it,” Griffin said, casually circling the pads of his fingers over her clit, rolling and stimulating it in a lazy rhythm, “you have a little girl in there trying to sleep.”
“I can be quiet. I can—”
He leaned down, bending over her lap, and took her clit in his mouth. Ellie’s legs shot straight out, and she tilted her head back, moaning a strangled cry she tried desperately to cut off.
A decorative pillow muffled her cry. Meanwhile, Griffin licked until she was shaking, on the verge of release, only to lean back and give her a smug, self-satisfied look. “Looks like you can’t. And if you can’t be quiet now, darlin’, you sure won’t be once I get my cock in you. When I take you for the first time, Ellie, I won’t be satisfied until you’re screaming my name. And we can’t do that right now with Emma in the next room.”
Goddamn him for being right and reading her mind. Bless him for being the understanding, wonderful man she should have never doubted he was.
As if he’d never stopped, Griffin returned to work on her clit, strumming it just right. He kissed her breasts through her blouse. They felt heavy, her nipples unbearably tight as his lips meandered toward her throat and she imagined them in his mouth. “Close, love?”
“Yes,” she gasped.
“Good.”
Griffin’s fingers were divine. She raised her hips and rolled them to the rhythm he set as the pressure built and built, spiraling tightly out of control. Just as she reached the pinnacle, he seized her mouth again in a rough, claiming kiss, muffling the cry sobbing from her throat. Her thighs trembled as orgasm sent her careening along the path to bliss.
For a while, she just lay there on the couch, in the most inelegant of positions, while her man lazily stroked her thigh. Thank fuck she’d shaved.
“My work is done.” He kissed the side of her neck. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
“You’re just gonna leave like that? I mean…” Her chest was still heaving, her thoughts unfocused and lacking clarity. “I can’t do anything for you in return?”
The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Oh, you will. Just not tonight.”
* * *
When Griffin walked into The Olive Brunch, a smiling hostess stepped forward to greet him. “Hello, Mr. Montgomery. Your sister is waiting for you.”
She led him to the rear of the place, outside, and onto the covered veranda where Charlotte waited in a pink sundress, the spring breeze tossing her white hair against her shoulders.
“Griff!” After rising to hug him, she leaned back and peered at his roots. “You finally giving up the box?”
Laughing, he hugged her back. “Yep. I’m ready to embrace the silver fox life.”
“About time! It’s going to look great on you. Now, I hope you know what you want this time, because I am starving.”
Griffin settled in the chair across the table. “You’re always starving, Char. How many hours do you spend at the gym these days each week?”
“Only ten now.” She grinned. “But then I run about thirty miles to make up for it.”
“Christ.”
They perused the menus and placed orders for their usual meals, including a carafe of mimosas. Griff didn’t care that they were supposedly girlie drinks, because cocktails were fucking delicious.
“Brunch is the most beautiful excuse to day-drink, isn’t it, brother?” Charlotte asked, sipping. “Now tell me about your lady friend.”
“What makes you think there’s a lady friend?”
“Madeleine Dubois told me everything without realizing you and I are siblings.”
“Shit.”
“Mm.” Charlotte smiled at him. “So you’re in love with a baker, huh? Is that where those extra inches around your waistline came from?”
Griff grunted. “Why bother asking me if you know everything already?”
“Because half the fun of meeting you for brunch is watching you squirm when you realize you can’t hide the truth from me.”
“I like her, a lot,” he confessed. “Happy?”
“Yes. Immensely. It makes me happy to know you’re happy and moving on with your life after what your gold-digger did.”
He didn’t argue. The wisdom of a few years had made Kelly’s intentions clear, and he wondered how he’d ever been so blind as to think she’d actually loved him. If she had, that had ended on the day he shared his nature with her.
> Griff rubbed his nape with one hand and eyed the approaching waitress. “Did you only invite me to brunch to examine my love life, or did—?”
“So it’s love now, is it?”
“Char,” he growled, warning.
“Okay, okay.” Charlotte’s smile softened.
Their waitress arrived with bagels, cream cheese, and smoked salmon. Immediately, he set about spreading a thick layer of cream cheese over a bagel while waiting for his eggs bourguignon to arrive.
“How’s your work in Crisis? You mentioned some burglaries last time we spoke.”
