by Laura Pavlov
“Manage yourself. Can’t you take care of business for a couple weeks?” He rolled his eyes and shook his head with disgust.
“Trust me, I am taking care of business… more than once a day most of the time,” I said, and he rubbed his temples like he couldn’t bear to listen to what I was saying. “What? I have a healthy libido. I enjoy sex. Fucking sue me.”
“Well, you and Monroe have been together long enough at this point, it would probably be fine to call it done. Surprisingly, no one gave a shit that you were dating an employee. Obviously, we don’t want it to look like it was fake, but at this point, you gave it a good run. We can have Harrison release a statement that the relationship ended amicably, and she will continue to work at Montgomery Media. I’m sure she’s ready to get back out there too.”
A growl escaped before I could stop it. “Shut the fuck up. Don’t say that.”
“You jealous little prick. Don’t be a hypocrite.”
“I’m not. I, well, I just think it’s too soon. I don’t want people thinking I didn’t give it a fair try. I’m certainly not a quitter. We should probably wait a few more weeks. I’ll just have to slap the salami often until then.”
“Jesus. Don’t even tell me that. Those are the hands you hold my daughters with, you dirty asshole.” He pushed to his feet and continued laughing. “Maybe you ought to consider the fact that you seem to really like your fake girlfriend. You could do something about that, you know?”
“I don’t think she’ll be on board for sex. I’ve already considered it.”
“Oh my god,” he groaned and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m not talking about propositioning her for sex. I’m talking about actually dating her.”
“Buck would kick my ass.”
“But he’d be fine with you sleeping with her?” He raised a brow in challenge.
“Of course not. I’d be fine with me sleeping with her though, and maybe we could just keep it from Buck. But that would mean convincing Blue Jay it was a good idea, which is unlikely. This is why I don’t date. I’m no fucking good at it.”
“Neither was I, brother. Until I met Harley. Think about that. I’ll see you later.”
I sat back in my desk chair and thought about it. I sucked at relationships, what more was there to think about? I’d only had two and neither had gone well. I was a terrible flirt and no woman had ever managed to hold my attention for long… at least those were the things that Marin and Ashley told me after we’d ended things.
I focused on work the rest of the day and stopped at Monroe’s office just as she was getting up from her desk.
“Hey, I was just coming to see you,” she said. Her pink dress clung to her body like a second skin and ended just at her knees. She wore sky-high heels and her hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders. Fucking gorgeous. Full kissable lips, dark blue eyes, and legs for days.
“I came by to see if you wanted to run by Ford and Harley’s to see the babies with me, before we head to the gallery.” I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching for her.
“Oh, sure. I’d love to see the girls. You sure it’s okay with them?”
“Yes. I’m positive. You ready?”
“Yep.” She reached for her purse and we made our way down to the car.
When we arrived at Ford and Harley’s penthouse, they both looked like they’d been roughed up and left for dead. My god… these were two tiny humans. Harley refused to hire a nanny and insisted she and Ford spend every minute with the girls. I respected it. My parents were the same way. They had enough money to bring in a team of help, but my mother had refused, and I know having three boys close in age wasn’t easy. Monroe and I washed our hands the minute we stepped in the penthouse per Ford’s insistence. He was a protective little fucker.
My brother handed me Everly who was a little tinier than Penelope, but they were both small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I loved everything about them. They smelled like… baby powder and sour milk. They cooed and their innocent little gazes searched mine, and it made my heart squeeze.
“I need to go clean up. Can you hold her for a few?” Ford undid his tie and headed for the master bedroom.
“You look sexy with baby puke on your dress shirt,” Harley called after him, smiling down at baby P and turning her attention to Monroe. “You want to hold her?”
“Sure. Yes. I’d love to.” Monroe held out her arms and scooped her up.
“Maybe you should take a minute to clean up too, Harls. You smell like baby puke, and I think you have some sort of goop in your hair.” I raised a brow at my sister-in-law.
She laughed. “Really? You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. We don’t have to be at the gallery for an hour. Go take a shower—and use soap,” I teased.
“Okay. I’m going to take you up on that. We’ll be out in a bit. Just shout if you need me.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Monroe called out, as she dropped to sit on the couch and looked down at Penelope. “Wow. They’re so pretty. I thought babies were wrinkly and splotchy. These two are so perfect. Dainty and feminine. Just gorgeous, right?”
“They look like pretty little birds, too,” I said.
She chuckled. “You and your fascination with little birds is something, Montgomery.”
Maybe this would be a good time to broach the topic of sex. I mean, we were holding two perfect little humans that came from the act, after all.
“I am fascinated by you, Blue Jay. There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Okay. I’m all ears,” she said, making little noises at my niece as she stared down at her.
I dropped to sit on the couch and popped Everly over my shoulder, feeling her little breaths against my neck. She was a sleepy little one, and rarely stayed awake long enough for me to take her in.
“So, this thing we’re doing, how do you think it’s going?”
