Page 17 of Last Chance Seduction
I was going to put that on a business card.
Want to meet the love of your life?Date me, and you’ll find him.Then you can dump me along the way, leaving me all alone, and move on.
It was hard not to feel bitter at that, considering both women that I thought I had loved had not only cheated on me, but had immediately found themselves engaged to the person that they thought they could be with forever.
No, no, I wasn’t ready to date.Wasn’t ready to be set up.
Because once I did, Mercy would just find the love of her life.And she had already thought she found that once with my former friend.It was way too complicated.
“I will see you in a couple of hours then, and you do not have to bring anything.Seriously, you don’t need to bring wine or cheese or anything else.The rest of the Montgomerys have brought so much food, we will have too much for even us.”
“How many people are you expecting?”I asked, a little worried.My parents had a big house, especially since it had only been the four of us growing up.But my family was in construction, and liked building homes, it caused a vast quantity of Montgomerys in our lives.And they had gotten lucky with the land that they had been able to purchase, because they could just add on buildings over time.You couldn’t find that type of land these days for any reasonable cost.
“I think about a hundred.Fewer than last year.”
I shuddered at the sheer number.“You know, we have a problem.”
“Yes, we do, but it’s not like I invited all of your cousins from Texas.Just imagine if the Wilders and the Montgomerys showed.”
“Don’t put that out in the air, we’d start a war or something.They’d see so many people congregating in one area, they’d be afraid.”
“As they should,” Silas put in, and then my brother let out a grunt, and I knew he and my father were most likely wrestling.
I rolled my eyes, even though I heard the humor in my mom’s voice as she said goodbye, and I went to get ready.I had already packed the wine and cupcakes that I had purchased from a local bakery earlier.
It wasn’t from Latte on the Rocks, but I knew that my family who owned that cafe would be there as well.This was from another local bakery, a small mom-and-pop shop that was just starting.And me buying fifty cupcakes had really made their day.
So of course I was bringing desserts, and wine because I liked wine.It wasn’t Wilder wine like my mother’s family made, but it was decent enough.Colorado people knew what they were doing.
At least I thought so.
So I’d be going against my mother in one aspect, meaning I couldn’t when it came to bringing Mercy.
I rubbed my temple and pulled out my phone again.
Me:
What time should I be over to pick you up?
Mercy:
I can just walk to your car next door.And I can be ready in twenty minutes.Did you want to get there early?
Me:
No, that’s perfect.And I’m sorry my mom most likely cornered you into this.
Mercy:
I like your mom.And I like Montgomery parties.And I guess she’s right, I do need to get out of the house.
I frowned at that, wondering exactly who she had to speak to these days.Who she hung out with now that she was back in town.Most of her friends had been Justin’s friends, and the Montgomerys.And when she had moved away, she had cut all ties from us.I had tried not to take that personally, because I had understood it.Between needing to get away from everything that Justin had done, and taking care of her sister, reaching out to us after ignoring us for so long probably wasn’t high on her list.
I did not blame her for it, but now that she was back, I was going to show her that she didn’t need to be alone.
But not in an awkward way.
Because that made so much sense.