“Still no suspects. I feel awful about it.” Especially since Ellie had been one of the victims. They’d hoped to catch someone attempting to at least unload the electronics, but they weren’t that lucky yet. “Three houses so far in the past month.”
“Shame. Tell me if there’s anything I can do.”
“The community mostly took care of the affected families, but if you’re looking to make a charitable donation, I can give you a list of places in town that need a helping hand. The Calvary Missionary Church replaced plenty of stolen appliances.”
“Of course. I’ll be happy to reimburse them.” Her lips pursed. “I planned to anyway when Maddie mentioned it to me. I understand your lady was one of the victims?”
“She was.” He shook his head. “The fuckers stole the wedding set bought by her dead husband.”
Char covered her mouth. “Nooo… That is awful, Griff. The community is so small, too, so it had to be someone aware of her background—someone who knows she is a widow.”
“Right. Someone knew they were stealing memories.”
His sister shook her head. “Tell me about her. But in your words.”
“You’ve met her. You sat across from her and painted that toadstool fairy at Art in Crisis during the grand opening event, remember?”
“I know I met her. But I want to hear it in your words, Griff.”
“Fair enough.” He slammed his first mimosa then poured another. Alcohol would help him get through Charlotte’s interrogation. “She’s amazing. Seriously. No exaggeration, no bullshit because I’m infatuated. She’s hard-working, dedicated, devoted to her friends. I could search this entire green earth and I’d never find someone more different from Kelly. And her daughter is adorable.”
Charlotte’s lips spread into a wry grin. “That’s right, she has a kid. How is it going there? She like you?”
“I transformed for her yesterday. That little girl looked at me like I hung the fucking moon. We’re going fishing again this week.”
“Aw. That’s so sweet.”
“Believe it or not, but Ellie actually asked me to extend an invitation for you to have dinner with us sometime soon at her home.”
“When?”
“Pretty sure you can have your pick of the days this week.”
“Ask her if Friday evening is good for her.”
Once he sent the text, Ellie replied in record time. He chuckled at her enthusiastic response and glanced up from the screen to find his sister watching him closely. “All set. Have your ass out at Swan Lake this Friday at five.”
10
By the time Friday rolled around, Ellie was a nervous wreck. Everything about Griffin was too good to be true and now she was meeting his family. Not just any family member either, but his twin sister.
The pair were due to arrive at five, giving her less than half an hour to wrap up her work in the kitchen while Emma worked quietly in her room on the most recent art project Madeleine had given her. The kid had turned out to be a crocheting prodigy.
“It smells amazing in here,” Maddie called from the doorway. “You are definitely aiming to impress if you dug out that recipe.”
“Totally worth it. I need her to love me.”
Ellie had made a traditional, Valencia-style paella, a delicious and savory rice dish topped with chorizo, chicken, and many different seafoods. She’d had to call in a favor from a chef friend in San Antonio to get to acquire the vaquetes, because that was how she’d been taught to make it while studying abroad for a semester in Spain, and the snails added the necessary touch of authenticity.
“Can I do anything to help?”
“Set the table for me?”
“Sure.”
The aroma of fresh bread filled the air. Ellie peered through the oven window at the baking baguettes. If she timed it just right, they’d be coming out from the oven when Griff arrived with his sister. Of course, the bell then rang ten minutes earlier than expected because Griffin believed in punctuality and had to arrive ahead of schedule. She scowled and lowered the salad tongs.
“I got it!” Maddie called to her. “You carry on. I’ll run interference while you finish that.”
A frisson of nerves tightened Ellie’s gut, though she tried to tell herself that Griffin’s sister would have no reason at all to dislike her. And that even if she did, that wasn’t the end of the world.
“Seriously? You’re his sister?” came Maddie’s startled voice as Ellie tossed the salad.
Grinning, Ellie leaned out of the kitchen for a peek. Billionaire entrepreneur Charlotte Montgomery stood beside her brother with a genuine smile on her face. Looking at them side by side, no one could ever confuse the two for anything but siblings, mirror images of the same person in male and female with bright gold eyes and the same slightly hooked nose.
If Griffin hadn’t warned her in advance, she may have charged into the room and bludgeoned him. Instead, she calmly finished tossing the salad, took the bowl to the dining table, then strode into the living room to take over for Maddie.
