Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)(26)

And when he got back to the house?

Well, he’d figure out the next step then. Because there was no way things would go back to normal now. They couldn’t.

And Border couldn’t help but feel the first sprigs of hope deep inside, even as they wound themselves around the dread and worry that plagued him. Things were changing, and he would have to latch on and ride it out.

Again.





Chapter Seven


Jake was going to lose his damn mind. That is, if he hadn’t already lost it. He had no idea what had just gone on in the kitchen with Border, and even less of a clue what had happened in the living room. But either way, he now stood next to Maya with his hands awkwardly in his pockets as he tried to think of what to say.

Apparently, he wasn’t as witty as he thought he was because he couldn’t come up with a damn thing to break the tension.

Maya stared at him, confusion in her gaze, before leaving him standing alone. She went into the kitchen and flipped off the chili on the stove.

“I’m going to guess this is Border’s since you don’t know how to make chili.”

Jake let out a relieved breath. He could talk about chili. That was a good place to start. “I can cook.”

Maya raised a brow at him, that damn sexy piercing glinting in the light. “I didn’t say you couldn’t. I’m saying you don’t know how to make chili.” She leaned over the stove and inhaled. “Smells good.”

She covered the pot and set it off the burner before leaning back against the counter and folding her arms over her chest.

“So, you going to tell me what just happened? Because I’m confused as hell.”

Jake leaned against the breakfast counter so he was directly across from her but not exactly touching.

“I have no idea what just happened.”

“You’re lying,” Maya said smoothly. “And you know I don’t like liars. So why don’t you tell me what was going on in the kitchen before I showed up. Tell me why your hand is red and Border’s jaw looked like someone had recently hit it. Tell me why you hugged me like you did when I showed up. Why Border kissed each of us. And what you both meant about having us both, or whatever you said when I walked in. How does that sound to you?”

She tilted her head at him, looking sexy as hell. He’d done his best for far too long to forget how sexy she was in general. Every once in a while, he’d remember the way she’d danced that night, the way she’d looked on her knees in front of him. He’d even remember laughing because of her love of good oral and how serious she had been when she’d said it. He remembered all of it, though he’d done all he could to forget.

They were friends, the best of friends, and that worked because they didn’t cross those boundaries. But now, now he couldn’t see where one line crossed another, he could only see her.

And Border.

And that confused him all to hell.

“Border is back in town,” Jake began.

Maya blinked at him slowly. “I got that part.”

“He’s back because he wants this to be his home.”

Her eyes widened then. “You mean he wants to move in here permanently?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so anyway. I mean he wants to make Denver home. He’s staying here because I told him to while he figures out the next step. Only I think the next step is more than just what house he’s going to choose.”

Maya reached out for him then pulled away. He didn’t like seeing her so uncertain, so unlike the Maya he knew. It was his fault, of course. He was slowly changing the game, and yet not letting her in on the change itself.

“He told me why he left, the whole of it. How he was afraid his dad was going to kill me because of what we were to each other.” He paused. “Though I don’t think even we knew at the time what we were to each other.”

Maya let out a breath and moved forward then. She put her hands on his arms and looked into his eyes. “And what were you to each other?”

“I loved him, Maya,” he said softly. He’d always been honest with her about everything but what he’d truly felt for her when he’d seen her at Montgomery Ink for the first time. He wouldn’t lie about this, not when it seemed so important. This was one of those moments where it could, and would, change everything. It couldn’t be based on lies. Jake knew that much.

Maya pressed her lips together.

“And he loved me,” he added softly. “And we threw it all away because we were young and afraid to admit what we felt.” And here he was, years older, and still so freaking afraid.

Maya didn’t say anything, but her mere presence helped him continue. She always did that for him. No matter what he felt, he was always safe with her. He couldn’t push that away, couldn’t lose that. And if he held on tight enough, he wouldn’t lose it, no matter what happened next.

He let out a breath. “So, we talked about that, and then we blamed each other for it like idiots, and I hit him.”

“Sounds about right,” Maya said wryly. “And did he hit you back?”

Jake shook his head. “No, though he should have. I sort of sucker punched him. But he just took it like he deserved it or something. He might have once, but I don’t think he did now. I hit him not because he’d left, but because he came back and said things I didn’t want to deal with.”