Restless Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs Novel

by Ryan, Carrie Ann

  “We work then.”

  He hoped so.

  “What have you been up to?”

  “Well…I’ve been doing my usual things that you know about, but I’ve also been working on a side project.”

  He leaned forward. “Oh?”

  She swallowed hard.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m thinking of expanding.” She explained her plans, and Dimitri couldn’t help but smile. She sounded so excited about it, even as he could tell she was nervous.

  “You’re going to fucking rock at it. I can’t wait.”

  “It means if it happens, I’ll have even less time than I do now.”

  He shrugged, though that part sucked. “We’ll make it work. I’m so proud of you.”

  “It’s scary, but I’m getting excited. And speaking of food and cooking, I need to finish.” She left him to head back into the kitchen, and he couldn’t help but watch the way she walked.

  He liked the way she moved.

  “What are we having for dinner tonight?” he asked as they walked into the kitchen.

  She stood in front of the stove, blocking his view. “Close your eyes and guess.”

  He grinned and did so, opening his mouth as she put the fork between his lips. As the first taste burst on his tongue, he knew he’d made a mistake.

  He quickly stepped back and opened his eyes, letting out a curse. “Shrimp linguini?”

  Her face fell. “Is it too salty?”

  He shook his head and pulled out his wallet, reaching for that little pink allergy pill that he used every once in a while. He quickly went to the counter, spit out the pasta in a paper towel and downed his allergy pill. Thea was there with a glass of water without saying a word, and he chugged it, meeting her eyes for the first time.

  She had tears running down her cheeks but wasn’t making a sound. Instead, she just looked at him with a pale face and wide eyes.

  When he finished the water, he leaned against the counter and sighed. “So…I guess I should have mentioned I have a shellfish allergy.”

  She wiped her face, then went to the sink and washed her hands. “I washed my hands before you came over, and I haven’t touched the shrimp since, but I want to be doubly sure. Do we need to take you to the hospital? Do you have an Epi-pen?”

  “I’m okay. Really. I don’t have an Epi-pen because insurance doesn’t cover it and it’s way too expensive on its own. Yeah, it’s a risk, but I’m usually more careful.”

  She wrapped her arms around her waist and let out a breath. “I know food allergies. I deal with them carefully at the bakery, but I honestly didn’t think of it at home.”

  “It’s not your fault.” He went to her, wrapping his arms around her. “My allergy isn’t as bad as some people’s. And I’m not even a little tingly from it. I’ll be fine. I’ll get sleepy thanks to the allergy pill, but I’m no worse for wear.”

  “I’m so sorry. I must have gotten it wrong from Molly somehow.”

  He frowned. “Maybe. It doesn’t matter. No harm. No foul.”

  “I can’t believe I almost killed you.”

  “You didn’t almost kill me. I should have checked before I tasted. I know better. I’ve lived with this allergy my whole life.”

  “And yet I almost killed you the first time I wanted to make what I thought was your favorite meal. I should have stuck with lasagna.”

  “Next time, we’ll make that together, baby. I’m okay. It happens. One day, I’ll tell you about the time my brother Devin thought he bought fake crab and ended up making full crab cakes I gobbled down. Mom wasn’t exactly happy.”

  “I don’t know how I haven’t met your siblings yet.”

  “It never worked out for dinners at the old place. One day, you can meet Devin, Caleb, and Amelia.”

  “If I don’t kill you with shrimp first.” She rested her forehead on his chest, her head coming up under his chin as he held her close.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” he repeated. “My allergy never came up because we live in Colorado and it’s not like shellfish is on everything out here. Now if we were on the east coast? Then that’s all you’d hear from me every time I walked outside.”

  “Yay for being inland then.” Her tone was so dry that he squeezed her hard. “Thea.”

  “I’m going to pout a bit since I almost killed you.” Captain moved his way between them, and she petted the dog’s head even as she burrowed into Dimitri. “Why don’t you two go sit on the couch and rest since I know you’re going to get even more tired soon. I’ll clean up, and I guess we’ll figure something out for dinner.”

