You, Me, and Forever (Blushing)

“That’s your answer?” she said, and for whatever reason I wasn’t offended by her statement. I could be cold when it came to business. I knew that.

I’d learned from the best.

My father was a heartless bastard.

“How about this. You tell me why it’s emotional for you that I’m tearing the structure down and building something that will be larger, accommodate more people, and function much better. Not to mention it will be modern and up to date.”

“Well, there’s your problem. I hate modern and up to date. I like character.”

“Montana, this is business, not a dating app. Bringing a property up to date and having more space and better function is the key to making this more successful. Tell me why you are so emotionally attached. I want to understand it.” I set my silverware down and folded my hands together.

Why do I fucking care what she thinks?

Seeing her every goddamn day was making me crazy. I’d gone on a business trip today and was supposed to spend the night there, but I wanted to get back.

This woman was so far under my skin, and I couldn’t figure it out.

“I grew up there,” she said, eyes wet with emotion. “My dad has worked there since I was born, and I’ve literally spent my entire life there. I learned to play the piano in that entryway, and mine and Dad’s initials are engraved on the side of that old banister in the place that Howard and Lydia hung our stockings every year over the holidays. I have this here.” She paused and tilted her head down to show me the tiniest scar in her hairline before continuing. “I tripped when I was seven years old and split my head open on the fireplace there. I’ve gone through heartache and happiness inside that inn, and my business boomed, which in turn helped Howard and Lydia’s business boom. And you’re just tearing it down like it means nothing.”

A sharp pain hit my chest.

I shook it off.

I knew better than to think I was in charge of other people’s emotions, but hearing her say this—it made me feel things I wasn’t used to feeling.

Guilt? Fuck no. I didn’t believe in that shit.

Empathy. Maybe a little.

I didn’t want to be my father, but I also avoided vulnerability, and I’d been successful at it most of my life.

“You gave them the opportunity to retire, Montana.” I leaned forward, waiting for her to look at me. “I looked at their books. Those weddings are the bulk of their income, which has more than tripled since you opened your business a few years ago. In turn, that means that I paid them three times what I would have before they started working with you. You gave them a fucking gift, and you’re not seeing it.”

She blinked several times and looked away. “They do seem happy about retiring. I know they’re tired. I just—I love that place, you know?”

“I get that. But that doesn’t mean the new hotel won’t be something you love as well.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask,” I said, my voice laced with humor. “I’ll let you know if I’m going to answer.”

“Why did you want to buy the Seaside Inn?”

“Because I saw potential. I’ve always been drawn to potential.” It was the truth. And for some reason, I saw something in Montana Kingsley that had drawn me to her.

“But you must have been drawn to the charm, so why not keep that and just expand on it?”

“I wasn’t drawn to the charm of the inn.” I shrugged. “I didn’t even fly in to see the property before I purchased it. I didn’t need to. It was the land, the views, the fact that Harry fucking Simon chose to get married here and put this small town on the map. Blushing can’t keep up with the tourists who are flocking to come here now, and they’re staying in Anchorage and taking a boat over to hang out in this cool hot spot that everyone in Hollywood is gushing about. I saw an opportunity.”

“And life is all about opportunities for you?”

“In business, yes.” My gaze found hers, and I couldn’t look away from her plump lips. “But every now and then it happens outside of business, just not very often.”

Her tongue swiped out along her lower lip, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. “Did you just refer to me as an ‘opportunity’?”noveldrama

“I wouldn’t say that. But I would say that you have been . . . unexpected.”

“More like your worst nightmare, huh? You had no idea you’d have to see me again.”

“I’m not the one who snuck out without leaving a phone number.”

“You don’t strike me as a guy who gets phone numbers and does repeat business, so I’m sure you were just fine with it,” she said as she caught her lips between her teeth and looked away.

“You don’t know a whole lot about me, HB. You’ve just decided that you hate me because I’m the one who bought the inn.”

“Fine. I know nothing about you. So let me ask you a few questions.”

“Give it your best shot,” I said.

“Is real estate a family business?”

“Yes. My grandfather taught me everything I know, and I made the decision to take over his company when he passed away. That hadn’t been the plan, but it was something I was passionate about from a very young age, and I had a vision to expand our growth outside of New York.”

“What was the plan before you took over the company?” she asked, her gaze searching mine.

“I was a third-year medical student when my grandfather got sick, and I took a leave of absence to take over for him. The plan was to become a surgeon like my father, but it was never what I wanted to do. This was the right move for me.”

“Was your father okay with your decision? Or did he want you to finish medical school?”

