Page 55 of Ever After Between the Lines (Montgomery Ink Legacy)
LEIF
“Not only did you convince me to somehow go on a blind date, it became a double date. How on earth did you work this magic on me, cousin?” I asked Lake as she leaned against the pillar just inside the restaurant.
Lake grinned at me, her dark hair pulled away from her face.
She had on this swingy black dress and looked as if she were excited, anxious, nervous, and happy all at the same time.
Considering she was bouncing on her toes when usually Lake was calm, cool, and collected, was saying something.
“I asked, and you said yes. Because you love me.”
“I might love you because we’re family, but I still think we’re making a mistake.
” I shook my head and pulled at my shirt sleeves.
Lake had somehow convinced me to wear a button-up shirt tucked into gray pants, I even had on shiny shoes.
I looked like a damn banker. But if that’s what Lake wanted, that’s what I would do.
Lake might technically be my cousin, even though we weren’t blood-related, but we were more like brother and sister than any of my other cousins.
I had siblings, as did Lake, but with the generational gap, we were at least a decade older than all of our other cousins. That meant, despite the fact that we had lived over an hour apart for most of our lives, we’d grown up more like siblings.
I loved my three younger siblings and talked to them daily. Unlike some blended families, they were my brothers and sister and not like strangers or distant family members. I didn’t feel a disconnect from the three of them, but Lake was still closer to me.
Probably because we were either heading into our thirties or already there, where most of our other cousins were either just now in their early twenties or still teenagers in high school.
With how big we Montgomerys were as a family, it made sense that there would be such a widespread age group.
That meant that Lake and I were best friends, cousins, practically siblings, and sometimes the banes of each other’s existences.
We were also business owners and partners and saw each other too often these days.
That was probably why she convinced me to go on a blind double date.
But she had been out with Zach before. I, however, had never met May.
Lake had some connection with her that I wasn’t sure about, and for some reason Lake’s date had said yes to this double date.
And, in the complicated way of family, I had agreed to it. I must have been tired. Or perhaps I’d had too many beers. Because I didn’t do blind dates, and recently, I didn’t do dates at all.
Lake scanned her phone, then looked up at me, all innocence in her smart gaze. “You shouldn’t have told me you wanted to settle down in your old age.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m still in my early thirties, jerk. Stop calling me old.”
“I shouldn’t call you old since you’re only a few years older than me.
” She fluttered her eyelashes and I flipped her off, ignoring the stare from the older woman next to me.
Though I was a tattoo artist, I didn’t have many visible tattoos.
Most of mine were on my back and legs, hidden from the world unless I wanted to show them.
I hadn’t figured out what I wanted on my arms beyond a few small pieces on my wrists and upper shoulders.
And since tattoos were permanent, I was taking my time.
If a client needed to see my skin with ink to feel comfortable, I’d show them my back.
My body was a canvas, so I did what I could to set people at ease.
But I still had the eyebrow piercing and had recently taken out my nose ring. I didn’t look too scary for most people. But apparently, flipping off a woman, growling, and cursing a time or two in front of strangers probably made me appear too close to the dark side.
“Yes, I want to settle down, but this will be awkward, won’t it? Where the two of us are strangers, and the two of you aren’t?” I wanted a life, a future, and yeah, one day to settle down with someone. I just didn’t know why I’d mentioned it to Lake in the first place.
“If it helps, May doesn’t know Zach, either. So it’s a group of strangers, except I know everybody.” She clapped her hands together and did her version of an evil laugh, and I just shook my head.
“Considering what you do for a living and how you like to manipulate things in your way, this makes sense. Are you going to be adding a matchmaking company to your conglomerate?”
Lake just fluttered her eyelashes again and laughed.
Lake owned a small tech company that made a shit ton of money over the past couple of years.
And because she was brilliant at what she did, innovative, and liked pushing money towards women-owned businesses, she owned more than one company at this point and was an investor in mine.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she found a way to open up a women-owned matchmaking company right here in town.
