Daphne wiggled between them and started licking him.
“Your other girlfriend wants your attention.”
He picked up a delighted Daphne and cradled her in his arms. “You’re shameless.”
Daphne gave him a doggie grin and closed her eyes as he rubbed her belly.
“The lunch?” Montana prompted.
“They want me to stay in town.”
“Did that surprise you?”
“I knew it was coming. They asked me to tell them what I wanted, rather than simply offering one thing after another. To be honest, I’m surprised it took them this long to get around to making their pitch. Usually I get it from the beginning, either directly or indirectly. Sometimes one person will be sent in to convince me, sometimes it’s a committee. Either way—”
He stopped talking as Montana went white, then pressed her lips together.
“What?” he asked.
Guilt flashed through her eyes. “Oh, God. I forgot. No, it’s not that I forgot, it’s just…” She squeezed her eyes together, then opened them. “You’re going to take this wrong. I know you are. Don’t be mad, okay? Just let me explain.”
He had no idea what she was talking about. “All right.”
“It’s me. They sent me. Right after you got here, Mayor Marsha asked me to get to know you and find a way to convince you to stay in town. I was supposed to be that person. And we’ve been together and now you’re thinking I lied to you, but I didn’t. Most of the time I forgot. I mean, I had a couple of conversations with people about where to take you and stuff and…” She swallowed. “You hate me now, don’t you?”
He carefully put Daphne down on the grass, leaned toward Montana and kissed her.
“I don’t hate you.”
“I don’t understand. You should be furious. I betrayed you.”
He chuckled. “Hardly.” He cupped her cheek. “Don’t take this wrong, but you didn’t do a very good job. We rarely talked about the town.”
“I know. Like I said, I forgot.”
“You’d be a lousy spy.”
She sighed. “I wouldn’t want to be a good one. All that lying.”
She kissed him back, her mouth soft and hungry against his.
When they parted, he asked, “Did the mayor ask you to sleep with me?”
Montana stared at him. “Of course not. She would never do that.”
He held in a laugh. “Just checking.”
“Simon! How could you even think that?”
“I didn’t. I was curious as to how far the good people of Fool’s Gold would go.” He stretched out on the grass again. “I’ve been offered virgins before, after all. And a cow.”
“I know someone who has goats if you want to check into those.”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay, but it’s your loss. I think they’re French goats. Very sophisticated.”
“Well, if they’re French…”
She tilted her head. “You’re not going to suggest the sister thing as a way to entice you?”
“What sister thing?”
“Guys get this idea that because we’re identical it would be really cool to have all of us in bed at once. We think it’s icky, but trust me, we’ve had more than one request.”
He sat up. “No. You’re the only one I’m interested in.”
“Really?”
“You’re completely different from your sisters.” He took her hand. “Not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you’re much prettier and more fun to be with.”
She laughed. “Thank you, but I think you’re biased.”
He knew he wasn’t, but she wouldn’t believe him. “Your names are interesting. A family tradition?”
“No. A quirk of fate. Mom had some trouble during delivery. For a while there was a question as to whether or not she would make it. There was my dad with three newborns in the hospital and three young boys at home. My brothers missed their mother and resented their yet unseen sisters for taking her away. To help smooth things over, my dad said they could pick out our names.”
She grinned. “Over the years, we’ve heard some of the alternatives. Oceania was tossed around, apparently, so we figure we got lucky. At least people can spell the states.”
“Multiple births are hard on the mother.”
“Is this the doctor speaking?”
“Sorry. I get carried away.”
“It’s okay. I like that about you.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“We’re Christmas babies. So Dad was dealing with the possibility of losing his wife and the mother of his children on Christmas Day.”
“Poor guy.”
Palmer and Jester raced toward her. She caught them both in her arms and kissed their heads.
“How are my best boys?” she asked, her voice full of affection. “You, too, Bentley. You’re one of my best boys.”
As if Bentley spoke English and would be hurt if he were left out.
Simon had never met anyone like Montana and doubted he ever would. While Fool’s Gold had gotten to him more than any other place he’d lived, what he would miss the most was Montana. Her laugh, her smile, the way she led with her heart.