“You both are hulking big men. I get it. You’re all growling and all filled with testosterone. Stop taking over my space. This is mine. I’ve made a little rectangle around my part of the table with my fingertips. All mine, mine, mine, mine.”

  “So, tell us about how you feel about sharing,” Clay joked as he looked pointedly over at the three kids staring at me.

  “I share quite nicely,” I replied, raising my chin to Mariah. “However, as a young girl, you should realize that when boys are so big, they don’t realize how much space they take. You need to define your boundaries. Be careful about what is yours.”

  “Damn straight,” Annabelle said, before she put her hand over her mouth. “I mean darn straight. Oh my God, I’m going to have to stop cursing when the baby comes.”

  Jacob chuckled into his beer.

  “Maybe one step at a time. The baby’s going to be a Montgomery. It’s already going to be cursing out of the womb and pretty much covered in tattoos and piercings.” Archer grinned as he looked over his shoulder, waiting for Marc to come back to the table.

  “The baby will be a Queen,” Jacob said quietly, and everyone else let out an ooh at the same time.

  I laughed and took a sip of my water. “It seems the gauntlet has been thrown.”

  “No gauntlet, but the baby’s a Queen. Sorry.”

  Annabelle smiled. “Aw, Jacob, don’t worry. The Montgomerys breed true. We’re still going to be there. Watching. Waiting. Montgomerys forever,” she whispered, while the rest of the Montgomerys repeated it back.

  I looked at Lee, who winked at me, while Colton just shook his head, looking as bewildered as usual.

  “Sorry, I need to head out,” Marc said as he leaned down and kissed Archer softly. “I know you just sat down for dinner, but do you want to come with me?”

  There was a pleading look in his gaze, but Archer just shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ll get a ride home.”

  “I’ve got you,” Lee said. Lee looked up at Marc, who nodded. “Seriously, Marc, he’s safe with me.”

  There was a tiny tick in Marc’s jaw, but he shrugged, kissed Archer again, said he was sorry for leaving, and left. I figured that Marc was just awkward, but maybe it was because I was usually the awkward one. Everybody dug into their food, and I looked around, wondering again how I’d become a Montgomery.

  I wasn’t sure why I was here anymore. Things had changed between Beckett and me, but not because he had fallen in love with Eliza. But because I had something to tell him that I had never been able to. I had tried, and he’d pushed me away because he was hiding his own secrets.

  I wasn’t sure how to come back from that. Things were awkward, and I hated that.

  It didn’t help that I would be leaving soon, just for a little bit, but my family needed me. Or at least that’s what they told me.

  “So, when do you head out?” Beckett asked from the other end of the table, and I looked up at him. It was odd, as I used to sit next to him, but Mrs. Montgomery had sat me over here. Was it because she thought I felt like I had lost my best friend? Because that wasn’t the case. Everybody kept putting this label on me, the unrequited, sad virgin, even though I was none of those things. Nobody listened.

  “I leave in two days,” I answered.

  “And you’re driving?” Beckett said. “I still can’t believe you don’t like planes.”

  “I don’t mind planes, but I want to make it a road trip. Lots of space to think.”

  Everybody met each other’s gazes, and I knew I’d said the wrong thing.

  Benjamin nudged me, cutting into the awkward silence. “Sounds like fun. I haven’t done a road trip in forever.”

  “They are fun. Plus, you’re in control of your car. You can’t just get out and stop and take in the scenery while you were in an airplane.”

  “No, I think if you have to pull over on the side of the air road, it might be a little dangerous,” Benjamin said, and Lee groaned from the other side of me.

  “Air road?”

  “Hey, like I said, not good with the words,” Benjamin said.

  “No, I’m the one who said I’m not good with the words,” I said with a laugh. “Reunion’s going to be fun.” I looked up at Mrs. Montgomery again. “It’ll be good to see everybody again.”

