Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Montgomery

You're being ridiculous.

I pace back and forth in front of the fireplace, playing this morning's events through my head over and over again.

No matter how often I tell myself that same sentence, I can't quiet the voice in my head. I shouldn't be jealous of my own fucking husband for kissing the girl we've both been lusting after.

She's barely legal, completely lost, not to mention our daughter's best friend, dammit.

Yet here I am, jealous that he got to kiss her first. Envious that he's the one who tasted those luscious, plump lips. I'm dying to know what those curves would feel like under my hands, and he's already had the privilege.

A big huff of air escapes as I sigh. I stalk over to the mantle and pour myself a healthy dose of the expensive scotch Lorcan gifted me for our last anniversary. We're not big drinkers, but we enjoy the finer things and indulge when we can. Flashes of his arms wrapped around Annie come to mind at the thought of indulging myself in something fine. With an angry growl, I shoot back the scotch, relishing the burn as it makes its way down my throat.

Neither of us planned for things to go this way. Suzie had phoned us two months ago, out of the blue. That on its own wasn't odd, as she would contact us from time to time, just because she felt like it. But her normally sunny face was pulled tight in anger and her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Rage instantly filled me, pushing me to action, and the only thing that was stopping me was that our adopted daughter was halfway around the world.

It turned out though, her anger wasn't for herself. The pent-up emotion filling her face wasn't because someone had wronged our baby girl. Not directly, anyway.

She shared about Annie's relationship with their mentor and how it had blown up in her face. Lorcan wanted Suzie to come home immediately, not at all happy about the fact that our daughter was doing her internship with a predator. Once she'd talked him down, she shared even more .

Annie's relationship had blown up in her face, and when it had gotten to her parents because some jealous socialite couldn't wait to run and tell them about it, they'd been aghast. But not in defense of their daughter. No, their anger was directed at Annie for shaming their name.

With the reminder of Annie's parents and their thoughtlessness, I pour another four fingers and take it with me to my favorite reading chair.

I can't understand that kind of mentality. Lorcan and I are so thankful to have Suzie and Ethan in our lives. Being allowed to adopt as a gay couple isn't the easiest thing to do, and it was even harder to do fifteen years ago. But the two brats were worth the fight. They still are worth every single fight in the world, and disowning them because they made a youthful mistake isn't something I can ever see happening.

By the end of the call, we'd gotten to the real reason she was reaching out. Annie didn't have a backup plan. She had a few offers from some studios, but most of them weren't paying ones, and the ones that offered payment were not in the field she was interested in pursuing.

It was easy to agree to let Annie come stay with us for a few months. For however long it was needed, really. As Lorcan had mentioned after Suzie eventually hung up to go check on her friend again, the longer Annie stayed, the longer Suzie was likely to remain under our roof too. And after not having her there for nearly two years, we weren't interested in seeing her leave any time soon.

Empty nest syndrome was a real damn thing and it fucking sucked.

The second glass of liquor burns less as I down it, but it hits harder this time, about as hard as it hit when Suzie first told us she was going to leave the country for two years. Her declaration brought home the fact that we were going to be alone. For the first time since Suzie and Ethan had come home to us.

When the kids were growing up, we'd always talked about finding a third to complete us after they left the house, but even after Suzie went to London, we never really felt an urgency to go out there to look. Looking for a partner, a woman with the right needs, desires, and preferences, that still complemented us, was hard work, and we were comfortable.

Then Annie walked in .

She is everything we don't want in a partner. Neither of us has any interest in starting over with someone so young. Someone who still needs to find herself and grow up. Our business is successful, self-sufficient, and so well set up that we are pretty damn close to just handing over the day-to-day running to a capable staff roster.

Having a young woman, a girl in so many aspects of her life is not right for us.

But I can't stop thinking about her. When she ran away from Ethan and Cole last night, I wanted to burn down the entire city to find her. Within one week and despite having had very few interactions with her, she's awakened a protective instinct in me that rivals anything I've ever felt.

I watch as my foot bounces up and down, with the movement of my jiggling leg. My empty scotch glass taunts me, the feeling of the hardy liquor burning in my gut. Serves me right for shooting it all back instead of savoring it like it's meant to be.

"From the way you're staring at that glass, I would say it has mortally wounded a loved one." Lorcan's words draw my attention to him. He's leaning against the doorjamb, his shoulders relaxed and he has that damn confident smile splayed over his face. I'm almost tempted to throw the glass at his handsome face, but know it will only excite him even more.

He's enjoying this way too much. Between the two of us, he's the one that lives for a challenge. It's served us well in our lives. We wouldn't have our business, our kids, or our home if it wasn't for him fighting the good fight the whole way.

That doesn't mean I don't bring something to the relationship too. I'm the balance to his energy. The reminder to be careful, cautious, and look before we leap.

"It's your fault I'm planning its demise," I respond, keeping my tone as calm as I can. "Right this minute, I can just imagine how far it will bounce when I throw it against your face, and if it will break when it ultimately hits the carpet."

Lorcan's eyebrow shifts up, but his expression doesn't change other than that. "Oh, is that so? Hmmm. I wonder what I would need to do, to get you to put the glass down, join me in bed, and let you taste her on my lips instead."

"Dammit, Lo!" I exclaim, pushing myself up from my chair and slamming the glass down on the side table. "We don't need to be tasting the damn child living under our roof!"

Lorcan shrugs before stepping deeper into the room and pushing the door shut behind him. "You didn't seem to mind watching me kiss her this morning? Is it because we didn't discuss it first?"

"You know that's not it! She's a child. One that we've agreed to look after and protect while she's staying with us. It's like kissing Suzie!"

The words leave my mouth before I can stop them, but I instantly regret them. I don't even need to look at Lorcan to know his face has turned thunderous.

"I can take you talking things to death before we decide. I can even stomach you going backward and forward on this thing that's obviously between us and Annie," he says to me, his words dangerously low, as he stalks over to me. "What I will not tolerate is you demeaning it, us or the things we've accomplished in our life. Suzie is our daughter. She might not be our blood, but she's as damn close as it can be. Comparing our relationship with our daughter to our attraction to the girl living under our roof is a slap in both our faces. And, though young, Annie is an adult. Please stop referring to her as a child. It makes me feel dirty."

We are dirty, I think. But I don't say it out loud.

I open my mouth to apologize, to take back the disgusting words, but he holds up his hand at me before shaking his head. "Just don't. I'm going to go pack. We'll take two cars to the resort so the girls can have a car to use if they need it. It's probably best if I drive with Suzie. You can take the time to get to know the girl you have such an issue with. Maybe figure out if she's the problem, or if it's just your own hang-ups messing with something that could be good."

On those parting words, he turns on his heels and storms out of the study. I suppose I should count myself lucky he doesn't slam the door on his way out.