I chuckled. “My father is very single minded, and he has tunnel vision. It’s his way or the highway. Even though this company that he looks down at is what made his wealth initially. His father, my grandfather, started the St. James Corporation from the ground up and built it into the largest commercial real estate company on the East Coast. His investments and business decisions put him on the Forbes 400 list, which has benefited my father and our family greatly. But he’d never acknowledge that.”

“I sense some hostility there?”

“My father is a brain surgeon, and that profession comes with a certain—confidence. So yes, he’s done very well for himself, and he’s been written up in magazines as a world-renowned surgeon in his own right, and he enjoys having his ego stroked. And even after years of having it drilled into my head that being a brain surgeon was the only career choice to consider, I realized that it was not what I wanted to do. Obviously he didn’t approve. But I no longer felt the need to get his approval after my grandfather got sick. It made me look at my life differently, I guess. At the end of the day, I wanted to build things, create things, so that’s what I did.”

“That’s admirable, Myles,” she said, smiling just the slightest bit.

“My father would disagree. But thankfully my brother Samuel followed in his footsteps, so he has that.”

“Myles St. James, are you telling me that you’re sort of the black sheep of the billionaires?” She clapped her hands together.

“Is this funny to you?”

She nodded. “Yes. It’s like one of those Netflix shows about wealthy families. You’ve got the arrogant surgeons, and the noble real estate developers, all making a ridiculous amount of money and fighting this internal turmoil about living up to familial expectations.” She shrugged.

“‘Familial expectations,’ huh?” I laughed.

“You see, when you’re raised in a tiny house with just your dad, and you spend your weekends learning how to change tires on a car and taking the canoe out on the water—life is fairly simple. I’ve never had familial expectations, because Dad and I just support one another’s dreams. Always have. I knew I wanted to be a wedding planner before I went to college. I never wavered. He never tried to change my mind. So, I wake up every day and I do what I love. It’s not a bad way to live. And it sounds like that’s what you finally did.”

Damn. She had a way of making things seem a whole lot less complicated than they actually were.

“It’s not a bad way to live, Honey Badger.” I smirked.

“So are you close with him now? Were you able to move past it?”

“This isn’t a one-sided conversation. How about you answer a few questions first.”

“I’ve got nothing to hide. Ask away,” she said as she forked a carrot and popped it in her mouth.

“You live in Alaska—why is your name Montana?”

“That’s your question?” she laughed.

“Hey, I didn’t judge your questions.”

“Fine. It’s not the happiest story, so prepare yourself.” She sighed, setting her fork down and dabbing her mouth with her napkin. “My parents met in college at the University of Montana. You know the tale. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Girl gets pregnant. Dad drops out of college to raise the baby, while Mom continues to chase her dreams to become an attorney. Dad moves back home with the baby that she insisted on naming Montana, because she clearly has no imagination. He has support from his family there, and he raises her on his own. Obviously, they grow apart over time. And Mom never joins them after she graduates because she falls in love with someone else.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“I shit you not, Moneybags.”

“She never came to Blushing?”

“Nope. Not once. She wrote him a letter letting him know that she had moved on and told my father that keeping me had been a huge mistake. She gave him the choice to keep me and continue raising me on his own, or she suggested he could give me up for adoption. I was a freaking child at the time. The woman is clearly not very maternal.” She shook her head with disgust. “He doesn’t know I know that story, by the way. I found a letter that she wrote him. So anyway, it’s always just been me and Dad. But I get to have a name that was chosen by a woman who wishes I was never born.”

“Fuck her.”

Her lips turn up in the biggest smile she’d ever given me. “Yes. Fuck her, Myles St. James.”

“And for the record, I like your name. It’s unique.”

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me because my mom ditched me. I’ve had a great life. I have a dad who has loved me enough for two parents. I grew up in a small town that I love, and I’ve built a business that’s thriving.”

“I don’t feel sorry for you.” I shrugged as Benji walked up and cleared our plates, and I handed him my credit card.

“So now it’s your turn to answer my question.”

“All right. Remind me what the question is,” I said, knowing perfectly well what it was.

But she’d just been brutally honest with me about her childhood, and I didn’t want to shut down now.

“Were you able to move past things with your dad?”

“It’s complicated. My father has not been very present in my life or my brother’s, because he works a lot. And that’s okay. But he’s neglected my mother in a way that bothers me, he’s pressured my brother into a life I’m not so sure he wants, and he despises me for being the one person who he can’t control—yet he demands that our family be united for social events and holidays, and it all feels a little disingenuous to me. And it’s hard to put a family together that’s been broken for a long time. But, I guess you could say that we’re a work in progress.”

Her eyes told a story. Montana Kingsley was all heart, and she was showing it to me right now.

Empathy and sadness flooded those dark-brown eyes as she sighed. “I’m glad you have your brother beside you. Do you have any other siblings?”

