Inked Memories (Montgomery Ink Book 8)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  He’d never taken Sophia here, but she’d been the one to suggest this place. It reminded him of her tastes when they’d been together, and that worried him slightly. The food wasn’t out of his price range, but it was a little steep for a date that wasn’t a date.

  Unless she thought this was a date and was back to her old ways of spending far too much money that wasn’t hers.

  “Stop it,” he whispered to himself. He was already judging her, and he hadn’t even seen her since she’d stopped by his house earlier. She’d told him that she was better, that she had gotten help and was stable, and he’d tried to believe her. It was just hard after everything she’d done to him—and herself for that matter—in the past.

  He’d promised her that he would have dinner with her tonight, and he hoped he’d been clear when he said that it would only be one meal between friends. But now, he wasn’t sure he’d been clear enough. She’d told him that she wanted more from him when she first saw him, said that she missed what they could have had if things hadn’t fallen apart. But he knew that wasn’t what he wanted.

  Wes just couldn’t quit her.

  No, that isn’t the right word, he thought to himself. He’d quit her before and had done his best not to think about her too often as he moved on. It was more that he couldn’t stop wanting to make things better. He was a fixer. He knew that.

  When Austin had found out that he was a father ten years into the game, Wes had wanted to fix that. He’d done his best to find out everything he could about the legal aspects and had called his friends who knew more than he did so Austin wasn’t left alone dealing with everything on that end in addition to a new son and his then fledging relationship with Sierra. And when Sierra had been hurt in the accident later on and then again when she almost lost the baby during delivery with Austin at her side, Wes had been there, as well, smoothing out as many details as he could on the everyday things so Austin and Sierra wouldn’t have to worry about anything except their new family.

  When his father had been diagnosed with cancer, like the rest of the Montgomerys, he’d done his research and tried his best to understand the disease that threatened his family. He’d done everything he could to make sure his mother had everything she needed while taking care of his father, yet Wes felt like he couldn’t do much of anything at all. He’d felt hopeless in his life a few times, but that was one of the first times he’d truly felt like he could do nothing but pray that his father would make a full recovery.

  When Miranda had been stalked and hurt by a man she’d only dated a few times, Wes had tried to step in like the rest of his brothers and fix everything he could. Of course, he hadn’t been able to since she’d not only pushed them away but had also been able to lean on Decker while falling in love with him in the process. Wes had stayed on the sidelines, doing what he could to keep Miranda’s ex out of the picture and had held her hand when she’d been hurt.

  Wes hadn’t been able to fix everything in his family’s lives, but he’d done his best to keep trying. As Meghan’s first marriage began to fail, he’d offered up his home to her and his niece and nephew to stay in, but his sister had refused. She’d let him help her find a place to live, but then hadn’t let him help her with her small rental. He’d hated the place she’d been forced to choose, but she’d needed to do it on her own after her divorce. And when she finally found love again with Luc and things had almost gone to hell again, he’d held her hand while waiting in that damn hospital waiting room that seemed to have a Montgomery in it every month it seemed these days.

  He’d tried to help his brother Griffin find his muse or whatever a writer needed in order to write, and had assisted the women of his family to hire Autumn. Wes hadn’t been able to help much there, but he had been in the waiting room again when things turned violent with a man from Autumn’s past.

  Waiting rooms. He sighed. He spent so much of his life in them these days, he could count the tiles on the floor with his eyes closed.

  All he did was wait. Wait and pray that he could find a way to fix things for everyone. Yet once again, he seemed to come up short.

  He hadn’t been able to fix Maya’s heart when she fell for her best friend, Jake, and then fell again for Jake’s ex, Border. He’d been forced to stand by and watch them work their way through their unusual and yet deeply rooted relationship themselves. He hadn’t been able to fix a damn thing for them.

  And then there was Alex and Storm.

  Wes’s grip tightened once again on the steering wheel as he closed his eyes, ignoring the sting that said he just might cry.

  He’d failed Alex, and he knew it. He’d known his baby brother had a drinking problem, but he hadn’t stepped in to help enough. He hadn’t known everything was as bad as it ended up being, but he’d seen the signs and hadn’t tried hard enough. It’s possible Alex wouldn’t have listened to him—he rarely did in those days—but Wes hadn’t been able to help his brother stop hurting, and Alex had found a bottle instead.

  As for Storm…well, Wes should have known his twin was hiding something from him. Maybe he had, and he’d ignored it because it would have been too hard to see that reflection inside himself, but he wasn’t quite sure about that. Storm had been in pain not only physically but deep down in his soul, and Wes hadn’t known.

  Wes hadn’t known.

  Someone on the outside looking in might wonder why Wes felt the need to fix everything himself, but they didn’t understand him. Of all his siblings, he was the most…stable. Nothing bad had truly happened to him. He wasn’t hurt deep inside, and didn’t have any scars that he tried to hide. He was just Wes.

  Stable.

  There.

  And a fixer who couldn’t fix what needed fixing the most.

  If he couldn’t use his stability and focus to help his family, then what good was it?