  “And all of your sisters and brothers will be there?” she asked, and I nodded again, taking a bite of my chicken. “Yes, all of them will be there, with their spouses and the babies. And four of the women are pregnant.”

  Mrs. Montgomery’s eyes widened. “Oh wow.”

  “Yes, it’s going to rival a Montgomery barbecue, and that’s just our side of the family.”

  “I always forget you have such a huge family,” Annabelle put in with a smile on her face.

  “Very, very much so. I think that’s why I fit in here so well, right?” I asked with a wink, and everyone smiled at me, but it felt forced.

  Or maybe I just saw things.

  Thankfully, the conversation shifted to something else, and we finished our meals before I decided I needed to head out. After all, I had packing to do, and I just needed to get home.

  Everybody was kind as I walked to my car, Benjamin walking with me.

  “You doing okay?” he asked.

  I sighed. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “I’ll help you stem the tide of the whole awkwardness thing if you want.”

  I looked up at him then and frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I can see it now. The way that people are acting around you. I don’t like it. So I’ll help you.”

  “I don’t need your help, Benjamin.” I wondered why it irked me that he wanted to.

  “I want to help you because I like you, Brenna. We’re friends. Right?”

  “We are.”

  “Then I’m going to make sure that the family stops acting so weird. I mean, we’re weird daily, but I don’t like the way it was just now.”

  Neither had I, and the fact that he’d seen it too meant it wasn’t only in my head. “Thanks, but I can figure it out on my own.”

  “You can, you will, but you don’t have to.” He kissed the top of my head, headed to his car, and I got into mine. My phone buzzed at that moment, and I looked at the readout, my heart clenching.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Brenna. I just wanted to let you know that the tests are ready, and the next set of treatments will be when you get back.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Dr. Geller, does this mean I’m going to have to pick a donor now?” I asked with a cringe.

  “Yes, a donor will be good. The fertility treatments are going well. You’re doing what you should. You’re taking care of yourself. Soon we’ll be at the stage for implantation.”

  I swallowed hard. “And then a baby. I’ll be able to have a baby.”

  I smiled as I said it, and I listened to her speak again before I hung up the phone and let out a breath.

  I was going to have a baby. Maybe not in the most conventional sense, but I was ready. I was ready for my future. I did not need a relationship to make that happen. So yes, I was a Garrett. A Montgomery.

  And soon, I’d make my own family.

  Even if I was the only person that knew.

  Chapter 2

  Benjamin

  * * *

  I dug my hands into the soil and let out a relieved breath. It had been a long morning, full of dealing with clients, paperwork, and the bank. Nothing like my typical day, and I just wanted to get my hands dirty. Yes, I had lunch later, for which I had to be clean, but my ex knew who I was and how dirty I got. The fact that I usually had dirt somewhere on my body wasn’t why we were exes per se, but she knew my faults. So that meant, for now, I would stay covered in dirt and just dig.

  “Hole looks about right.” I leaned back, studied the bed in front of me. “Let’s set her in.”

  We had used a shovel for the first part, but I always liked to get down and dirty and make sure that the sides of the hole for the trees we planted were set. I did that with every tree that I helped plant, every bush, every flower. I needed to feel the earth.

  I may be a weird landscape architect, but it was my niche. It’s what I did. The rest of my team did the same thing. I didn’t know if they had just learned it from me or it was something we all did. It didn’t matter. In the end, we were fucking good at our jobs.

  “I’m glad that you talked her out of the Pyrus calleryana.”

  I snorted at Timothy and helped him place the tree. The Pyrus calleryana was famous for its unique…smell.

  “Of course. It wasn’t going to fit the design anyway, and considering this is right by their bedroom window? No, they don’t need that smell in the mornings. Though it’s still a pretty tree.”

  “They’re gorgeous, and they smell like ass and other, um, things, when they’re blooming.”

  I looked around the area and made sure that nobody else was around but my team.

  Timothy blushed. “Sorry.”

