his attention back to her. “Has Jules seen it, yet?”
“Seen what?” Juliet stepped up beside Olivia.
“It was supposed to be a surprise.” With a playful glare thrown in his sister’s direction, Mike slid his focus to the woman of his dreams. “I’ll show you later.”
“Oh, come on. Show her now.” Olivia pretended to pout. “Please?”
Juliet mimicked her new friend’s expression. “Yeah, please?”
He fought against the smile threatening to break loose. “I think I liked it better when she didn’t know you were my sister.”
“Which is the perfect segway into the surprise!” Olivia’s face lit up.
Losing the fight, Mike’s mouth curved into the same, goofy smile he’d been walking around with for the last few weeks.
“Okay, fine.”
He went over to the kitchen bar and set his bottle down. Juliet looked up at him, her gorgeous face filled with curiosity. Standing behind her, Olivia looked like a kid at Christmas while she waited for his big reveal.
“It’s really not that big of a deal. Just something I got today that I thought you might like.”
“He got it while you and Mac and I were shopping earlier,” Olivia piped in.
Mike shot the meddling woman a look. “Do you want me to show it to her or not.”
Acting like the little sister he knew and loved, Olivia stuck her tongue out at him and then winked at Juliet.
With a shake of his head, Mike chuckled as he reached down and grabbed the hem of his shirt. Lifting the left side, he showed her the addition to his tattoo collection.
He wanted it to be as close to his heart as he could get it, but he also wanted it to stand out. To stand alone. Since he already had ink that covered the top portion of his chest, he decided to put this one near his side, just below his left peck.
Juliet’s sharp intake of air was audible when she saw the word ‘Trust’ permanently embedded into his skin. She didn’t say a single word. Juliet just stood there, staring.
He had no idea whether or not that meant she loved it...or hated it.
“I got it for you,” he blurted like a nervous schoolboy. “Well...for us.”
She continued staring but still said nothing.
Shit. Fuck. Shit.
Mike’s heart kicked his ribs as he tried to make her understand. “I wanted you to know that, from this point on, you can trust me. Really trust me.”
Juliet stepped toward him slowly, her eyes never leaving the new ink. She lifted her hand and began tracing the scrolling letters with the tip of her index finger.
His muscles contracted, the skin there was still a little tender. But he’d be damned if he ever told this woman to stop touching him.
“It’s okay if you don’t like it. I can always—”
She cut him off with an unexpected kiss. “I love it,” she whispered against his lips.
“Yeah?”
Juliet nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Dropping his shirt, Mike wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body flush with his. “Because you can trust me, baby. Always.”
He was rewarded with another quick kiss. “I know I can.”
“I love you, Jules.”
“I love you, too, Michael J. Bradshaw.”
With a huge grin, Olivia stepped up beside them. “See? I told you she’d love it.”
Juliet smiled back at his sister. “I can’t believe you didn’t slip and say something about it when we were out shopping.”
“Um...excuse me, but my brother isn’t the only one in the family who can keep a secret.”
“Yeah, well.” Mike pulled Juliet to his side. “From now on, the only secrets I’m keeping will pertain to Christmas and birthdays.”
“Ahem.” Jake joined them. “And anything R.I.S.C. related that I deem classified or confidential.”
The four laughed, but then Olivia and Jake shared a strange look before she said, “Do you have it with you?”
“You want to give it to them now?”
His sister nodded. “Why not?”
“Guess there’s no time like the present.” Jake nudged his wife and smirked. “See what I did, there? No time like the present...because this is a present, and—”
“Yeah, Jake.” An unimpressed Olivia patted her husband’s shoulder. “We get it.”
Make the guy a dad, and he becomes king of the dad jokes.
With a roll of his eyes, Mike looked at the couple and said, “Will one of you please tell me what the hell you’re talking about?”
“This.” Jake pulled an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to Mike.
Confused, Mike used his free hand to grab it while asking, “What’s this?”
“Just open it.”
Releasing Jules, he ripped open the envelope and pulled out the folded papers. He skimmed