Page 43 of Ever After Between the Lines (Montgomery Ink Legacy)

A little boy with dark hair and bright green eyes filled my mind, and I did my best not to think about that memory. It had been years since I had seen Finley. Years since we had parted, not on the best of terms.

He had been my best friend, my confidant. When my dad had thrown me out when I was only twelve, it had been his house I had run to. His parents held me close and made sure I was safe.

And when my mother had finally left my father and remarried the most loving man ever, Finley had been there by my side to make sure that my stepdad wasn’t anything like my birth father.

Finley had been my first kiss. My third date.

And my first time. We had been fumbling teenagers, laughing and overheated as we had tried to figure out what we were doing. And it had been awkward yet loving. It had been even better the second time. And the years after that.

Then life happened, and we had to grow up.

I had gone to New York to attend Julliard, grateful for not only my stepfather’s connections, but for somebody actually seeing my drive and talent.

Finley had ended up in the Air Force Academy with glowing recommendations and a bright future ahead of him.

He’d always been one to care for others, always the one to put others before himself. So it had surprised me that that was a life of service he had decided to go down. But it was in the opposite direction as me.

Colorado Springs versus New York City.

I lived in the spotlight, a life with an art.

He’d lived in a world I had no concept of.

Because when I had tearfully kissed him goodbye, and promised I would write him, I had.

Only it had taken me a year to realize that he had never promised to write me back. He had merely kissed away my tears and told me to soar. His Ever.

And I hadn’t seen him since. Not even when I had gone back to our small town to visit my parents.

Not even when I had seen his parents. I had to think it was on purpose at that point.

That our return trips had never coincided.

So I had taken that hurt within myself and pushed it into the characters I played.

But it was little wonder that I had never fallen in love again.

How are you supposed to find that kind of love when it had soared beyond the crest of truth at such a young age.

He had been my sun, and I his Icarus. I had flown far too close, and I had never found my footing again.

“Everland? Are you okay?” Laura asked, her voice low, worried.

I shook myself out of my thoughts, memories I had tried to forget for far too long, and smiled over at Laura.

“I’m great. Just ready to get the show on the road.”

She studied my face, and then glanced over at Ben as if he had answers.

The trip from the private airport to the retreat wasn’t too long.

The landing strip had been built within the past year, thanks to people in Austin who had needed a better place to land.

And it turned out that it was actually closer to the side of the I-35 core than Austin itself.

That meant it was a quick trip to the gates of the retreat and through security.

I was slightly surprised at the intense security at each gate, but considering who lived there full-time and how many people visited, it was nice to see.

“We booked a cabin for you on the other side of the winery on the private section. You’ll be free from prying eyes and can relax without other guests around.”

I looked over at Laura, surprised. “I thought I would be staying at the inn with the rest of the wedding party.”

Laura shook her head. “The land itself has over two dozen small cabins, and larger ones if you like homes. There’s also enough acreage that a few of the Wilders actually live on property in homes spread out on the other side of the acreage.

The main inn has twenty rooms, and the whole place is rented out for the wedding itself.

I’m staying in one of the rooms, but I thought it would be nice if you had space to yourself.

” She paused, blinking slowly. “I hope that was okay. I just thought you needed a moment to yourself before this next transition.”

For some reason tears almost pricked my eyes, but I blinked them away and reached forward to grip her hand.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” I rolled my shoulders back, oddly excited for this reprieve.

Yes it would be stressful, or perhaps it would be just what I needed.

Time for myself, to figure out exactly what I wanted next.

While I watched two of the closest people in my life about to love each other forever.

That wasn’t too bad of weekend.

The place was absolutely stunning. Set in the hill country of South Texas, it wasn’t completely brown and full of cattle like my brain had thought.

Instead there were green trees and odd pops of colorful flowers everywhere.

It felt homey. Different than the forests of Colorado or countless other places I’d seen. But still beautiful.

The large barn and inn were a stunning white, with beautiful architecture and stonework everywhere.

I knew the winery with actual vines were on the other side of the property, and there was a distillery, a couple of restaurants, and even a spa.

I had a massage booked for the next day and I was excited about relaxing.

I didn’t know exactly when Bethany had met her husband, but the two of them were absolutely adorable, and I knew Everett worked really hard with his family on all of this.

It was sad though, that this was my first time coming here.

I hadn’t been able to make it to their wedding because I had been on the other side of the world and wasn’t able to get out of my contract.