  “I can’t drive for a bit with the antihistamines in my system, so why don’t I order us some Chinese food. I can help clean up a bit, too.”

  She shook her head as she took a step back. “Nope, you’re not touching a thing in here just in case shrimp is out to get you. Thank God I didn’t eat a piece or taste test before you came over because all that kissing earlier might have taken a horrible turn.” She let out a watery breath, and he hugged her tightly again.

  “I’m fine,” he repeated.

  “You will be. I’m just so sorry I misunderstood Molly.”

  He wasn’t sure she had, and that worried him. Maybe he was just overthinking things. Maybe Molly had it wrong since they’d never had shrimp at the house. She preferred it out of the house in a cocktail. He didn’t say anything though because he wasn’t sure his brain was firing on all cylinders at the moment.

  Molly wouldn’t have sabotaged their night, so she must have gotten it wrong. Must not have known Dimitri’s preferences and not remembered the allergy. That was one reason they weren’t married anymore. But he didn’t want to worry Thea, so he didn’t say anything. Instead, he hugged her close, breathed her in, and knew they’d make the most of their night.

  Because he was falling for Thea Montgomery.

  And he wasn’t sure what he could do about it and keep them both from getting hurt.

  Chapter 17

  Montgomery family dinners were always an event in Thea’s mind, and tonight was no exception. Not only was the whole immediate family and their significant others showing up, but Thea’s parents had also invited Abby and her daughter, Julia. Ryan from the tattoo shop, and Landon, Mace’s and Carter’s friend, would also be there.

  Kaylee couldn’t make it because of a private art lesson, but she’d said she would send along a bottle of wine with Abby.

  And, of course, Dimitri was coming because Thea’s mom hadn’t taken no for an answer. Not that Dimitri would have said no, but Thea had wanted to save him from the interrogation.

  Though there would likely still be an interrogation.

  Thea let out a breath, trying not to make it look as if she were freaking out. Because she was freaking out. She’d brought boyfriends to her family dinners before. Her parents were great at making the gatherings larger with the addition of friends of the family like tonight when it came to introducing new relationships. It probably would have been even more nerve-racking if it had just been Montgomerys and Dimitri. Thea had been in a situation like this before, but this was different.

  Dimitri was different.

  Of course, he was different.

  He was hers. Hers.

  Dimitri reached over and squeezed her knee, his eyes on the road as they made their way to her parents’. “I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one here. Are you okay, babe?”

  Thea looked over at him and crossed her eyes. He must have seen her out of the corner of his eye because he snorted.

  “I know your parents. And your sisters. And the rest of them. In fact, I just hung out with the guys minus Shep and your father the other night. Shep has done one of my tattoos, and Adrienne’s trying to get at my other arm. They know me.”

  “They know Dimitri Carr, friend of Thea. They don’t know Dimitri, the guy I’m seeing.”

  “At least you didn’t say the guy you’re doing.”

  She growled at him, and
he laughed. Laughed. “This isn’t funny. I’m bringing a man home to my family. And everyone will be there. I’m stressing out.”

  He squeezed her knee again. “I know. I’m not as calm as I’m trying to appear, but we’re not teenagers or even in our twenties anymore. I’ve been married before, Thea.”

  “That’s part of the problem,” she muttered.

  They stopped at a red light, and he looked over at her, frowning. “With you? Or with your parents.”

  “I don’t know.” She blew out a hard breath. “And I don’t actually think it is a problem. It’s more the fact that they already know so much about our history, so I’m afraid they’re going to skip the normal interrogations and go right for the hard stuff.”

  The light turned green, and they started moving again. “And there’s going to be a ton of people there with their own issues. I’ll take what they dish out. It’s okay. Plus, I’ve done game night with most of them, so this is just a new part of what we’re doing together.”

  “Game night was before we started seeing each other.”

  Dimitri looked over at her as he parked behind Shep’s SUV. “If I remember correctly, game night was when it all started.”

  She could feel her cheeks heat. “Let’s not mention Twister.” She paused. “Though I should say that uh…my sisters and the girls know exactly what went on.”

  He coughed as he shut off the car. “Like…all the details?”

