“I am May, their nanny. You’re the jokester of the place, right?”
Another man behind Leo cracked up. “Sure. If that’s what he wants to call himself. I’m Tristan. This is Taryn,” Tristan said as he gestured toward a gorgeous woman with bright red hair. “We all work for these head honchos over here.” He pointed toward Nick, Lake, and Leif.
I knew the three of them had come together to purchase the building and start Montgomery Ink Legacy. There was a fourth owner, someone else who had bought in that had a small share. Once he was old enough, he would buy into the business more. He was on the board and part of the ownership and legacy. Or at least he had been. My heart hurt for Sebastian Montgomery and the hardships he was going through. For the unending pain and hope all twisted into one future. I didn’t know Sebastian well, but I hoped he knew he wasn’t alone. If a mere stranger hurt for him and was willing to help him like I was, I really hoped he had someone close to lean on.
“So, you here for a tattoo?” Leif asked.
I shook my head, my lips twitching. “Not now. I just didn’t want to go home alone and have a chocolate drumstick.”
“Don’t knock chocolate drumsticks. They’re amazing.” Leo returned to his seat and gestured to the notepad in front of him. His client bent over it, and the two went back to work.
“True, but it was a crappy night.”
“Are you okay?” Leif asked, his gaze narrowing.
Leo looked at me again, his expression fierce. The rest of the men in the group followed suit. Lake was the only one who appeared worried instead of angry, and I hated that because it had nothing to do with me. Nick noticed and rubbed the back of her neck, and Lake softened into him, practically melting.
Those two were so good for each other, and I was happy they’d finally seen each other rather than continually running.
“I’m fine. It just wasn’t a great night. One day, I will have a date that doesn’t end up boring, rude, or with someone telling me I shouldn’t have dessert.”
Every single person stared at me, their eyes wide.
“Where is he, and what does he look like?” Leo asked. I shook my head, though I was grateful it seemed he cared.
“I took care of it. Well, I didn’t dump my glass on him but only because I was out of water.”
“And throwing the glass itself probably wouldn’t have been a great idea,” Leif murmured.
I shrugged. “Probably.”
Leif looked around and narrowed his gaze once more. “Just so you know, they’re not allowed to date you.” When he turned and stared at me, I realized he’d been speaking to me.
“Excuse me?” I squeaked.
“No one in the tattoo shop will hit on you. Because when they screw it up, I’d have to get Brooke involved, and it would be a thing. Taryn is great, but she’s dating someone, I think. I don’t really know, though, because she keeps it secret. Tristan can’t figure out what he wants. And Leo is a player.”
Taryn, Tristan, and Leo all spluttered, talking at once, but he held up his hand. “No dating my friends. That’s the rule.”
I blinked, wondering why the others were okay with him talking like this. Still, they were laughing, so maybe it was just a thing. He wasn’t really warning me off, right?
Why was I a little disappointed if he was?
“Leif, I went on a date with you,” I said, laughing after a moment.
Nick and Lake both shook their heads, keeping quiet as the other three stared at me, wide-eyed.
“Once,” Leif said with a roll of his eyes. “And it wasn’t great. Your words, not mine.”
I winced. “That’s true. No sparks. But you had sparks with Brooke, and that’s all that matters.”
Leif Montgomery, all six feet and four inches of him, practically melted right there.
That’s what I wanted. That love. The hope and happiness that came at just the sound of a person’s name.
I’d never had that, but I would. I had to hope.
If I didn’t have hope, at least I had a promise I’d made out of desperation.
I pushed that sad thought from my mind, spoke to my friends for a little bit longer, then headed home. Alone. Something I was good at.
I toed off my shoes as soon as I walked in, set my house to rights for the evening, lit a candle for my father, bowed my head, wished for peace, and then settled in to read in bed. Alone.
My phone rang, and I answered without looking, knowing who it would be.
“How did it go?” my mother asked. I knew she was on speakerphone and had my aunt and grandmother next to her.
This was what we were good at. What felt like experience and tradition at this point. I would go on a bad date, head home alone, and my family would somehow know exactly when to call. I knew they didn’t have cameras on me, so it wasn’t like they were spying, but they still always knew.
“I’m home alone, about to read a book in bed. How do you think it went?”
“I think you don’t put out on the first date, so that doesn’t mean anything,” Grandmother added, and I burst out laughing.
“Grandma!”
“Mom!” Both my mother and aunt shouted at once.
“What? May doesn’t put out on the first date. We know this. The second date would be fine, but it’s not like she does those. Mainly because you are pickier than I am. And let me tell you, girly. I was picky.”
Grandma went into the lovely story of how she had met Grandpa, and I sighed and listened. Even though I had heard the tale a thousand times, I still loved it. Because it ended in a happily ever after. Something I was afraid I would never get.
My aunt grumbled after I finished telling them the details of the date. “I am going to hurt that man. Or tell my accountant. Because…screw him. And not in the fun ways.”
“You shouldn’t tell your accountant that. I don’t want this to be a thing,” I warned her.
“No, no. We’ll figure this out. Now, you know the rules. You arrange your own date next, and we will set up the one after that. Hopefully, we won’t get to use him, though. Maybe this next one will be forever.”
I sighed, knowing they were doing this because they loved me. But I was just tired. Tired of dating and trying to find love when sometimes I was afraid it wasn’t for me. I had promised my father I would find a husband and try to look into the future, not letting my heart close off because I was afraid of pain and loss. So, I’d assured him I would date until I found that happily ever after. And while I’d agreed to the plan because I wanted my father to smile when there hadn’t been many smiles left, I’d also done it because I wanted to find happiness.
Thus, this had been a promise made in desperation: that my family would arrange every other date until I found the one.
All I wanted was love.
Every time my mother tried, I knew she was doing it because she loved my father with such unending grace it burned, and she wanted that for me.
My father wanted me to be happy, so I said I would try.
That meant, eventually, one day, I would find my happiness. I would find the person who gave me that spark. Who wouldn’t make me feel bad about myself. Who would make me smile. I would find the person that was my everything.
Or at least I would try.