Until There Was Us
Page 1
Also by Samantha Chase
The Montgomery Brothers
Wait for Me / Trust in Me
Stay with Me / More of Me
Return to You
Meant for You
I’ll Be There
Until There Was Us
The Shaughnessy Brothers
Made for Us
Love Walks In
Always My Girl
This Is Our Song
A Sky Full of Stars
Holiday Spice
Shaughnessy Brothers: Band on the Run
One More Kiss
One More Promise
One More Moment
Holiday Romance
The Christmas Cottage / Ever After
Mistletoe Between Friends / The Snowflake Inn
Holiday Spice
Life, Love and Babies
The Baby Arrangement
Baby, I’m Yours
Baby, Be Mine
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Copyright © 2018 by Samantha Chase
Cover and internal design © 2018 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover design by Dawn Adams/Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover image © Jacob Lund/Shutterstock
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The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Contents
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
A Sneak Peek at One More Moment
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
About the Author
Back Cover
For Sue and your love of all things Montgomery.
Thank you for your encouragement and your excitement about this book.
This one’s for your Celeste.
Prologue
Monica Montgomery sipped her champagne as she watched over the roomful of celebrating people. Her nephew Zach had finally married his assistant, Gabriella, and she couldn’t take her gaze from them. The way they looked at one another told everyone how in love they were. It made her heart happy. They were yet another couple her beloved husband, William, had helped along on their road to true love.
How had she gotten so lucky? William had approached her so many years ago because—he swore—after one look, he knew she was the one for him. Their life together had truly been perfect—even after almost forty years of marriage. He had followed up with matchmaking for their own sons and then branched off to some of their nieces and nephews.
Zach and Gabriella were his latest success story.
“I have to say, Monica, you’re looking almost as pleased as your husband right now.”
Monica turned as her sister-in-law Eliza sat beside her with her own glass of champagne. With a smile, they touched glasses.
“I am pleased,” Monica said. “I can’t remember ever seeing Zach look so happy. He was always such a serious young man.”
Eliza agreed. “Being in love suits him. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Eliza said as she turned in her seat to look at Monica head-on.
“Really?”
“I want grandkids!” she blurted out.
The thought of her own grandchildren made Monica smile. “They are wonderful. We’ve got six of them now, and I’m telling you, it feels so good to hear those little voices and laughter throughout the house again.”
“I want that,” Eliza stated. “But…I think we must have done something wrong.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Look at them, Monica.” She motioned toward the crowded room.
“I can’t find them.”
“Exactly. It was like pulling teeth to convince Megan to wear a dress today, then it was a month’s worth of arguing to convince Christian to take time off for the wedding, and Carter’s been on the phone almost since he got off the plane yesterday,” she said with exasperation. “I appreciate a good work ethic, but this is ridiculous. Even his father takes a break every now and then.” She paused and looked at the dance floor again.
“Oh! Monica, look!” Eliza hissed. “Megan’s dancing! Who’s she dancing with?”
Monica looked a little closer and smiled. “That’s Alex,” she said. “He’s a friend of Zach’s. Actually, he was Zach’s physical therapist after his accident, and they became good friends. William and I have met him on several occasions, and he is the nicest young man.”
“You don’t say…”
For a few minutes, they sat in silence and watched as Megan and Alex danced to a more upbeat number and then two slower ones. By the fourth dance, Monica’s mind was starting to go to places normally only her husband’s went.
Leaning in close to Eliza, she said, “You know, that’s four dances.”
Eliza nodded.
“Normally, if you’re only being polite, you accept one dance. Two dances, tops. But four?”
“I have to admit, I don’t think I’ve ever seen my daughter look quite so…smitten.”
Monica smiled and then looked across the room to where her husband was standing and talking with his brothers. It gave her a little bit of a thrill to know he seemed oblivious to what was happening on the dance floor.
“They’re holding hands!” Eliza cried. “That’s definitely not something you do to be polite, right?”
“I wouldn’t think so, but then again, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on a dance floor with someone other than my husband.”
They both laughed and watched as Megan and Alex blended into the crowd on the other side of the room.
Too bad, Monica thought. She wanted to watch them for a little longer because she was already thinking of doing a little matchmaking of her own.
Alex Rebat was exactly the type of man she would want for her own daughter—if she had one. So it only seemed right that he would also be the kind of man she’d want for her niece.
&n
bsp; “Where is Megan working these days?”
Eliza sighed. “She’s been at this company in Albany for about a year now. She has a contract with them, and she’ll be there for another eighteen months. Maybe more. I hate it. It’s so far away!”
“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. “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 sco
rn 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 worrying 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.”