  Thea grinned, giving him a wink. “Pretty much. It’s what we do. I know lots of details about Mace.”

  “Jesus,” he said with a laugh. “And what about Carter?”

  She paused. “Not as much, but then again, Roxie is pretty private when it comes to him. I know she’s the only one of us girls married, but she likes to keep him to herself.”

  “I get that, honestly. Sometimes, you need that. I take it Shea doesn’t tell you everything about Shep?”

  “Not so much since we stop her before she gets to details.”

  “Yeah, I know a few things about my siblings’ love lives, but not all the details. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to hear details about my baby sister.”

  His baby sister was almost as old as Thea, but she didn’t mention that.

  “Let’s get inside,” she said after a moment. “Because if we don’t, they’ll just come out here anyway and press their noses to the windows like Captain does.”

  “So many nose marks.”

  They made their way to the Montgomery front door, Dimitri holding their cheese plate—because, of course, they brought cheese—and Thea holding two bottles of wine. She knew others would bring beer, but she was seriously in need of wine tonight.

  Her mom opened the door as soon as they rang the doorbell and grinned. “Finally! The others are already here. Now the party and torment can start.” Her mom’s eyes went wide, and she mock gasped. “I mean, party and tea. Yes, a tea party. Not a torment party. No torture here.”

  Dimitri just grinned and leaned down to kiss Thea’s mom’s cheek. “I hope I can handle a little torture, Mrs. Montgomery. I’ve been preparing.”

  “Call me Katherine. There’re so many Montgomerys here that it just gets confusing.”

  “Okay, Katherine. I can do that.”

  “And you brought cheese. I figured Thea would bring her amazing plate, so I didn’t make one myself. I used to make a damn fine charcuterie plate, and then Thea came along, and I had to step up my game.”

  Thea just rolled her eyes. “I have high cheese standards. I didn’t bring dessert, though since Abby wanted to bring some, so I’m scaling myself back.”

  “I thought you could use a break,” Abby said as she walked into the room, a toddler with big eyes in her arms, sitting on her hip. Thea loved little Julia, though she didn’t know her all that well. Yet.

  Julia blinked up at Dimitri and held out her arms, surprising all of them. Abby let out a laugh and shook her head.

  “No, baby girl, let Dimitri settle first before you tackle him. She likes big men.” Abby blushed.

  Thea laughed. “She has good taste.”

  “I’ll say. If you help me with the cheese, Katherine, I’ll take this little star.”

  Her mom took the plate from Dimitri, and he held out his arms. Julia went right to him, and he bounced her a bit in his hold.

  Thea knew she wanted children, though she hadn’t known how much until she saw Dimitri holding Julia. Could she feel her ovaries? Because she was pretty sure one just burst as her womb pulsated.

  Dimitri holding a baby was a thing of dreams, and as she caught her mother’s knowing look, she knew she was in trouble.

  Deep trouble.

  “Let’s get you inside with the rest of the crew,” her mom said after a moment, her gaze darting between Dimitri and Thea. “We have wine open and beer in the smaller fridge.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Dimitri said with a grin before blowing a raspberry on Julia’s cheek.

  Yep, there went her last ovary. Boom. Just like that.

  Her mom led the way, Abby following while looking over her shoulder to check on Julia. She’d tried to take her daughter back from Dimitri, but the little girl clung to his neck, and Dimitri waved her off. Thea didn’t blame Julia one bit as she clung to him as well, and when Dimitri met her eyes, she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Thea soon found herself with a glass of wine in hand, trying to follow Dmitri’s progress throughout the room. Ryan stood next to her, snorting over his beer every time Dimitri was pulled into another Montgomery embrace. Thea had wanted to be by his side, but her mother had nixed that idea without a word. Apparently, Dimitri was going to the belly of the beast unaided.

  “I need to save him,” she whispered under her breath.

  “He’s fine,” Ryan said on a laugh. “Isn’t this how the meeting of the parents usually goes?”

  Thea glared at him. “First, Dimitri has met everyone in this room before. Secondly, it’s not usually like a procession where I’m pushed away from helping.”

