“You’re only a couple of hours away, Eliza. Last I checked, Manhattan wasn’t that long of a drive from Albany.”
“Fine, it’s not. But…the way she works it might as well be on the other side of the country. All she does is work! She doesn’t date, she doesn’t socialize… I’m telling you, if I want any grandchildren from her, I’m going to have to pry her from the office with a crowbar.”
“It won’t matter,” Monica said. “She can have all kinds of tech devices hidden in her purse to work on anytime and anyplace.”
“That’s not encouraging, Monica.”
“No. But it’s a fact. And believe me, as the mother of three former workaholics, I know what I’m talking about.”
“So…what do I do? How do I get her out of this…this pattern?”
Before Monica could reply, her husband walked over with a big smile on his face. “How are you two lovely ladies enjoying yourselves?” William asked.
“We’re having a wonderful time,” Eliza said with a hint of whimsy.
William handed his wife a fresh glass of champagne. “Do you see how happy Zach looks?” He raised his own glass in a mock salute. “I do believe this match was one of my more satisfying ones.”
“You’re certainly a genius, dear,” Monica said as she sipped her drink in an effort to hide her grin.
He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her temple. When he straightened, he said, “Your kids are too spread out, Eliza. They may be more challenging for me. But given a little time, I think I can figure something out.”
Eliza was about to respond when Monica gently kicked her under the table.
“I’m sure you’ll come up with something clever,” Monica said with a sincere smile at her husband. “Now why don’t you go see when they’re going to be serving dessert. I believe my sweet tooth is calling.”
With a loving smile, he bowed and said, “As you wish.”
Monica watched him walk away, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Megan and Alex walking out of the ballroom smiling.
She sighed happily. “What are you doing tomorrow after breakfast, Eliza?”
Shrugging, Eliza looked at her curiously. “We’re here for the weekend so Joseph can play golf with William and Robert once his father-of-the-groom responsibilities are done. Why? What do you have in mind?”
Monica gave her a sly grin. “I’ve learned a thing or two, and I think it’s time for this matchmaking thing to have a female touch. Are you in?”
Eliza’s eyes went wide, and then her smile matched them. “I do believe I am.”
Chapter 1
Two years later…
“Dammit,” Megan Montgomery cursed as she tried to pull her phone from her bag and ended up nearly tripping over her own two feet. She might be in a new city, but she was the same old klutz she’d always been. The airport was crowded, and she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and all in all, she felt like a disaster. She murmured an apology to the people around her before stepping aside to read her texts.
Her cousin Summer Reed was meeting her outside baggage claim, and according to the text, she was circling the airport, trying to put her baby daughter to sleep.
Great.
The flight to Portland had been full, there had been a crying baby behind Megan, and the last thing she wanted was to be sitting near another crying baby—even if she was incredibly adorable and related to her. Ugh…her nerves were frayed. As if moving across the country wasn’t stressful enough, it had to get off to a rocky start? She let out a breath and joined the throngs of people again—careful to pay attention this time—and merged into the stream heading to the exit.
Fifteen minutes later she had her bags and was searching for Summer’s red SUV. Spring in Portland was nicer than in Albany, Megan thought as she waited. She was practically bouncing on her toes as she watched the flow of cars. Her emotions were doing their own version of a tennis match, bouncing between being nervous and excited about this new adventure.
Leaving the job she’d had for the past three years hadn’t been hard—especially since she knew from the beginning it had an end date—but opting to work for her cousin Zach on the other side of the country was definitely out of her comfort zone. Megan liked to keep things simple. Orderly. She had been settled in Albany and figured that even when her job ended, she’d find another in the same city.
That hadn’t happened.
Instead, she had been handed an opportunity she’d always wanted but never thought she’d get—working within the family business.
It was crazy. After all, she was a Montgomery, and it shouldn’t have been a big deal. The only problem was…she didn’t understand finance, she wasn’t particularly suave, and she didn’t have the business savvy of the rest of her family. She was a computer girl—a techie—but she was really good at what she did!
Still, the planets seemed to have aligned perfectly for this job with Zach to open up just as she was in need of one. Who was she to question it? It was the perfect solution to her employment dilemma, and it was going to be a good thing for her to do something new.
No matter how terrifying it currently felt.
The sound of a horn broke Megan from her reverie, and she saw her cousin pulling up in front of her. With a big smile on her face, Megan waved to Summer and immediately loaded her bags into the hatch. With a shriek of excitement, Summer gave her a fierce hug.
“I am so glad you’re here!” she cried. “I have been counting the days until I could see you and squeeze you and look at your face!”
Summer had always been the excitable one in the family. She had a heart of gold and a zest for life that Megan never quite understood, but she was hoping to have some of Summer’s excitement rub off on her.
“Come on, come on, let’s get you in the car! I want to hear all about your flight and how you’re doing and if you’re excited about starting work on Monday and—”
“Summer?”
