Hidden Ink (Montgomery Ink #4.5)(4)

The tattoo artist and middle Montgomery girl was a force to be reckoned with—all ink, piercings, and attitude. So, of course, Hailey became friends with her right away. Contrary to her feelings about being next door to people she hadn’t quite understood at first, she fell in love with their connections, attitudes, and sense of family. They were loud when they wanted to be, quiet and respectful at other times. They partied when they felt like it and threw small gatherings other times. They weren’t rough and tough to the point where she ever felt scared to be around them. Others might be *s and judge the Montgomerys on their ink—and yes, their kink—but Hailey had found her soulmates. Her family.

She didn’t have a family of her own so it was nice to be adopted into theirs, welcomed into their open arms. Though the door between the shops had been there before she bought the place, the Montgomerys hadn’t used it with the prior owner— a prim and proper older woman who had no time for tattoos and ruffians.

Seriously. Her words.

Now the door was never locked, and the Montgomerys and their crew could come in and out of Taboo when they wanted food and caffeine. Hailey went over there often, as well, with trays of goodies and sometimes empty-handed just to see the beautiful artwork.

She was still a blank canvas, but knew she eventually wanted ink of her own.

One day she would be brave enough to ask for it.

It wasn’t the ink she was afraid of, wasn’t the needles. God knew she’d seen enough of those in her life thanks to chemo, radiation, and the countless tests and treatments.

No, it was the person she wanted to do her ink.

While Maya, Austin, and Callie would bend over backward to help her with her tattoo and the nerves that came with it, she didn’t want them to do it. She had someone else in mind.

Someone she was afraid to talk to for fear of what would spill out.

Someone who didn’t care for her as she cared for him.

Hailey’s phone buzzed and she sighed. Today was a day for melancholy thoughts, apparently. She turned off the timer on her phone then went to the front of the café to flip the sign to Open while unlocking the door. Two of her morning regulars, men in business suits, who had the courtesy to get off their phones before they walked into the shop, smiled at her.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” she said with a smile. “Your usuals?”

“You know it,” one said.

“Of course,” the other one added in.

She smiled widely then went back to her counter to get their drinks and pastries. Soon her help would be there to work the register so she wouldn’t be alone. The crisp morning air had filtered in with the brief opening and closing of the door, and as she worked quickly, she knew today would be a good day.

Any day she could do what she loved would be a better day than the last.

By the time Corrine came in and took over the front station, Hailey was already buzzing with the adrenaline of a morning rush. There was nothing like earning a living doing something she loved. The brownies were a hit, and the first batch she’d set out was soon gone. Normally, she would have saved them for the afternoon crowd so customers would eat her bagels and other morning delights, but she didn’t have the heart to hide them in the back. Nor did she have the will.

She’d have eaten the whole batch and gained all that weight Callie had joked about. Lying on the kitchen floor in a sugar coma wasn’t the best way to run a bakery.

The morning passed by quickly, and soon, Hailey found herself in a slight lull. After talking to Corrine, she made a tray of pastries and to-go cups of coffee—each one individualized for someone special. She wasn’t sure exactly who was working today over at Montgomery Ink, but she knew at least the main people would be there, and she was familiar with their drink of choice. Even if she made extra, nothing would go to waste. Austin and Maya would make sure of that.

Hailey made her way through the door and held back a sigh at the sound of needles buzzing and the deep voices of those speaking. She loved Montgomery Ink. It was part of her home.

“Caffeine! I want to have your babies. Can I have your babies, sexy momma?” Maya asked as she cradled her coffee and cheese pastry.

Hailey snorted. “Are you talking to me or the coffee?”

Maya blinked up at her, the ring in her brow glittering under the lights. “Yes.”

Hailey just shook her head and handed off a drink to Austin, who bussed a kiss on her cheek. His beard tickled her, and once again, she wanted to bow down at Sierra’s feet in jealousy. Seriously, the man was hot. All the Montgomerys were.

Soon she found herself with only one drink on her tray along with a single cherry and cream cheese pastry.

His favorite.

Behind Maya’s work area sat another station.

Sloane Gordon’s.

All six-foot-four, two hundred something pounds of muscle covered in ink, his light brown skin accented perfectly by the designs. The man was sex. All sex. Sloane had shaved his head years ago. She was convinced he kept it shaved just to turn her on. He kept his beard trimmed, but that and the bald head apparently jump-started a new kink in her.

Who knew?

He was a decade older than Hailey, and though he didn’t speak of it, she knew he’d been through war, battle, and heartbreak.

And she loved him.

Only he didn’t see her. He never took a step toward her. He also looked as if he were ready to growl at her presence most of the time.