  Ryan just shrugged before taking a sip of his beer. “That was the old Dimitri. This is the new one. Go save him.”

  “He doesn’t need to be saved.” She bit her lip. “I don’t think. But maybe I should go just in case.”

  “I would. Montgomerys are territorial. Or so I hear.”

  She raised her brow. “Date a Montgomery in the past I don’t know about?”

  “Uh, no, but I work with two, so I see how you guys are. Not that I have a problem with that since you have each other’s backs. Now, go save your boy.”

  Thea rolled her eyes but went to Dimitri’s side anyway. Somehow, she slid between him and her mother, wiggling under his arm so she could be by his side and save him from more interrogations.

  Her mom just laughed, shaking her head. “We weren’t going to eat him alive, Thea.”

  Her dad let out a rough chuckle. “That comes after dinner. You know our schedule.”

  “I seem to remember a dressing down when they thought Adrienne wasn’t watching,” Mace added when he walked up to them, Adrienne by his side.

  “And I was totally watching, but I figured he deserved it since he’d annoyed me that morning.”

  Thea snorted, and Dimitri put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze.

  “When do the pliers and duct tape come out?” Shep asked, grinning. His wife Shea elbowed him in the gut, and he winced. “What was that for?”

  “Your parents were nothing but nice to me when I first met them. I mean, really, I was just some girl from New Orleans with RBF, aka resting bitch face. I’m surprised I was even allowed to take the name Montgomery.” Shea grinned as she said it, and her husband leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose.

  “You’ve classed up the Montgomerys, babe.”

  “I’d take offense to that, but it’s true,” Roxie added dryly. Carter stood behind her, not touching her but close enough that Thea figured he wanted to reach out and hold h
is wife. Only they were both so stiff that Thea thought maybe she was just projecting.

  Thea liked Carter, she really did, but as the days went by, he and her sister didn’t look happy, and that made Thea want to cry for them. She wished Roxie would just talk to her, damn it. Talk to any of them. But no matter how hard they tried, how much space they give her, Roxie never opened up.

  Dimitri squeezed Thea again, and she looked up at him, hoping her emotions weren’t on her face. The others were talking about Shea’s move to Colorado with Shep and their daughter, but Dimitri’s eyes were on her.

  She smiled, knowing that it didn’t reach her eyes, but she tried to push down her worry. She might be the second to youngest and still close in age to both of her sisters, but she always looked out for her baby sister.

  And she’d never felt so helpless.

  “And then there was that time with the cupcakes,” Shep was saying.

  “I know how to bake,” Shea complained. “I had pregnancy brain. Being pregnant with all those hormones during tax time did not lead to good baking. I mean, who knew I’d mix up salt and sugar. It could happen to anyone.”

  Thea grinned. “I’ve done that once.”

  Everyone looked at her, wide-eyed. “Seriously?” Landon asked, standing between Ryan and Abby. She didn’t know him all that well, but he was part of the family now since the Montgomerys tended to adopt friends.

  “What?” she asked, her smile real this time. “It was once, I was tired, something was mislabeled. I was young, what can I say?”

  “It takes all kinds,” Shea said, shaking her head. “No one ate it, right?”

  “No, I caught it in time. What about yours?”

  Shea looked over at her husband and smiled wide. “What do you say, baby?”

  Shep winced. “I didn’t want to make her feel bad. It was…interesting.”

  “True love,” Ryan said after they all stopped laughing. “It makes you do interesting things.”

  Thea wondered if Ryan had ever been in love and realized that she didn’t know much about him. She didn’t know much about many of the people in her sibling’s lives. She’d spent so much time working on her business, and was about to put even more into it, that she’d lost sight of others. She leaned into Dimitri’s side as the others talked, with the two older kids running around them, laughing. Abby’s daughter had fallen asleep soon after Dimitri had held her since it was past her nap time. Thea took in all of it, realizing that if the loan paperwork went through, she would have to put more effort into finding a balance between work and life. She’d thought she was doing pretty well, but now that she looked around, she knew that she hadn’t done as good of a job as she could have.