Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4)(2)

She held in a sigh. Thinking about the next stop in her never-ending nomadic life didn’t tend to put a smile on her face.

Enough of those thoughts.

She liked Denver, even if the weather never made sense or stayed the same throughout the day. She’d learned to dress in layers—and lots of them. She also liked the Montgomerys. She didn’t know how it had happened, but somehow, she’d been invited into the fold and became, if not one of them, at least part of their periphery crew.

Meghan brushed her shoulder against Autumn’s and smiled. The two of them were around the same height, so thankfully, Autumn didn’t have to look up like she did with so many others at the site. It wasn’t that she was short—she was average—but the men on the site were all gigantic specimens of sexy men. Hence the firm butts in tight jeans and their need for appreciation.

“It’s about lunchtime. I know some of the guys wanted to head to the café near here,” Meghan said. “You want to join us, or did you bring your lunch?”

Autumn shook her head then winced. Shaking her head where there was more than one question involved usually led to misunderstandings. Considering she spent her life studying situations and people, she was usually better at that. There was just something about Denver—or maybe it was the Montgomerys—that made her feel…off-kilter.

“I didn’t bring my lunch, and I’d love to join you if you have room.” She shivered a bit, bouncing from one foot to the other. “Don’t the guys usually bring their meals so they don’t have to take so much time off the site?”

Meghan folded her arms over her chest, presumably to stay warm. “Yeah, but there’s a cold front coming in with the possibility of a storm, so we’re bringing things in early.”

“I knew there was a reason I’m cold down to my bones.” She swore her teeth chattered, but it wasn’t that cold.

Meghan rolled her eyes. “I think that has more to do with you being a Denver newbie. Anyway, it’s hard for the guys in the winter. Of course, it’s hard in the heat of the summer, too. But since they don’t want to get caught up in a foot of snow, we’re packing up.”

Autumn lowered her brows. “I still don’t know why you need my help, or even why you’re working outside in the winter. You work with landscapes.”

The Montgomery family had their hands in many pots when it came to professions, but a large part of them worked at either Montgomery Inc.—the construction company—or Montgomery Ink—the tattoo shop. The latter, ironically, was where she’d met the Montgomerys in the first place. Now, Autumn worked with the other arm of the family business. Meghan hadn’t always been part of the construction branch of the family, but once she’d divorced and found her way, she joined and dug elbows deep in dirt and plants.

“I don’t do as much in the winter when it comes to actual planting since the ground is usually too wet or too frozen. But there is always planning, upkeep, and other things I can do. And I need help because I’m learning to not do everything on my own.” She winked. “Luc doesn’t want me to wear myself out.”

He probably wanted to wear his fiancée out on his own, but Autumn wasn’t about to say that. From the heated look in Meghan’s eyes when she looked in Luc’s direction, her friend’s mind had already gone there anyway.

As if she’d conjured him from her look alone, Luc glanced over his shoulder and smiled. He nodded at two of the other guys he had been working with and strolled over to Meghan and Autumn.

“I felt your eyes on me. That mean you’re ready for lunch?” He lifted a dark brow, and Meghan laughed. She held out a hand, and Luc took it before tugging and bringing her to his chest.

Autumn held in a little sigh at the sight.

“I was just admiring your form,” Meghan said softly before kissing his chin.

Luc lowered his mouth to hers and gently brushed a kiss across her lips. “I can bend over again if you’d like a better look.”

“Maybe later,” Meghan murmured, sinking into her man’s hold.

This time, Autumn didn’t bother holding in her sigh.

“Those two are so sickeningly sweet, my teeth ache,” Wes Montgomery said as he came to Autumn’s side.

“You just don’t like seeing your sister making out with your electrician,” Tabby Collins said as she made her way to the group with Decker and Storm on her heels.

“True enough,” Storm Montgomery said as he tilted his chin toward Autumn. The man was built, bearded, and did that sexy chin tilt thing just right. She might have wanted to explore that sexy edge about him, but since she worked with him and she didn’t feel an overwhelming urge to let him see her naked, she didn’t act on it.

Of course, all the Montgomerys were damn sexy. She’d been Meghan’s neighbor before working with them, so she’d met most of them at one point or another. And she hadn’t found an ugly one in the bunch. There were eight siblings, though, so it wasn’t easy to keep them all straight. Maybe she should number them or something. Wes and Storm were twins, and two of the eldest Montgomerys. They owned and operated Montgomery Inc.—with Wes being the lead foreman for all projects and Storm being the lead architect.

Apparently, they even hired sexy. Tabby was their head receptionist, and in Autumn’s opinion, the glue that held them all together. Though she wasn’t sure the other woman knew that. When Autumn had first started hanging out with them, she thought Tabby and Wes might have had a thing going on, but now that she knew them better, she rethought that.