spun around to look, grinning when I saw the small bundle wrapped in blue.
Shawn and Angela had been together for a year and a half, and they were now the proud parents of a two-month-old little boy. Although their relationship could be considered somewhat volatile at times—during the year and a half they’d been together, they’d probably broken up at least a dozen times—I knew they loved each other. They were just very passionate, somewhat immature people.
“Oh, hey,” Shawn said, causing me to spin back around to face him. “What’s goin’ on with Blaze and Blue?”
I waited for him to explain, because I had no idea what could possibly be going on with them. I’d told Blaze to keep her hands off, but this was Blaze—she forged her own path and rarely took commands from anyone.
“He’s following her around like a lost puppy,” Shawn said with a smirk. “It’s quite nauseating.”
I frowned. I hoped like hell Blaze hadn’t slept with him. That was the last thing I needed.
The bell above the front door jangled, and Shawn leaned back to peer over the railing just as Gil hollered at me.
“Looks like you’re up,” Shawn said with a smile.
Sighing, I got to my feet and offered him a small wave before making my way downstairs.
“Presley!” Ricky Cardeno’s deep voice echoed in the small shop as soon as he saw me coming down the stairs.
I couldn’t help but smile back at him. He was one of my favorites. He reminded me a lot of my dad, who I missed more than anything. At sixty-one, Ricky had full-body art, with very little room left for anything else, yet he still insisted on making things fit. It had taken a little creativity on my part, and I kept telling him he needed to retire from his day job as an executive sales rep for one of the leading tech companies so I could have a go at his arms. Because of his job, he’d kept his arms blank, but promised the day he retired, he’d give me first dibs on them.
“You ready?” I asked when he set me back on my feet after giving me a huge bear hug.
“Always.”
Grateful for the next couple of hours when I could ignore all my personal issues, I motioned for Ricky to take a seat.
And got to work.
Two and a half hours later, a little longer than I’d anticipated, Ricky’s tattoo was finished. At his insistence, we’d started filling in the empty space between his various backpieces. After this one, he didn’t have room for much more, and I told him as much as I wiped ointment over it.
“I know,” he said, turning his head to the side. “But then you’ll just have to start filling it in with small stuff.”
“I can do that. Hearts, butterflies, roses. You name it, it’s yours.”
Ricky chortled. “Not a chance, Presley. I know you. You’d rather do skulls than butterflies any day.”
It was true, I would.
I took a step back so he could get up. “All done.”
When he was on his feet, I grabbed my hand mirror and handed it to him so he could check it out for himself. He spun around and admired the colorful ink with a smile, which always made me feel good.
“You’re pretty good for a girl, you know that?”
I could only take that as a compliment considering Ricky wouldn’t allow anyone else to tattoo him these days.
“I try.”
After placing the plastic wrap over the ink to protect it, tossing my latex gloves, taking his payment, and telling him good-bye, I stood at the front counter and checked the appointment book for tomorrow, wondering if I would bother to come in since it was Friday. There wasn’t much on the calendar, which meant the others would likely be free to pitch in for the walk-ins.
The bell jangled above the front door, and I looked up, my breath doing a strange stutter in my chest when I recognized the man gracing the doorway of my tattoo shop.
“Chapter One,” I whispered, shocked.
“Hey.” He looked as though he was hesitant to come inside.
Forcing myself to relax and remember that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that he’d shown up, I was surprised by how quickly a smile formed on my lips. “Never thought I’d see you in here.”
And that was the truth. I might’ve fantasized about Jacob Wild a few times, but I still had a hard time seeing him as a tattoo man. Had either of us bothered to get