I had sent a gift, but it wasn’t enough.

And I had celebrated with them again at their home in LA.

But now I would be able to see most of my friends here. A small slice of a giant world in the most uncommon places.

“It’s good we’re out here when we are. We will get out of here and meet with Rosalie and Dean first,” Laura explained. “And then one of the Wilders’ other team members will show you your cabin. I promise I’m not going to bug you this entire weekend. This is almost your vacation.”

I rolled my eyes at her again. “I don’t think you know what that word means.”

“Because you haven’t taught it to me yet,” she teased. Ben laughed again, and Laura’s cheeks blushed.

Maybe this weekend wouldn’t only end with the marriage, maybe something else could happen.

Or maybe I needed to stop matchmaking.

We got out of the SUV as the Wilder staff welcomed us.

They went over a few things about the property that Bethany had already explained to me before, and I couldn’t help but look across the beautiful landscape and inhale that fresh air.

It wasn’t like the city at all, and while it was humid as heck, it was still moderately comfortable.

Thankfully it wasn’t the hellscape of summer in Texas.

“Everland?”

I turned at Ben’s voice and smiled up at him. “Hey, Ben. Are you staying in the inn with the others or bunking with me.”

He shook his head. “I’ll be around for sure, however, it won’t just be me. Actually, the team that trained me owns a slice of this place.”

I blinked. “You know Bethany’s brother-in-law?” I asked on a laugh. One of Bethany’s brothers-in-law was married to the owner of the security company that not only kept the Wilders’ running and safe, but they also provided bodyguard services for certain individuals around the world in our sphere.

I wasn’t quite sure exactly how it all worked, but it was a particular set of skills.

“I do. Trace is the one who trained me back in the day and actually introduced me to Laura and the rest of your team.”

It didn’t escape my knowledge that his voice softened when he said her name. “How did I not know this?”

“Because while I might be your main guard, you do have six of us,” he said dryly.

“Now I feel bad. How did I not ask?”

“Everland. You know my birthday, my mother’s name, my niece’s name, and you send gifts on their birthdays. You also know what I’m allergic to, and you always make sure that I get my favorite funky socks at whatever country you’re in. It’s okay that you didn’t know who my former boss was.”

I blushed, feeling awkward. “Apparently I need to know everything.”

“And I’m going to need to know a few more things. Because it’s only me with you on this trip as the rest of the team gets their vacations or work on the next phases, Trace is going to blend in some of their team with mine.”

“I had wondered why it was only you coming with me, but I assumed one of the other guys would meet us here.”

“Todd was going to, but then his sister needed him.”

I pressed my lips together. My heart hurt because Todd’s sister had recently lost her husband, and he had needed to take a leave of absence.

“I still feel like I need to send something. Or do something.”

“You made sure that there are meal services for that family for the next year. You’re doing good.” His gaze caught on something behind me, and he smiled. “Now I’m going to introduce you to the person that’s going to work with me. Trace promises he is great. And he owes me a beer.”

“I’m pretty sure you owe me one,” the deep voice said from behind me, and I froze.

I knew that voice. It didn’t matter that it had been twelve years since I had heard it. I knew that voice. I swore I could feel the heat of him behind me, even though I knew he had to be farther away than that.

I turned, hoping I was wrong, and at the same time, hoping, desperately hoping, that I was right.

Finley stood there, and my breath caught in my throat. He looked so much the same, and yet so different.

He had filled out, muscle upon muscle, and yet still looked as if he could sprint down the hall with no worries. His hair was a bit shorter than it had been when we were younger, and the screen I still pierced my soul.

I knew I should say something, to be angry that nobody had warned me.

Then again, nobody knew about Finley. The press, and those who called themselves caring fans, who tried to dive into every aspect of my life, had never been able to unearth our history together.

He had always been mine. My personal memory. My personal heartache.

He studied my face just as intently as I knew I was doing, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say.

Ben cleared his throat between us, and yet neither one of us looked over at him.

And then Finley reached out and traced the outline of my jaw and up towards my eye with his finger, something he had done countless times before.

“Hey, Ever.”

“You…you’re here.”

“And you did good, Ever. I always knew you would.”

And like that, the memory of every unanswered letter, every forgotten text and call slammed into me, and I rolled my shoulders back and turned away from the only man I had ever loved.

The one person who’d shattered my heart before I had even realized our time could be cut short in an instant.