Off the Record (Off #3)(57)

Emily can’t help but tease me. “Wow! That’s a big change from just a few weeks ago when he was the biggest man-whore east of the Mississippi.”

I give her an exasperated look. “Stop joking around with me. That’s not helping me out of this mess.”

“You’re the only one that can get yourself out of this mess, Ever. I’ll help you brainstorm, but sitting here in your apartment isn’t getting it done. If you want Linc, you better be prepared for some serious groveling.”

I’ll do anything that it takes. I’ll crawl on my hands and knees all the way to Phoenix if it takes that. But deep down in my heart, I’m not sure that would be enough. I hurt Linc terribly and for someone who knows all about holding grudges, I’m not sure he’ll be able to forgive me. I couldn’t forgive my father, so why should Linc give me a second chance? I’ve shown him no reason to be open hearted about these things.

I look at Emily with despair in my eyes. “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove how much I love him.”

She looks at me in surprise. “You love him? Really?”

“More than anything. If I was dying and only had a few days to live, my bucket list would consist of nothing but having Linc hold me in his arms.”

Emily stares at me for a long moment. I can’t read her emotions but then her eyes mist up just a bit. “That’s f*cking poetic, Ever.”

“I know, right? Who would have thought jaded, unrealistic, screwed-over-twice-by-men, Ever Montgomery would wax poetic about love?”

“How did you know? I mean, what brought about this realization?” Emily is curious, in a nice sort of way. It’s not that she’s doubting me, I can tell.

I’m solemn. I glance over at my computer and remember the horrible things I wrote about Linc, not a one of them having merit. And I think about the emotional breakdown I had. I look back at Emily. “Because...he had the power to make me cry. Nothing...no one...makes me cry. Except for Linc Caldwell. That means he’s reached something deeper than anyone else has ever touched before. That’s how I know.”





Emily is gone. We never did any brainstorming on how I could win back Linc’s love and trust. And she never had any news to share with me about Linc. That was a lie to get her foot in the door to see me.

We more or less chatted about love and sex. It was awesome, sharing girlie secrets with someone. I’m sure she learned a few things from me and Linc that she was going to take home to Nix.

But as soon as Emily left and I closed my apartment door, it struck me what I needed to do.

Two very important things, before I could move forward in my quest to get Linc back.

First, I still had an article to write. In fact, my deadline was this weekend, and Mr. Selly was anxiously awaiting the draft. He warned me politely that it had better be good, although he didn’t seem to care if Linc was cast in a negative light...now that he’d been traded to Phoenix.

Linc still had his die-hard supporters here in New York, but the paper didn’t owe any sporting allegiance to him now.

It didn’t matter what Mr. Selly wanted me to write though. I was going to write the truth. I was going to let all of New York know exactly what the last six weeks have been like between me and Linc.

Second...I had a trip to make. A trip down south to see my father.

After those two things were accomplished, I was going to hope that Linc would forgive me when he saw how I really felt.





“You’re father says you can go right in, Miss Mongtomery.”

The receptionist at my father’s accounting firm points me down the hall to my dad’s office. I haven’t been here since...well, since I was sixteen. The receptionist is new but the office still looks the same.

My dad is the senior partner at Montgomery, Winslow and Curry, one of the largest accounting firms in North Carolina. I used to love coming here with him, and although I never had my dad’s aptitude for numbers, his work was still fascinating to me.

Not so much anymore, but here I am.

When I had approached the reception desk and told the woman I was Ever Montgomery, and that I would like to speak to my dad, she looked at me as if I was the Second Coming of Christ. Clearly, my father must talk about me and I’m assuming she thought I was a figment of his imagination by the look on her face.

It only took a few seconds for her to buzz his office, and he had apparently told her to send me right back.

Walking to his office, it’s hard to describe how I feel. I’m nervous as all get out. For having been the one to shun all contact with my dad the last five years, it just feels extremely odd for me to be the one to initiate conversation. I never once thought he would turn me away, and that part of me makes me feel...guilty. I suppose after the frozen shoulder I’ve given him, there must have been a part of me that felt I didn’t deserve his attention right now.

When I get to his office, he is standing in the doorway, waiting for me. His eyes rake over me, drinking in my presence. The look in his eyes is one of unfettered love and hope. It makes me uneasy, because I have no clue how to deal with love from this man.

But make no mistake, I somehow know that whatever happens here today, it will have a direct bearing on my ability to move forward with Linc.

“Ever.” He only says my name but it is filled with such longing.