She pulled Penelope against her chest and watched as the little angel’s eyes slowly closed. “I think it’s going well. It’s sad really, because our fake relationship is better than my last real relationship was, if I’m being honest.”
Well, this was a good start.
“Agreed. Same here. You aren’t clingy, hell, most of the time I’m not sure you can even stand to be around me.” I laughed and Everly squirmed on my shoulder.
“Most of the time I can’t,” she said with a smirk. “I’m kidding. You’re not as bad as I thought. I don’t mind hanging out with you. So, what is this? Is this the breakup speech? You wanted to do it in front of the babies to soften the blow?”
She had a smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes. Her shoulders tensed, like she was preparing herself for something.
“No. I think it’s too soon to break up. It’ll look fake if we don’t give it a fair amount of time. But I thought, I don’t know, maybe we could add in a few, er, benefits, as long as things are going so well already.” I didn’t look at her, because I was afraid of what I’d see if I met her gaze.
Her head tipped back, and she barked out a laugh, rocking Everly back and forth as she shifted in her arms. “What kind of benefits are you offering?”
“Well, you’ve been dating me for weeks, whether it be fake or real, it doesn’t really matter. I’m sure you have needs, as I know I do, and I thought maybe you’d appreciate being on the receiving end of what I have to offer.”
Her mouth gaped open. “You’re going to grace me with your amazing sexual skills? Is that what this is about?”
“Listen, Blue Jay, I’m dying here.”
“So, if I don’t sleep with you, you’re going to cheat on me? Is this an ultimatum?” A wide grin spread across her pretty face. I couldn’t read her. She just might be the only woman on the planet that I couldn’t read. I couldn’t tell if she was on board or if she was abou
t to slap me across the face.
“I’m not going to cheat on you.”
She laughed and popped baby P up on her shoulder, caressing her little back. “Oh my gosh, Montgomery, I’m kidding. I kind of assumed you were discreetly cheating on me, you know, since we aren’t actually dating. I just didn’t want you to do it publicly and humiliate me.”
“I wouldn’t cheat on you. I respect you too much.”
“But we aren’t really dating, so would it be cheating?”
“Yes.”
Everly shifted and I kissed her temple and rubbed her back until she settled back down.
“Well, we could break up, you know, so you could get back to business as usual?” Her tone hardened.
“No. It’s too soon. If you want to just keep things going as they are, I’m in. I’m not offering an ultimatum. I’m offering to take things in a new direction. I mean, you must have needs?”
She rolled her pretty eyes. “Please. You aren’t doing this for me. I haven’t had sex in over a year, which is long before this arrangement—and I’m doing just fine.”
Over a fucking year? No wonder the girl was on edge most of the time. “Jesus, Blue Jay. You’re going to explode. And I am doing this for you too. Believe it or not, it would make me happy to pleasure you.”
“Oh my god,” she gasped. “Stop talking. Someone might hear.”
“Well, Ford and Harls have obviously had sex,” I said, glancing at the two babies in our arms.
“Okay. You’ve made your point. I’ll think it over.”
“We also need to discuss the elephant in the room,” I said.
“I would have thought sex was the elephant in the room, but let’s hear it.” She chuckled.
“I don’t want to betray my best friend.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re propositioning me for sex, but you’re worried about how my brother will feel? You’re kidding me right now?”
“You don’t think we should factor that in?” I shrugged, how could we not?
“Um, no. I’m a grown woman. Miles is not a factor in this conversation. Obviously, he wouldn’t need to know. It would just be a fake relationship with benefits. But take my brother out of the equation. I’m not a child and I don’t appreciate being treated like one.”
She didn’t look at me. I’d offended her. But of course, Buck was a concern for me. He’d never forgive me if he found out. But this wasn’t a conquest for me. I liked Monroe. Maybe too much. And I’d been fighting this attraction for a while now, and I didn’t see the harm in acting on it if we both wanted the same thing.
“He’d kill me if I hurt you.”
“And what if I hurt you, Montgomery? Have you ever thought about that?” Her gaze locked with mine and she raised a brow in challenge.
“No. I don’t get hurt.” Because I didn’t get close enough to people to allow it.
“Well, I’m not worried about getting hurt. You have to have actual feelings for someone to get hurt.”
Ouch. That stung.
“Wow. Tell me how you really feel.”
She chuckled. “You know what I mean. This is fake. We’d be acting on a physical attraction. Not an emotional one. No one gets hurt. Miles never finds out. It’s sort of a win-win.”
I ran my free hand over my jaw. I was a loyal fucker through and through. I’d never broken my word. But I was hanging on by a thread, spending every day with her, and needing her more than I ever knew possible. But crossing the line meant betraying Buck, which I didn’t want to do. I was trying to find a technicality to get around it. The dude called me every day, and he always ended our calls with a warning about Monroe.
“He did put us in this fucked up situation, so he is partly to blame.” That’s the best I could come up with to justify what I wanted to do.
“I don’t need permission from my brother regarding who I sleep with. If you do, then that’s something you need to figure out.”
I nodded. “Fair enough. We could have our own relationship separate from my friendship with your brother.”
