Page 24 of Last Chance Seduction (Montgomery Ink Legacy #9)

Chapter Twelve

Mercy

I t wasn’t every day that you found out your former fiancé/worst nightmare owed money to a loan shark with connections .

Or was it the Mafia? I had narrated a few mafia romances, and it was always the innocent bystander who’d gotten in the way who ended up hurt or dead.

I was not going to let myself dwell on that however, at least in this moment.

Because it was Christmas Eve, and I was taking a full day off work.

I was not going to dwell on the concept of my imminent doom, demise, or downward spiral.

Because if I did, oh, there would be spiraling.

Justin was such a punk-ass bitch that he couldn’t even stand up for himself two years later.

I didn’t know when he had stolen that money.

Because not paying back a bookie was pretty much stealing.

If he had done it after we had ended everything, then he was truly reaching far back in time to find a scapegoat.

But him and his perky wife, the woman I had trusted with my wedding, were safe and sound in Florida.

And I was apparently being mauled on street corners in Denver.

After Daisy had gone over everything, I had also explained to the group about the uneasy feeling that had washed over me in the grocery store as well as the random phone calls.

While I had told the authorities that, the Montgomerys hadn’t known.

Lex had paced his kitchen, my cat oddly pacing right along with him.

At one point, Mr. Darcy had tripped Lex, but the man I was slowly falling for had merely caught himself, growled, and continued to mumble.

I didn’t know what the Montgomerys were planning, or how the authorities were going to fix this, but I was so damn annoyed that the person I truly did not think of often, thought of me enough to throw me under a bus.

And now here I was, dwelling on it when I said I wouldn’t dwell. Frustrated, I flipped my mascara a little too hard and ended up with black on my eyebrows.

“Son of a bitch.”

“Here you go. I do that too many times to count,” Brooklyn said as she handed me a tissue.

I wiped at the black smear that was slowly starting to seep into my foundation and growled.

“That’s it. I’m just going to draw on my face and call it a day. Can we have it as a costume party for our dinner tonight on Christmas Eve?”

A group of us were all heading to a nice restaurant that was owned by a friend of a friend and were going to celebrate as couples for Christmas Eve.

Later I would open my gift underneath the tree, slightly different than when I was younger, but it would just be me and Mr. Darcy, unless Lex wanted to stay.

I warmed at the thought of that, because the two of us were sure acting like we were in a real relationship, and we hadn’t even slept together yet.

Yes, we had slept next to each other but we hadn’t had sex.

We had been close enough a few times, but distractions and interruptions truly were the bane of my existence.

No, Justin was the bane of my existence.

Distractions were just hindrances. Maybe my Christmas gift would be an orgasm. That would be wonderful.

“I would love to know what you’re thinking,” Brooklyn said with a laugh. “And don’t worry, I’ll help you get that streak right off, and we won’t have to draw on your face like that one Friends episode when they went to Vegas.”

Laughing, remembering the ridiculousness of that particular show, I let out a breath.

“You really don’t want to know what I was thinking.”

Brooklyn, one of the most gorgeous women I had ever seen with her honey-colored hair and freckles that covered most of her face, winced.

“I really don’t want to know about your sex life with my cousin.

It really sucks when people that I’ve become friends with or people that I’ve known all of my life start to date my family members.

Because then we can’t have the normal talks.

I don’t want to know about bedroom antics or the size of his dick.

” Brooklyn let out a shudder. “I can’t believe I just said that aloud. ”

Laughing, I turned back to the mirror and sighed. “Thank you for the mascara help. And don’t worry, I wouldn’t even know what to say about that certain aspect. I mean, I think we’re dating. Lex sort of alluded to it, but it’s not like this whole time together has been any form of normal.”

“Life isn’t normal. That’s the whole point of it.”

“So wise.”

“I think I heard it on a TV show once. Or I’m just making up words. Either way, I have many questions. But first, if you think it might be a real relationship, are you just going to bypass the whole it started as a fake relationship thing?”