“It might be fun. I can call it Montgomery Links.” Her eyes went wide. “Oh, my God. I have to write that down.” She pulled out her phone, began to take notes, and I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“You know I trust you with my actual life, but I don’t know if I trust you with my dating life.”
Lake tossed her hair behind her shoulder as she continued to type. “Shut up. You love me. And once I finish setting you up, the rest of the family’s next.”
“Oh, really? You’re going to get Daisy and Noah next?” I asked, speaking of two more of our cousins.
“Maybe. Of course, Sebastian’s the only one of the younger group that seems to have a serious girlfriend.”
I nodded, speaking of our other familial business partner.
Sebastian was still a teenager, though in college.
He had wanted to open up Montgomery Ink Legacy with me, the full title of our company.
There was a legacy to it, and Sebastian had wanted in.
So, though he didn’t work there full-time, he was putting his future towards us.
And in the ways of young love, he and his girlfriend had been together since middle school.
The fact that my younger cousin was better at relationships than I was didn’t make me feel great. But I was going to ignore that.
“You’re not going to start up a matchmaking service, are you? Or maybe an app?”
“Dating apps are ridiculous these days, they practically want you to invest in coins to bid on dates, and that’s not something I’m in the mood for. But maybe there’s something I can try. I’ll add it to my list.”
Lake’s list of inventions and tech was notorious, and knowing the brilliance of my cousin, she would one day rule the world and might eventually cross everything off that list.
“Oh, here’s Zach.” Lake’s face brightened immediately, and she smiled up at a man with dark hair, piercing gray eyes, and an actual dimple on his cheek.
Tonight was not only about my blind date, but me getting the lay of the land when it came to Zach. I was the first step into meeting the family. Oh, if Zach passed my gauntlet, he would meet the rest of the Montgomerys, and we were mighty. All one hundred of us.
“Zach, you’re here.” Lake’s voice went soft, and she went on her tiptoes even in her high heels as Zach pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
“Of course, I’m here. And you’re early, as usual.”
Lake blushed and ducked her head. “Well, you know me. I like to be early because being on time is late,” she said at the same time I did, mumbling under my breath. It was a familiar refrain when it came to us.
“Zach, good to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.
The other man gripped it firmly and shook. “Nice to meet you too, Leif. I know you might be the one on a blind date soon, but I’m nervous.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Yeah, I’m pretty nervous too. Though I’m grateful that Lake’s trying to look out for me.”
My cousin laughed softly. “You totally were not saying that a few minutes ago, but be suave and sophisticated now. Or just be yourself, May’s on her way.”
I met Zach’s gaze and we both rolled our eyes.
When I turned toward the door, I saw a woman of average height, with black straight hair, green eyes, and a sweet smile.
I didn’t know much about May, other than Lake knew her and liked her.
If I was going to start dating again after taking time off to get the rest of my life together, I might as well start with someone that one of my best friends liked.
“May, I’m so glad that you’re here,” Lake said as she hugged the other woman tightly.
As Lake began to bounce on her heels, I realized that my cousin’s cool, calm, and collected exterior was only for work.
She was bouncing and happy when it came to her friends or when she was nervous.
I knew that, of course, but I had forgotten how she had turned into the mogul that she was.
It was good to see her relaxed and happy.
Now I just needed to figure out how to do that for myself.
May stood in front of me, and I felt like I was starting middle school all over again. A new school, a new life, and a past that didn’t make much sense to anyone else.
I swallowed hard and nodded, not putting out my hand to shake, thinking that would be weird, but I also didn’t want to hug her. I didn’t even know this woman. Why was everything so awkward? Instead, I lifted my chin. “Hello, May. It’s nice to meet you. Lake says only good things.”
There, smooth. Not really. Zach began to move out of frame, with Lake at his side as the two went to speak to the hostess, leaving May and me alone.
This wasn’t going to be awkward at all.