The first, last, and only time Ellie had met Ms. Montgomery, the woman had been glazing a fairy on a porcelain toadstool for Maddie’s grand opening event, smiling for cameras and making nice with the handful of journalists so hungry for news they resorted to reporting Charlotte’s charity to small Texas businesses. She’d been wearing a power suit, her hair in a fancy updo.
Today she looked like any other woman, wearing a blue button-down shirt over jeans, her ivory hair drawn into a lazy ponytail.
“Hello, Ms. Montgomery. It’s a pleasure to have you here. I’m so happy to meet you again.”
Charlotte waved one hand. “Please call me Charlotte. And thank you for inviting me into your home. That smells amazing.”
“It really does,” Griffin agreed.
“Griff!” Emma cried, streaking from her bedroom and directly into Griffin’s legs. He stumbled a step, caught off guard by the sudden collision, but he regained his balance and dropped one hand to her blonde head, smoothing back her bangs.
“Hey, sweet pea. Happy to see me?”
“Mommy let me pick the dessert,” Emma announced proudly. “We’re having cheesecake brownies, and I got to help.”
“I bet they’re delicious,” Charlotte replied, smiling, which was about when Emma realized another party was present. The little girl blinked up at both adults, glancing from one to the other.
“You two look alike.”
“We sure do. This is my sister.”
Emma’s big eyes searched Charlotte’s face. “I like your hair. It’s like mine.”
“It is, isn’t it? I brought something for you, Emma, since Griffin told me there’s a very, very talented little girl here who draws.” Charlotte reached into her tote bag. She removed a hardcover sketch pad and an enormous bundle of colored pencils. “Are you the artist?”
“Yes, it’s me!” Emma cried, jumping in place.
“Then be really good to them, okay?”
“Thank you!”
And then Emma vanished into her room, where she’d no doubt spread her new art supplies all over her desk.
Ellie laughed. “Thank you for that. It was totally unnecessary.”
Charlotte only smiled. “Encouraging a young artist is never unnecessary. Here, I brought this for you.” A divided Nylon wine tote came out of Charlotte’s bag next. She passed both bottles to Ellie, grinning. �
�I had no idea what you’d make and brought a selection.”
“I like you already. I mean, you already had being my bestie’s business partner in your favor. Bringing free alcohol only endears you to me even more.”
* * *
Ellie couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she showered the next morning, preparing for a morning shift at the bakery. She’d be there teaching Grace from opening until eight when Luke arrived. So far, the older woman had all of the qualities they needed. She learned fast, didn’t shy away from hard work, and the customers loved her. A whole new slew of people began visiting the bakery now because they enjoyed the friendly chitchat and attended the same church as Grace.
Dinner couldn’t have gone better. Griffin’s sister, while intimidating, was a delight she’d happily host any time for dinner. She still couldn’t believe none of them had ever connected their police chief to the wealthy Montgomery name.
Like clockwork, Portia Dubois arrived at a quarter after two that morning to crawl onto Ellie’s couch and pass out until morning. Maddie’s younger cousin served drinks at a nearby bar and hauled ass each night that Ellie worked the morning shift if Maddie couldn’t fill in for her. For that, Ellie always passed her fifty dollars a morning for invaluable help.
And she always brought her back delicious food for her trouble.
“Good morning, Grace!” Ellie chirped when she stepped from her car. The older woman listened to music in her own vehicle with the window down, a pleasant smile on her weathered face.
“Good morning, Ellie. How did the dinner go?” Grace closed the car door and approached the bakery door. True to her word, she was indeed a morning person and never arrived in a poor mood. Ellie hoped to have a fraction of her energy when she turned seventy.
“Wonderful. His sister is great.” She pressed her lips together and reluctantly said, “You were right about me freaking over nothing.”
Grace beamed. “Of course. I told you she would be a peach, just like her brother. Now, tell me all about it.”
Refraining somehow from rolling her eyes, Ellie let them in and disabled the alarm while recounting the events from the previous night. The store’s system was a lot like the one she had at home now. The installation had been free, but Ellie insisted on paying the monthly maintenance fee for both locations. She didn’t want charity, and thankfully, with business improving the way it had recently, she didn’t need it.
What the Flock Page 6