I threw my hands up in the air, grateful I didn’t toss the lip gloss with the motion. “I have no idea. It’s not like we talk. And the holidays have been busy. I mean, it’s already Christmas Eve. And this is not exactly how I thought I’d spend my day.”

“How did you think you would?” Brooklyn asked with a tilt of her head.

“Reading a book next to the fire with my cat on my lap. I mean, it’s not a bad night.”

“Not at all. That sounds like a lovely evening. But now you have a tree, lights, decorations, and Montgomerys invading.” She cringed. “I can leave if you want. If you want that time. And I’ll drag Lex away too.”

I shook my head, guilt setting in. “No. I was fine being alone. I really am. I mean, now that Emily’s gone, I am alone.” I swallowed hard, ignoring the tinge that always hit with that thought. Brooklyn reached out and squeezed my hand.

“I’m still so sorry. I know that memories can be difficult, but I’d love to talk about her.”

“That’s sort of why I moved back. Because people knew Emily. I want to talk about her. I want to talk about her laugh, how she was outrageous sometimes but was the quiet one of us too.”

“She was a hoot. Did I tell you that one time when we were young you were out with Lex doing something, and so Emily and I snuck up behind you guys and tried to spy on you, but instead we got caught by another one of my cousins and were chased around with paintballs. The soft kind that didn’t hurt, but still. ”

“I did not know that. I wonder what Lex and I were doing?” I paused. “It’s weird. Because Lex and I were friends before, close friends. And then I started dating his other friend, and things just changed.”

“Okay, we’re going to circle back to the first part of our conversation if that’s okay. That way I can get it all out there. First off, you look lovely. We’re going to go out tonight and have fun. And I’m sorry that we’re kidnapping you. And, you and Lex haven’t had sex yet?” she blurted.

“I’m very confused about the circular conversation, but no, we haven’t. When would we have time?”

“I don’t know, when you guys were snowed in for an evening at a very beautiful resort?”

“Well, we sort of got close.” I blushed.

Brooklyn grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Don’t tell me all but tell me enough.”

“There’s not much to tell. But it was close.

And that’s when it went from I’ll be your friend just to annoy Gia and make sure that you guys can get the contract, to whatever this is.

Like the fact that we spent so much time together, and I’m texting him more than I’m texting Posy, and I text Posy all the time. ”

My best friend was currently on a road trip of mass proportions that I did not even want to think about, but she was happy, safe, and I couldn’t wait to hear her story with a certain friend of hers, all alone in a cabin.

But that meant I would have to tell her what was happening with me and Lex. And I had no idea what that was.

“Well, I guess this means once the holidays are over, maybe you and Lex can just talk about it. Which is funny coming from me, because I’m usually the worst when it comes to talking about men and relationships.”

I leaned against my vanity, folded my arms over my chest, and looked at the other woman that was slowly becoming a close friend.

Like I had told her, I had moved here for a reason, but I hadn’t realized another reason had been needing relationships like this.

I was still trying to figure out how to break out of my shell, but the fact that I could just have a moment of getting ready for a dinner while I put on makeup with another woman, felt wonderful.

I was like a sponge soaking up all the interactions I could get.

After spending the past two years trying to heal and yet grieve at the same time, maybe this was me stepping into the light.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, shaking myself out of my thoughts.

“I usually date the worst guys. Not the bad boys, you know the ones with tattoos and motorcycles.”

That made me laugh. “Um, your family is the tattoos and motorcycle crowd.”

“Too true. No, I dated the guys with the polo shirts and the tan slacks and the ones that you could take home to mom and be happy about. Well, maybe not my mom. My mom’s a little more discerning than that.

” Brooklyn shook her head. “But they never stood up for me. They were just easy. You know? You just got along, the sex was fine, you went out to dinner, and no matter what, it just was. Ever since middle school, the guys I would date would be not quite boring, but boring enough. Weak in some aspects.”

“But Duke isn’t like that?”