“Well, I’m fairly certain we have at least one other sibling that hasn’t been acknowledged. Like I said, the man is a brilliant doctor, but his moral compass is damaged beyond repair.” I shrugged. “But that’s a story for another day. I think that was enough sharing for one day.”

“Thanks for telling me that. I wouldn’t have guessed you a big sharer.” She chuckled.

“You’d be correct.”

“Why’d you tell me all this?”

“Same reason you shared what you did with me. Sometimes you just trust your gut.”

Her gaze narrowed as she studied me. “Did you bring me here because you want to be friends?”

“Is that what you want? For us to be friends?”

“I guess it’s better than enemies.” She shrugged. “I mean, I hope you weren’t expecting me to go home with you after this dinner and have a repeat of what we both know was a mistake.”

“You sure it was a mistake?” I asked, my tone gruff and flirty. Why was I pushing this?

“Yes. We can barely stand each other most of the time. And you don’t even live here, so it could never be more than a friendship.”

Well, that’s not completely true.

It was possible to be more than friends with someone, without being in a serious relationship. I’d had a few ongoing, no-strings-attached situations over the years with a few different women. They usually ended with me being called an asshole, but it didn’t mean that a casual relationship wasn’t possible.

Benji walked over and handed me my credit card, and I thanked him before signing the receipt and slipping my card in my wallet. He held up a hand in goodbye as he walked away, and I leaned forward, my face close to hers. “You do know that people can have a good time without making it complicated.”

“If you recall, you were the one who stopped things that night, Myles.” She raised a brow.

“Because I could tell that it was a big deal for you. Even if you were begging me for it.”

She laughed. “I never begged. God, I hate you sometimes, St. James.”

“I think you like me sometimes too.”

She sighed. “I’m actually grateful that you stopped things when you did. It would have made things more complicated for me. I’m a relationship girl, you know? I don’t do the casual thing. That was a first for me.”

I could see the struggle there. Her vulnerability and honesty.

I gave her a nod. “I understand. So, we’re friends. I’ve never had a female friend that I didn’t fuck.”

She smiled and shook her head. “You just really say what you think, don’t you?”

“Always.” I pushed to my feet, and she followed.

“Well, I’m glad we’re on the same page. And I have lots of guy friends, so I can take the lead on this. Plus, it behooves us to be friends, since I’ll probably be throwing some weddings at that monstrosity you’re building.”

As I held the door open, I leaned down close to her ear, the smell of strawberries wafting around me. “I’ll follow your lead, but I’m not going to lie. That pussy of yours is impossible to forget.”

She startled and turned to look at me, eyes wide. “You’ve got a filthy mouth, Moneybags.”

“Yeah? I think you like it.”

I placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her to my car, and this time when she slipped inside, she didn’t hesitate when I pulled the seat belt across her body, my knuckles grazing her breasts just before I snapped it in place.

I climbed into the driver’s seat, and we drove in silence for a few blocks.

“Thank you for saying that, even if you’re completely crude in your delivery and it’s clearly outside of the normal friendship boundaries,” she said with a chuckle.

“It’s crude to tell you that you have an unforgettable pussy?” I laughed as she guided me to her house, pointing out where I needed to turn along the way. “I’ll keep that in mind, because I’ve never told a woman that before.”

“You expect me to believe that?” She rolled her eyes before telling me to take the next right.

“I have no reason to lie. You’re an aggravating woman, no doubt about it. But that pussy of yours—it’s spectacular.”

Her mouth hung open. “Myles! If you want to be friends, this ends now. We’ve spent weeks hating one another. Let’s just tone down the sexual innuendos. I’m right up here on the left, the white house on the corner with the red door.”

I pulled into her driveway and turned to look at her.

Cheeks flushed. Eyes heated. Teeth sinking into her juicy bottom lip.

She was definitely struggling, just like I was.

I didn’t know why I couldn’t let it go.

I want her.

When was the last time I’d wanted someone this badly?

I couldn’t remember a time, honestly.

“Fine. Maybe I’m just a flirty friend,” I said as she pushed her door open, and I stepped out and hurried around the car.

I followed her up to the front porch. “Thanks for dinner. I’m glad we made a truce. And thank you for the inappropriate compliment. I would appreciate it if you don’t say it again, but for tonight, it was nice to hear.”

She offered me her hand, and I took it.

She held my gaze for the longest time. I leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“Good night, friend.”

She sighed and then turned to put the key in the door as I walked backward down her steps from the front porch toward my car.

I heard her laughing as she shut the door.

She wanted me to play by her rules.

And that was just fine.

Because I knew what I wanted, and I wasn’t backing down.