“Nah, I’m fully aware I can be an emotional wreck at the worst of times. I’ll own it. And you clearly already know, since you’re a fan of my show.”
I started to respond to that, but he held up his hand.
“Don’t deny it and break my heart, just let me pretend it’s true.”
“Huge fan. Never miss a show,” I teased.
“Shit, that might be more terrifying,” he said. “Let’s go back to you. You used to fix people.”
“Well, helped them do it, but yes.”
“That’s actually kind of perfect, huh? Makes sense you’d go from that to…to…”
“Escorting.”
“Right, right.”
It was amusing that he couldn’t seem to say the word, given the circumstances. Then again, I wasn’t really an escort, but “stranger who was in the right place at the right time but happened to be the wrong guy” didn’t really have the same ring to it.
“Why don’t you tell me about what I’ll be walking into?” I said. “Tell me about your family.”
“Smart, yes,” he said, shooting me a smile. “Well, this whole week is centered around my moms. Mom and Mama, but they’llwant you to call them Catherine and Lily. Mom runs a publishing company and Mama’s the artistic director for a theater here in the city, and both of my brothers followed in their footsteps, which means, of course, I’m the odd man out.”
“Middle child?”
“How did you know?”
I shook my head, not wanting to dive into the middle-child syndrome my sister swore was a real thing. “You mentioned this was a wedding? Or anniversary?”
“Both, actually. They never had a big wedding, since it wasn’t legal until a few years ago, and even then it was just a quick courthouse thing. Not really the romantic day Mama always wanted. They’ve always talked about doing something special eventually, and I guess thirty-five was the magic number.”
I nodded, filing all that away. “Why the Catskills? Is that where they met?”
“No, but good question. I’m not sure why they chose it other than the resort is big enough for all the guests, and it’ll be nice with the leaves changing color. Have you ever been?”
“Can’t say I have. What about your brothers? You have…?”
“Two. Hudson and Rome.”
Something niggled the back of my mind, and I frowned. “Your last name is Montgomery? Your brother is Rome Montgomery? Like, the actor?”
Sawyer nodded proudly. “He’s the youngest, but just a warning: he’ll absolutely flirt with you. He flirts with everyone, but he’s harmless. Mostly.”
“Noted,” I said, a little blown away at how casually Sawyer talked about his little brother the movie star.
“Hudson’s the oldest,” he continued. “He works with Mom as the CEO of Montgomery Publishing, and he’s absolutely as buttoned up as he looks. As a matter of fact, don’t be surprised if he wears a suit the whole weekend. With any luck, Drew did thepacking—oh shit, right, there’s also Drew, Hudson’s boyfriend.” He gave me a sideways glance. “They hated each other up until a few weeks ago, but they’ve been joined at the hip since the hurricane, so I guess it’s official.”
I ran through all the names, committing them to memory. There was just one other little detail I needed to know for now.
“And the ex?” I said.
“Peter.” Sawyer blew out a long breath. “I keep hoping he won’t show up, but if he does…at least you’ll be there.”
“Yes. I will.”
He nodded. “Thank you for this, Beckett. Really. I can’t imagine going up there alone and…”
He didn’t finish that sentence, but he didn’t need to. I could see how hard this was for him, and I was just glad this man—this stranger, really—wouldn’t have to face this by himself.