not like I’m jealous. East can do whatever, and whoever, he wants. In fact, I respect her metaphorical lady balls for even taking the receipt and jotting down her number before passing it back to him.
But I know East. As soon as she leaves, he’ll wad up the paper and toss it into the recyclables under the counter. I never understood why he did it because he could get any girl he wanted. Even before our little arrangement he never kept the numbers he was passed. And from what Jay has said, there’s a lot of women who come back for the quiet man in front of me.
Speaking of which, his brows raise in inquiry at me. Snapping from the thought, I wait until the girl says goodbye and walks toward the door before I take my place in front of him. “I couldn’t figure out what to get you. You’re hard to shop for and I couldn’t just accept the card without at least trying, even if you think it’s not a big deal.”
“It’s not.”
I roll my eyes and watch him walk over to his station to clean it. He stays busy, so I’m sure his next appointment will be here soon. “I know, but still. What if I paid for your next tattoo? You said you wanted to add to your sleeve, right?”
Jay snickers as Easton turns to me, one of his brows quirked. “I own a tattoo parlor. I can get it done for free, Piper.”
Right. Heat prickles the back of my neck. In hindsight, I should have thought about that before letting it escape my mouth.
“Dinner?”
He stops what he’s doing. “Where?”
What a lot of people don’t know is that he’s vegetarian, something I learned quickly after he moved in. I wanted to make us dinner and break the ice since we’d be living together, but I cooked Mom’s famous lasagna which had ground beef and pork sausage in it. He opted to eat the salad I prepared, making me feel like a fatty as I ate the pasta dish by myself. Ainsley doesn’t like it either, so I had it for lunch and dinner all week.
“I was thinking we could order in from that Thai place you like,” I suggest, knowing the vegetable stir fry is his favorite. “Ainsley is sick, so I kind of want to stay in tonight. But if you want to go somewhere maybe we could tomorrow or whenever you’re free.”
He disregards the food offer completely, focusing on only one thing. “Is she okay?” Straightening to full height, he watches me with cautious eyes, making my heart squeeze in my chest before threatening to melt in a messy puddle right there on the cement floor.
“Stomach bug. I think it’s the candy.”
He purses his lips. “I can order the food and pick it up before I head home. My last appointment is at six-thirty.”
Jay clears his throat. “Uh, East—”
“Jay will close up,” East adds.
Jay looks between us before nodding, turning to finish the customer’s tattoo.
“Okay.” I smile. “Oh, and I bought you more ginger ale because Jenna had to give some to Ainsley to help her stomach.”
His lips twitch before he mutters, “You didn’t have to do that.”
I shrug. “It’s only fair. It’s yours.”
He doesn’t say anything.
“I’ll just have them deliver the food,” I insist, grabbing my water bottle from the counter and backing toward the door, “that way you’re not paying for it when you pick it up. Same as usual?”
He pauses, then nods once.
“See you later then.” I wiggle my fingers at Jay, who tips his chin at me before retuning his focus to his work.
Once I’m in my car again, I shoot Jenna a text to let her know I’m on my way home before looking over at the parlor to see East watching me from the front window.
I wave.
He doesn’t wave back.
Chapter Three
I should have known the day was going to go downhill quickly when I discovered there were no eggs left to make breakfast. Shortly after that I realized there were only a few swallows of almond milk left in the carton, not enough for the cereal I’d already poured into a bowl for Ainsley. Blowing out an irritated breath over the person most likely responsible, I leave the kitchen and walk upstairs.
The room directly next to mine is cracked open, revealing a strawberry blonde twisted like a pretzel under her purple comforter, the lavender quilted blanket her father gave to her before she was even born grasped