  He shook his head, pushing those deep thoughts from his brain. Tonight, he was going to do something potentially idiotic and have dinner with a woman he didn’t have feelings for anymore but had at one point. Because he wanted to help. That was it, he reminded himself. He would just have dinner, listen to what she needed to say, and then go home. He wouldn’t put himself through a relationship with Sophia again.

  And he wouldn’t try to fix her.

  Because, apparently, as much as he called himself a fixer, he wasn’t any good at it when it came to the important things.

  “And way to make everything about you,” he said with a snort. He’d done his best to keep his family steady and do the little things in the background when he could, but as his thoughts rambled on, they had gone from helping to take out the trash to blaming himself for a disease he couldn’t heal.

  Good going.

  He checked the time on his phone and cursed before jumping out of his truck. He’d spent a good ten minutes lamenting, and now he was running late. Sophia was probably already at the table wondering where he was. And where had he been? Right in the damn parking lot, brooding over things that were out of his control. Sure, that sounded like a great way to spend the evening.

  He rolled his eyes and walked into the restaurant and up to the hostess station.

  “Hello, how can I help you?” a pretty, young blonde asked with a wide smile.

  “I have a reservation for two. Under Montgomery.” Sophia had made the reservation under his name, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Not the fact that she’d made one, but that it felt as though she’d made one before he’d agreed to the dinner. Plus, she’d used his name and not hers, which he found a bit strange.

  The hostess smiled again. “Yes, your other party is already here. Let me show you to your table.”

  Wes held back a wince. He hated being late, and tonight it was his own damn fault. It has to be the elevator, he thought with a held-back snort. That he was even on this date and then had spent far too long brooding in his truck—the damn thing had obviously messed up his brain.

  Sophia sat at a small table near the front of the res
taurant, her head down as she studied her phone and drank her sparkling water. She looked up as he approached and gave him her seductive smile, only he felt none of the attraction and spark he had all those years ago.

  Sophia might be a different person than she was before, and that was honestly great for her, but he wasn’t the same man either. He wanted nothing but the best for his ex, but he wasn’t for her, and she wasn’t for him. After tonight, he hoped she would see that.

  “Wes, you’re here.”

  He gave her a small smile as he took his seat. “I’m sorry I’m late.” He took the offered menu from the waiter and nodded. “Thank you.”

  Sophia waved him off. “Oh, it’s truly okay. I was just checking a few things on my phone, but now that you’re here, I can put it away. How are you?”

  “I’m good. How was your day?”

  She shrugged. “I’m on vacation this week, but work never quite goes away, does it?”

  He relaxed as they talked about work and nothing too serious, and for that he was grateful. When the waiter came over, they ordered their meals and continued their conversation as old friends, rather than the rising tension that would come from a date with a possible future attached to it.

  “I’m glad I got to see you again,” Sophia said as they finished their meals.

  “Oh?” Wes asked, afraid of where this might be going.

  She shook her head, her smile playful. “Because it tells me what I should have known before I showed up on your doorstep. What we had is in the past, and I shouldn’t have come back to try and find it again.”

  He set down his water glass and frowned. “I agree with you. What we had is in the past, but I don’t want to hurt you, Sophia.”

  She shrugged. “You aren’t. I think I came here because I thought I’d find what I’m missing now. Or rather what I missed out on then. I’m not the same woman I was before, Wes, I hope you understand that.”

  “I’m beginning to,” he said slowly, but before he could continue, the hairs on the back of his neck rose, and he turned to see Jillian and a man he didn’t recognize walk into the restaurant.

  That must be Clark.

  Of all the places in all of Denver…

  “Oh,” Sophia said with a breathy laugh.

  “What?” he said, turning back to her.

  “Oh, nothing.” A smile played on her lips again, and he didn’t understand it, so he turned back to see Jillian and Clark coming toward them. As there was an empty table next to theirs, Wes knew exactly where the hostess was leading them.

  Jillian’s eyes widened when she caught sight of him, and she almost stumbled. Clark had his arm around her waist, and that seemed to steady her.

  Wes would not be jealous.

  “Jillian,” Wes said as she sat down with Clark. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  “Wesley,” Jillian clipped out. “I didn’t know you’d be here either.”

  Sophia let out a small laugh, and Clark looked confused.

  “Sophia, Jillian. Jillian, this is Sophia.”

  “Hello,” Jillian almost bit out. “Wes, this is Clark.” She waved over at him. “Wes is my boss.”

  Clark’s posture relaxed marginally. “Ah. Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Sophia put in.

  Jillian’s eyes narrowed as she seemed to recognize Sophia’s voice from the phone call before. Oh, good, as if this weren’t awkward enough.

  “We’re just about done here,” Wes put in. “Enjoy your date.” Had he put too much emphasis on the last word? Well, he hoped not because Jillian should enjoy her date.

  And he’d go home alone.

  Like he wanted.

  Sophia gave him a knowing look, and he raised his hand, grateful when the waiter brought over their check right away. He quickly paid, doing his best to act like this wasn’t awkward as hell as he ignored the couple seated far too close to him and listened to Sophia talk about her job as a sales rep.

  They nodded at the other couple as they stood up to leave, and Clark waved at them. Jillian glared before nodding back, and Wes led Sophia out of the restaurant.