  “Oh no, it’s technically a construction site, you can expect the cursing, and I curse more than you,” I said with a laugh. “However, I know our client is heading around to visit us today, and so the last thing that we need is to get yelled at.”

  This client was a bit demanding, but I didn’t mind. Their lawn and garden would look fantastic when we were done with it, but they’d had particular views on what they wanted, and while I had liked most of it and hadn’t minded working with their initial plans, some of it just wasn’t good for a Colorado climate, nor for the size of their lawn.

  Not to mention the whole smell thing of those specific blooms.

  I was excited to see how everything would look by the end of the project, and how closely it would match what was in my head. Most of the time, it matched near perfect, but sometimes things surprised me. Usually, I liked those surprises, other times not so much. However, I had to hope for good things with this one because while we were a bit closed-off in terms of what we were allowed to do because of the client’s wishes, the client had great ideas and I didn’t mind working with them. As long as we didn’t have to deal with smelly trees.

  “Didn’t you say you have some big lunch or something?” Timothy asked as he frowned down at his phone.

  I pulled mine out of my pocket and shrugged. “I’ve got an hour.”

  Kennedy came up to his side and raised a brow. They shook their head. “Yet look at the dirt on your knees and your hands. You’re going to have to clean up before you meet with Laura.” They wiggled their brows, and I sighed.

  “I’m having lunch with Laura and her wife. This isn’t a get-back-together thing. It’s just having lunch with my ex because she said she wanted to meet me.”

  “I see,” Kennedy said as they looked over at Timothy. Timothy just rolled his eyes.

  “I don’t see,” Timothy added. “Then again, while I end up as friends with my exes, I don’t usually go out to lunch with them and their new significant others.”

  “Yes, you do. You make sure you bring whoever you’re currently dating at the time,” Kennedy added.

  “As is only just. Because while I appreciate the fact that my exes are moving on and having wonderful lives, I have to show that I too am having a wonderful life.”

  “If I show up to lunch without a date, it’s saying I don’t have a wonderful life?” I asked, deadpan.

  “That’s not what we’re saying,” Kennedy said, their hands outstretched. “I mean, you’re doing wonderful. You have us.”

  I looked between Kennedy and Timothy and shook my head. “That makes me feel so good about myself,” I said with a laugh.

  “Ouch,” Timothy added.

  “Well, you deserve it. Maybe. Okay, I guess I will go at least head home and change my pants.” I looked down at my knees and winced. “Yeah, I should probably change.”

  “Don’t you have a pair of pants in your truck?” Kennedy asked, frowning.

  “I always have a change of clothes in my truck, but since my place is in between here and the restaurant, I’ll just head over there. This is nothing,” I said. “Whenever Laura and Michelle are in town, I meet with them. They’re good people.”

  “And you’re good people.” Timothy wrapped his arm around Kennedy, and Kennedy just rolled their eyes. “We just love you, and we want you to be happy.”

  “You’re starting to sound like my mother and the matchmaking schemes. My siblings are all the ones in loving and serious relationships. I’m doing just fine on my own.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s what they embroider on the singles’ napkins.”

  “So what if it is? I’m allowed to be on my own. Neither of you are dating anyone.”

  The two gave each other looks, and I held back a chuckle. I knew that they were dating, and had been for a while, but because they worked together, they were doing their best to pretend that they weren’t. I didn’t mind, they did their work well, and it had been six months after all. If things got sketchy, I’d have to deal with the fallout, but I also knew that both of them treated their exes well. The two worked together, and not just at work. They fit.

  I was the single one out again, but I didn’t mind.

  “Let’s finish this up, and then I’ll head home and get ready,” I said, pushing thoughts of relationships out of my mind. Laura had asked to meet, and I was going to go. I didn’t have a date, or even a fake date to bring, and it didn’t matter. I had eaten with the two of them before, and it hadn’t been a big deal. I had introduced Michelle to Laura about a year after Laura and I had broken up, and I had figured the two would hit it off. I had been in their wedding, for damn’s sake. I was their friend. And even though they didn’t live here anymore, I saw them any chance I could.

