Virgin Seeks Bad Boy (Bliss River #3) - Lili Valente Page 0,4
and a buddy of mine. We just opened a few days ago.” Nick lifts a hand to the man in the Harley shirt as he exits the shop, but his gaze never leaves mine. “See you next week, Frank. We’ll get the color finished up in one or two more sessions.”
“Catch you then,” Frank says.
The door tinkles as he steps out onto the sidewalk and Nick leans in, his forearms propped on the counter, close enough that I catch a whiff of his signature smell, that campfire and sage, with a faint overtone of gasoline, scent that always clings to him, hinting at manly activities of various sorts. The one that makes me want to strip off his shirt, press my nose to his bare skin and suck in a deep breath.
“Congratulations,” I say, hoping my lustful thoughts aren’t showing on my face. “Opening your own business. That’s a big deal.”
“Yeah, thanks. We’ll see if we can stay open long enough to get into the black.” He smiles a shy smile I’ve never seen before, a smile that makes my heart swan dive into my stomach and my fingertips ache to touch the dimples popping on his cheeks. “So, what’s up?” he continues, raising a teasing brow. “You’re not thinking about getting a tattoo, are you?”
“I am, actually,” Kitty pipes up. “I’m Kitty.” She extends a hand.
“Sorry, I should have introduced you.” My cheeks heat as I hurry to do the introductions. “Nick, this is Kitty, my best friend since third grade. Kitty, Nick, a friend of mine from work.”
Nick takes Kitty’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “Nice to meet you, Kitty. For a second there I thought I was going to have to call Melody’s big sister.”
“Why’s that?” Kitty smiles up at Nick with a look of obvious appreciation, a look I’m not sure I enjoy seeing on my best friend’s face.
I mean, yes, he’s worthy of all the appreciation, but I prefer to be the only one appreciating in my general vicinity.
“Because she’s Melody.” Nick shrugs, as if that says it all.
My blood begins to heat in a way that has nothing to do with attraction.
“If she’d come in here looking for a tattoo,” Nick continues, “I would have had to assume she was either drunk or experiencing some kind of psychotic break.”
He laughs and Kitty, the traitor, has the nerve to join in.
“Either way, I’d have to call Lark,” he says. “John and I are barely breaking even with the shop. I’m going to need my catering job for a while, and Lark would fire me in a hot second if I inked her baby sister.”
“She would not,” I protest.
“You don’t think?” Nick asks in a patronizing tone.
“No, I don’t think,” I snap, though I’m actually not sure what my big sister would do if I came home with a tattoo.
Lark would be surprised, that’s for sure. Aria, our oldest sister, has always been the wild child of our family, and even she hasn’t dared to get a tattoo, just a few piercings Mom fretted about until Aria finally took them out and let the holes heal. I am not a wild child, not even close. I’m the positive, peacemaker of the family. I’m the girl most likely to wear pink chiffon and kitten heels, not red retro pinup dresses or five-inch stilettos like the heavily tattooed girl in the poster tacked onto the wall next to Nick’s tattoo station.
A tattoo would be a significant departure from the norm for me, a bold step in a different direction.
The thought makes my nerve endings sizzle.
“Lark isn’t my mother,” I add, lifting my nose into the air. “And even if she were, I’m twenty-two, almost twenty-three, and more than old enough to make my own decisions.” I grin my own wicked grin. “And I’ve decided I want to get my first tattoo. Tonight.”
Nick’s eyebrows shoot up and Kitty makes a surprised noise, but I don’t turn to look at her, afraid my courage might flag if I meet the eyes of someone who has known me my entire, wholesome, straight-laced life.
“You do?” Nick echoes, disbelief thick in his tone.
“Yes, I do.” I point at the phoenix. “I’d like to get a smaller version of this, please.”
He glances down at the bird and his eyes widen. “Even a smaller version of that is going to be huge, Melody. It would have to be in order to get the detail work in. There’s no way you’d be able to hide