“We already do,” she said.
“I can’t tell you how much better I feel,” Harley said, coming down the hallway. Her long hair was wet and brushed away from her face. She wore black leggings and a T-shirt.
Their home was immaculate, which was surprising, considering the condition they were in. Ford had a housekeeper that he’d had for years that spent her days keeping this place pristine. Harley appreciated the help so she could focus on the girls.
“I’m happy to come hold them any time. They’re so—perfect,” Monroe said.
“They really are, right?” Harley ran her finger gently over the back of Penelope’s head.
“I feel like a new man.” Ford waltzed out behind her, wearing gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Family life looked good on him. It was nice to see him so happy.
“You ready for a crazy Friday night with the girls?” Harley teased as she reached for Penelope and Ford came around and scooped up Everly.
“I was born ready, baby,” he said.
“And that’s our cue. We’re out of here.”
Monroe moved to her feet and kissed the top of each girl’s little head before walking toward me.
“You guys saved us. Thank you,” Harley called out.
“I’ll come by tomorrow and give you a break, okay?” I said, as I reached for the door.
“Thank you,” they both said as I pulled the door closed.
“You impress me, Jack Montgomery,” Monroe said as we stepped into the elevator.
“How so?”
“Well, you’re not as selfish as I thought you were. You’re phenomenal with babies. You’re just full of surprises, I guess.”
My chest puffed up with pride. “You want to make a baby with me? Imagine how fucking beautiful our kid would be?”
Her head fell back with laughter, and I just took her in. Her face bright and eyes full of mischief. “Easy there, fake boyfriend. The jury’s still out if I’m going to sleep with you. But having a baby would be awfully hard to hide from my brother.”
She continued laughing as we walked toward Big Tony who stood outside the car.
But I didn’t laugh once.
Because having a baby with Monroe Buckley didn’t sound that ridiculous to me.
Chapter Fourteen
Monroe
The gallery event was packed, and Jack and I made our way inside. My head was still spinning at the thought of having sex with him.
Did I want to?
Yes.
Was it a smart idea?
Absolutely not.
I had played it safe my entire life. A part of me wanted to break the rules for the first time. He just might be worth breaking them for. I’d only had sex with two guys in my life, and neither were anything spectacular. My high school boyfriend and I were one another’s first, so we didn’t know what we were doing. And no one was to blame for that. We broke up shortly after I went to college and then I met Thyme, who was probably the world’s most selfish lover. He was always in a hurry, chasing his pleasure, and not concerned about me or making sure I enjoyed it as much as he did. I sort of just figured that was how sex was supposed to be. I mean, aside from Becks, my girlfriends had similar experiences. Becks claimed she wouldn’t waste her time on a selfish lover. Maybe there was something to be said about that philosophy. Jack Montgomery was a lot of things, but I knew in my gut, in my soul—a selfish lover wasn’t one of them.
And the way he’d spoken about giving me pleasure—I didn’t even know how to process it. No one had ever spoken to me like that, nor had anyone ever stated that it would make them happy to give me pleasure. But no one had ever propositioned me for sex and been concerned about what my brother would think either.
This was a first.
But th
e thought of having sex with Jack Montgomery.
Oh my.
I fanned my face and Jack chuckled beside me before he spoke. “What I wouldn’t give to be able to read your thoughts.”
My stomach flipped. Lines were getting blurred. We were playing a dangerous game. And there was no doubt in my mind that if I wasn’t careful, I would end up hurt when all was said and done. I’d acted like it wasn’t a possibility, but I knew it was. I just didn’t want him to know that. This relationship wasn’t real. I needed to remember that.
So, would it be the worst thing in the world if I allowed myself to benefit from all of this? I mean, the world’s most beautiful man was offering himself up to me on a silver platter. How could I refuse? The thought of his lips on mine again—my heart raced. The way he felt. The way he tasted. And that was just a kiss. Was I awful for wanting more?
Buck would never be okay with me having a casual fling with his best friend. Hell, I would have never considered it before. But now that I knew him, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. I liked Jack Montgomery. He was a good man. An honest man. And a beautiful, sexy man at that.
I bit down hard on my bottom lip. I needed to pull it together.
“Just thinking about work,” I lied as we stood in front of the sexiest portrait I’d ever laid eyes on. A man and woman lying naked looking at one another like they couldn’t exist without the other, sketched in pencil.
“Sure, you were.” He took my hand and led me to the next room.
“There you are.” Becks walked up beside us. “You must be Jack. I’m the bestie, Becks. I’m happy about this, whatever this is, and you just may need to pour it on real heavy in about two minutes.”
Jack reached for her hand. “Nice to meet you. What’s going on?”
“Not sure if you told him about the herb assholes yet, but they’re here. Gwen just asked me to find you and give you a heads-up. Apparently, Sage is a friend of one of the artists on display tonight.”
A waiter walked over to us and I reached for a second glass of champagne, and Jack studied me before turning back to Becks. “I know about them. And we won’t have any problem giving them a good show, will we, Blue Jay?”