  That didn’t mean I was lonely. I was just going to be the only true single uncle in the Montgomerys, which was just fine with me.

  Why was I talking to myself as if I was trying to reassure myself that I was happy being alone? I had been alone for a while, as Laura had been my last serious relationship. I didn’t need anybody else. I was used to this. I was good at it. Even though I knew that my mother and probably my sisters kept looking at me, wondering when I was going to settle down. I didn’t see that happening any time soon.

  We finished up the job for the day, and I left Timothy and Kennedy working on the final setups that we would complete tomorrow. We had other projects scheduled for the afternoon, so I felt comfortable giving them the responsibility.

  After lunch, I had a break in my schedule, which meant I had planning and meetings if I wanted, or I could take a break if I wanted. Sometimes I scheduled that for myself, and usually, I filled it with more work. I couldn’t help it, I was good at what I did, and I liked it.

  I headed home, took a quick shower, pulled on a new pair of jeans and a T-shirt. We weren’t going to somewhere fancy, and I wanted to be comfortable. I put different boots on this time, not my stained work boots, and called that dressing up.

  The café we were meeting at was only down the block from my house, so I walked, enjoying the fresh air. I worked outdoors every day, my skin a little tanner than my twin’s these days since Beckett tended to work more inside buildings, since he had Clay working for him on the outside.

  I turned the corner and crossed the street to where the café stood.

  Laura and Michelle were already there, their heads bent low as they spoke to one another, their hands clasped together. They were on the other corner of the outside patio, one of the more private areas, where we wouldn’t be overheard by people passing or even other restaurant-goers. I frowned, since that wasn’t our usual table, and since there didn’t seem to be a lot of people around, they must have asked for it on purpose.

  From the look on Laura’s face, something was wrong.

  Dread coiled in my belly, and I nodded at the hostess before I pointed towards the corner. The hostess gave me a small smile, and I made my way back to the corner where Laura and Michelle were.

  “Hey there,” I said, my voice soft.

  Laura looked up at me and smiled so brightly I knew it was fake. She stood up quickly and held out her arms. “Benjamin,” she whispered, and wrapped her arms around my waist. I hugged her close and took a deep breath.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She looked up at me then and gave out a small laugh, and Michelle shook her head. Laura pulled back and gave Michelle a look, and Michelle just sighed. “I told you he’d figure it out.”

  “No, you told me he’d get all stressed because we looked stressed.”

  “What the hell’s going on, girls?” I asked, looking between them.

  “Nothing’s wrong. We’re just nervous. We’re fine. We’re healthy.” Laura gave Michelle a small secret smile that confused me. “We’re really healthy.”

  “Talk to me,” I said, looking between them. “Seriously.”

  “Take a seat. We already ordered you a Reuben.”

  “It scares me how much you guys know me sometimes,” I said as I took a seat across from Michelle and next to Laura. The two of them held hands, and I took a sip of my water, frowning.

  “Explain to me exactly what’s going on.” I gave them each pointed looks.

  “Well, we wanted you to eat and enjoy yourself first before we had a discussion, but maybe we should just let it all out.”

  At that moment, the waiter came by, dropped off a club sandwich split into two, and a chef’s salad divided in two between the two women, and then a Reuben and french fries in front of me.

  “Can I get you anything other than water to drink, sir?” the waiter asked.

  I shook my head. “This is great. The girls know me.”

  “We hope so,” Laura muttered under her breath, and I frowned again, looking at them.

  The waiter gave a slight nod, a smile on his face before he went back into the building.

  “I’m afraid to eat.”

  “Don’t. You know this is our favorite meal.”

  “You guys share your food like a little old couple. I love it.”

  “Do not call us old, Benjamin Montgomery,” Laura said sweetly, even though her eyes were daggers.