“What’s wrong?” she asks me, nervousness lacing her voice.
“Nothing at all. I’m just not going to start something I can’t finish the right way. I want to have a real date with you, and if we go further, I sure as hell don’t want to do it here in my work area. I want you in my bed, and I want a lot of time.”
Her lips part, but no words come out. She nods silently instead. I wish she would talk to me instead of nodding all the time, but the idea that I have such an effect on her that she can’t speak intrigues me. It means she feels something, and that’s what I really want.
Reaching across my worktable, I hold up the framed drawing that I made for her of the girl with the butterfly hair.
“This is for you. Don’t forget to take it home.”
“You framed it for me? You didn’t have to do that.” She takes it from me and holds it in her lap, studying it. “I love this so much, Lukas. It’s gorgeous.”
“It’s how I see you.”
Her mouth drops, and she’s speechless again. I’ve never met a woman so easy to make happy.
“My cousin Storm that you just met?” I grab my gun and prepare to get to work. “He was stuck in a truck during that bad snow storm we had a few weeks ago, with a girl he picked up on the side of the road whose car got stuck in a ditch.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yup. They were trapped in his truck for like an entire weekend.” I would love to be trapped in a truck with Ivy for two days. The things I could do with her to keep her warm. . . . Fuckin’ Storm has all the luck.
“Did he know her?”
I shake my head. “No, not at all, and I guess things got a little heated, if you know what I mean. Now, he’s got a thing for her, but it turns out she’s got a long-term boyfriend.”
“Oh, wow. That’s crazy. What’s he going to do?”
“The same thing I’m trying to do with you. Make her fall in love with him.”
I swear I can see her stop breathing as she absorbs my words. Then finally, she reacts with a hesitant smile. “I don’t think either of you are going to have to ‘make us’, Lukas.”
My hands shake and my brain derails at what she’s hinting at, making me stop working before I actually do screw up her tattoo.
“The weekend after Christmas, his band is playing at a club not far from here. I’d love it if you came with me?” If she says yes, it will be the perfect opportunity for me to show her that I’m also a musician, rather than telling her. I kinda want to surprise her and just let her hear me play.
“Like a concert?”
“Yeah, but small scale. It’s in a club. I think you’ll like it. My brother’s in the band, and all my cousins. And the girl from the blizzard is gonna be there.”