  “Well…” he said, clearing his throat as soon as they stood outside.

  Sophia tossed her head back and laughed, her soft brown curls falling down her back. “Oh, that was so interesting.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” he ground out.

  “Wes, darling, it was, but I won’t press. Thank you, though, for agreeing to come out to dinner with me. I know I’m not your favorite person in the world, but I do appreciate that you gave me the time to apologize.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “You’re a good man, Wes Montgomery, and one day, I hope you find the perfect woman for you.”

  Wes frowned. “I…” He shook his head, not knowing what he was going to say. “I hope you find yours, too. Well, the perfect man I mean.”

  Sophia gave him a sad smile. “I hope I do, too, but as it turns out, I’m okay being alone. Who would have thought?”

  And on that note, he walked her to her car and said goodbye. He didn’t know if he’d ever hear from her again, and he was okay with that. They’d both grown since they were together, and he liked knowing she would more than likely be okay in the end. Of course, he couldn’t quite get her last comment out of his head.

  He was alone, too, after all.

  Only he wasn’t sure if he was okay with that. Yet he had no idea how to change it.

  Chapter Eight

  The next day, Jillian leaned against her kitchen counter and sipped at her iced tea. She had the whole day off, so instead of doing something fun like she probably should have, she’d cleaned her house from top to bottom. She’d even scrubbed the baseboards and the windows, so her body ached and she’d run out of cleaning supplies.

  When she was stressed or worried, she either cleaned or worked. Since she now worked for a company that actually cared about its workers and overtime, she couldn’t put in extra hours, so she cleaned.

  A lot.

  And now she had nothing else to do for the rest of the day to keep her mind off what had happened yesterday.

  Thankfully, before she could go down yet another downward spiral in her thoughts, her phone rang. She smiled when she saw the readout even as her heart raced. It did that every time she saw her dad’s name on her phone. While he used to call her often to see how she was doing or just to talk about their days, he did it more now, though he never said why.

  They both knew why, though.

  “Hey, Dad. How are you?”

  “You know, you used to answer the phone with things other than asking me how I am.” He paused, and she bit her lip, not wanting to say anything to upset him. “I miss those days, yet I’m glad I have a daughter who cares about me as much as you do.”

  And that was it. No more holding back the tears here.

  “Don’t cry,” he whispered.

  “I’m not,” she said on a hiccupped sob. “No tears here,” she lied. She cleared her throat and did her best to push away the bad thoughts that continually crept up to the back of her mind. “So, really, how are you?”

  Her dad chuckled, and she couldn’t help but smile at the familiar sound. “I’m good. Happy.” He paused, and she wiped the rest of her tears. “Jilly-bean, I’m happy. I had a good day today and plan on having many more of them. Roger came over earlier, and we took a walk like the doctor wants me to. He’ll be back later with his wife, Suzanne, for dinner. She made a casserole and wants to eat out.”

  They both laughed at that.

  “Eating out means cooking it and eating at a neighbor’s?” she asked, teasing.

  “I’m not going to question things like that if it means I get her casseroles. You had Suzanne’s food when you were little. Remember?”

  Jillian nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see her. “Yes, and from what I remember, they weren’t all that low in fat and calories.”

  “Well, now, don’t go ruining my evening. I’m making a salad on the side if that makes you
happy.”

  She just laughed because she knew that salad would stay on the side the entire night and maybe get picked at. There was no way some lettuce, and maybe a sliced tomato if he was feeling feisty, could compete with Suzanne’s casserole. Of course, now Jillian was hungry and knew she couldn’t have anything like that if she wanted to be able to fit into her work clothes that week.

  “I’m glad you have plans.”

  “And what about you? Have a hot date with that Clark boy? When am I going to meet him?”

  Jillian held back a groan. Why had she told her dad about Clark? He’d bugged her about her dating life, and she’d mentioned a couple of weeks ago about her upcoming second date. She’d just done it to keep the attention off her, and now she regretted it.

  “No plans other than maybe a hot bath tonight. Sorry to disappoint.”

  “And Clark?” he pressed.

  This time, she did groan. “I’m no longer seeing Clark.” There. That was honest and to the point.

  Of course, her dad didn’t let her stop there. “What happened? Did he hurt you? Do you need me to kick his ass?”

  And this was one of many reasons she loved her father so much, even if she wanted to throttle him sometimes as any good daughter was prone to do. “He didn’t hurt me, Dad. We just didn’t work out. He was a nice guy but…well…he just wasn’t for me.”

  Her dad sighed. “I’m sorry about that, Jilly-bean. I want you to be happy.”

  She trailed her fingers over the pattern on her granite countertops and shrugged though he couldn’t see her. “I am happy.” That much was the truth, but she wasn’t going to lie and say she wasn’t lonely.

  “Then how about I say I want you to be happy with someone.”

  “I’m not going to stop dating completely. I’m just not going to see Clark anymore.” Last night’s date wasn’t bad, but she hadn’t been able to focus on the pleasant conversation once Wes and Sophia left. All she’d been able to do was imagine what the two of them were doing. Alone. Together. Sweaty and perfect for each other.