“Hmm?”
“Breathe,” Megan said with a smile.
With a nod, Summer walked around to the driver’s side and climbed into the car. Megan did the same on the passenger side, but not before peeking into the rear seat at her niece—that sounded much better than “first cousin once removed.”
“I have some super cute stuff for Amber in my suitcase,” Megan said as she climbed in.
“You didn’t have to do that. You already sent that precious crocheted baby blanket when she was born.” Summer smiled and added, “It reminded me of the ones Nana used to make. Do you remember?”
Megan nodded. Nobody knew that her great-grandmother had taught her how to crochet when she was just a little girl, and she found it to be fascinating and relaxing. She had come home from Nana’s one day with the most adorable, soft, cuddly baby blanket, and her father had scoffed at it, told her it was ugly, and mocked her desire to spend her time making things he considered frivolous. At first she had been heartbroken, and she stopped crocheting for a while, but the next time she was at her grandmother’s, she got pulled in again to the comfort of the soft wool in her fingers, the pretty colors, the rhythm of stitching, and the gratification of seeing a ball of yarn turn into something beautiful. So she had continued her creations in private, making absolutely sure nobody knew about it. Crocheting was her secret hobby, and she donated all the baby blankets and clothing she made to local hospitals and women’s shelters.
In the past several years, she hadn’t had as much free time to indulge as she would have liked. Sometimes her fingers just itched. For an instant she considered confiding in Summer, but then she thought of her father’s scorn and everyone laughing at her, and the moment passed. “So…how far are we from your house?”
“It’s about an hour’s drive,” Summer said as they pulled away from the curb. “Amber’s a good sleeper, so we can talk all we want without w
orrying about waking her up.”
Was it wrong that Megan wanted to let out a sigh of relief and a hearty “hallelujah”?
She did sigh, but it was a happy one. They were on the road heading to Summer and Ethan’s house, where she was going to be living for the foreseeable future in their guesthouse. Which reminded her…
“I feel bad about this,” she began.
“About what?”
“You finally got your mom and everyone to go home, and now I’m moving in.”
With a light laugh, Summer glanced at her briefly. “Are you kidding? This is going to be way more fun than having my mom here. You’re the sister I never had! We’re going to hang out together and work together and—”
Megan was about to respond when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw Gabriella’s name on the screen. “I am in the car and on my way!” she said when she answered.
“Megan! We are so excited you’re finally here! I wanted to ride with Summer, but things got hectic here, and then Zach was worried about me being in the car for so long, and…” She sighed. “I swear, you’d think I was an invalid the way he’s carrying on.”
“You’re pregnant, and he’s worried,” Megan replied with a smile. “I think it’s kind of sweet how he’s so protective.”
“It was sweet for the first two months when I was dealing with morning sickness. But we’re nearly seven months in now, and I feel great, and he’s making me crazy. Promise you’ll distract him while you’re here so I can at least go shopping by myself one day!” Gabriella said with a laugh.
“I promise. You say the word, and I’ll keep him busy with codes and computer issues that will have his head spinning for days!”
“You have officially become my favorite person.”
“I aim to please.”
“Okay, so…it’s going to take you about an hour to get to Summer’s house,” Gabriella explained, “and I’ll meet you there.”
“That sounds great! I’ll see you then!” When Megan hung up, she felt a little more relaxed. This wasn’t a move across the country where she didn’t know anyone; she was going to be with family, and that made her smile.
With the phone still in her hand, she knew she needed to let her own family know she’d landed safely and was on her way to Summer’s. Her mother had been overly anxious about this trip—and not in a weird I’m-going-to-miss-you way but in an I’m-very-excited-for-you one. Which was weird. For all the years she had been hounding Megan about moving closer to home, she was suddenly her number one cheerleader for moving to the other side of the country.
Definitely weird.
With a sigh because all she wanted was to close her eyes for a few minutes and unwind, she turned toward Summer. “Would you mind if I give my mom a quick call? I should have done it while I was waiting for my luggage, but…”
Summer laughed. “Go for it. I know my mother went a little crazy when I moved here and was on the phone with me constantly at first. So I understand.”
With a quick nod, Megan hit Send on her mother’s number and waited for her to answer.
“Are you there? Was your flight okay? Are you with Summer?” her mother said as a greeting.
Her anxious tone had Megan laughing softly. “Hi, Mom. Yes, I’m here, my flight was a little less than ideal, and I’m in the car with Summer and Amber right now.”
“Oh, she brought Amber with her? How sweet! You’ll have to send me some pictures!”
“We’re in the car, Mom.”
“I didn’t mean right now,” her mother said with a bit of a huff. “So you’re there and you’re on your way to Summer’s, and…when are you going to start looking for an apartment?”
“Mom, we’ve talked about this. I’m only going to stay with them for a couple of weeks, and I thought it was okay for me to get here and relax for a few days before I had to spring into action.”
“I’m just saying…you shouldn’t rely on them for everything because they’re already so busy with Amber and Summer going back to work, and…maybe you should ask them if they know of any vacant apartments near people they know. Plus, you’ll need to make some friends of your own and maybe start socializing so—”
“You know what…our connection…bad…call you…weekend…”
It was childish, and she wasn’t proud of it, but now was so not the time to deal with the whole lecture on her social life.
Beside her, Summer started to laugh, and Megan smacked her playfully on the arm.
“Megan? Megan, are you there?”
“Can’t hear…go…soon!” And then she hung up and immediately turned her phone off.
Yeah, not her finest reaction to her mother, but her mind was spinning with too many other thoughts right now to add that to it.
Yes, she was living someplace new, was starting a new job, and was going to be meeting new people. And yes, it was a chance for a fresh start. None of this was news to Megan. Actually, she was looking forward to the opportunity. Her life in Albany had been…well…she was in a serious rut. She’d been working ten hours a day, six days a week, and the only people she’d socialized with were her coworkers.
Maybe socialized wasn’t quite the right word. More like…saw them frequently…like whenever she came out of her office.
Which wasn’t often.
Her muscles were starting to tense up again, and she forced herself to relax. This move was supposed to help her break out of her rut—force her to meet new people and be someone who didn’t spend her entire life holed up in her office staring at a computer screen. All around her, people were meeting and having lives and falling in love and starting families. And as much as she argued how missing out didn’t bother her, the truth was that it did.
Megan had always wanted to be the girl who had a ton of friends who went out for girls’ nights and went away for weekends together. And then she wanted to meet a man and fall in love and have the kind of family she had grown up with.
Maybe it wasn’t for everyone, but Megan wanted the American dream—it was a little outdated, and she’d learned to keep that ideal to herself because so many people felt like it wasn’t something a modern woman should want. But she did. She really, really did. And the only way she was going to achieve it was to force herself to break out of her comfort zone and put herself out there—meet people. Go out. Date.
Sigh.
The last time she’d gone out on a date was…
Nothing was coming to mind.
“That can’t be a good sign,” she murmured.
“What’s not a good sign is you talking to yourself when I’m sitting right here,” Summer said. “Seriously, you can’t let your mother stress you out like that.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Which part of the conversation did you in? The move? Finding a place of your own? Or the socializing?” When Megan gave her a quizzical look, Summer smiled. “Sorry, but your mom’s voice carries.”
“Oh.” Okay, so this was exactly the kind of thing she wanted—a friend she could talk to when she was stressed out. “It was the socializing.”
“I knew it!”
“Yeah, well…it was more the implication of what it entailed. It isn’t just making friends, it’s dating too.”
“And that’s a problem…why?”
“I’ve always been busy, and after my breakup with Colin, I didn’t want to get involved with anyone.”
“He was a major jerk, Megan. You should be relieved to be rid of him!”
“I am. I am. But…it wasn’t easy to get over. Things were a little—”
“They were ugly and intense,” Summer said. “I get it. But that was more than two years ago. You can’t tell me you haven’t dated since then.”
“I’ve been busy.” Unfortunately, she couldn’t blame the lack of dating on her work schedule. It certainly didn�
��t help, but it wasn’t the real reason for her lack of interest.
It was Alex.
Yeah, there it was. And moving to Portland was asking for trouble, but Megan couldn’t help it. Her family was surprised at how she had readily agreed to this move, but the truth was…she was curious. Curious to see if her memories of one incredibly hot and wildly sexy physical therapist and their time together were accurate.
Not that she was looking for a repeat performance. Not really. Okay, she totally was. But it was more than just the sex. Kind of. Megan had a feeling if things had been different and geography hadn’t been against them, their relationship could have gone somewhere. At least that was what she’d been telling herself for the past two years. The logical part of her brain, however, told her that she needed to see Alex in person in order to know whether she was remembering things correctly or if she was still looking at him through sex goggles.
She groaned. Maybe seeing Alex was something she should ease into. No need to rush out and ask about him or look him up—but considering he and Zach were friends, they were bound to run into one another eventually. And for all she knew, he could be involved with someone or married. And just because she hadn’t moved on didn’t mean he hadn’t.
Maybe there was a way she could casually bring him up without being too obvious…
The memory of how they’d danced together and then walked around the estate where the wedding had been held and talked and laughed played through her mind as her head rested on the leather cushion. They’d flirted from almost the moment he had walked over and asked her to dance. Then they’d gone walking through the garden that were lit with twinkly lights, and Alex had surprised her with a kiss. And that was the moment she knew she wasn’t going to her hotel alone.
The man kissed like a damn fantasy.
To this day, Megan couldn’t remember ever getting so completely…swoony…over a kiss.
Either way, Alex Rebat had turned her world upside down with one kiss and then proceeded to keep her there for two incredible days.
And nights.
One More Promise Page 30
