Hidden Ink (Montgomery Ink #4.5)(5)

Much like he did now.

“Thought you’d forgotten me,” he said, his voice low and gruff.

She shook her head then raised her chin. “No, I have yours here.” After she had handed him his drink and pastry, careful not to brush her fingers along his, she glanced down at his client, who was in the middle of getting his back done.

While Sloane looked dangerous and battle worn, this guy looked gentler, but not soft in the slightest. His hair was longer on top and flopped down over his forehead and into his eyes, but the sides had been clipped short. He had a short beard and a smile that looked as if it came easily. His green eyes sparkled, and Hailey could only smile back.

“Hello there,” he drawled.

Oh, my. A southern accent—just a hint of drawl but not too much. If she hadn’t been in the presence of the one man her body and soul had chosen for her, she might have gone weak in the knees at the sound of it.

“Hi,” she said back, well aware that Sloane was staring daggers at her.

“What’s your name?” the stranger asked. “I’m Brody.”

“Hi, Brody. I’m Hailey. I own Taboo next door.”

His smile widened, showing a bit of dimple. “I’ve walked by there a few times, but now I know I need to go inside.”

She shook her head on a laugh. “I see. You scent my baked goods and now you’ll come inside.”

“It wasn’t your baked goods that made me want to step inside.”

What was she doing? Flirting with another man in front of Sloane like this? And why did she care? He wasn’t hers. He never would be. She would never have Sloane Gordon in her life beyond a few curt words and grunts of thanks. She was young, healthy, and alive. She should be able to flirt whenever she wanted.

Determined not to look at Sloane, or notice how quiet it had gotten within Montgomery Ink, she tilted her head and put her hand on her hip.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really. How about I come over after I get this done and have a bit of sugar to keep me going?”

She laughed, throwing her head back. “Oh, honey, that was a terrible line, but you are welcome to come over. I’ll give you a bit of…sugar.” She winked then turned toward the door, adding a little sway to her hips as she left.

She might not be able to have the man she wanted, but she could still be free.

She wasn’t the same woman she’d been before the cancer destroyed her body and soul, but she was still Hailey Monroe.

Strong.

Alive.

And annoyingly single.

Maybe it was time to do something about that. Sloane or no Sloane.





Chapter Two



Sloane Gordon forced his foot off the pedal and carefully, oh-so-carefully, set the tattoo gun on his counter. Permanently maiming the little f*cker in his chair was bad for business. Plus, he didn’t feel like going to jail for harming the shit. Sloane already looked like someone who had spent a few years behind bars—even if he hadn’t. He didn’t need to perpetuate the image.

But the man in front of him was this close to getting his ass kicked.

Who the f*ck wore their hair like that? This kid looked like he was in a boy band and should be bouncing around on stage as teenage girls screamed his name. Sure, Brody looked to be around Hailey’s age and was a little bigger in muscle than the kids who sang about lost loves and being theirs forever, but it was the principle of the matter.

No man should hit on a woman while she was working. Especially not when said woman was Hailey Monroe.

Sloane’s Hailey.

Only she wasn’t his. Contrary to popular belief, he’d never been with Hailey—though he’d thought about it. Often. He’d never held her in his arms, never cupped her cheek and felt the softness of her skin—because damn it, it would be soft. It just looked it. Soft and warm and perfect.

Hailey Monroe wasn’t Sloane’s, and he needed to get control of himself.

The two of them had a connection from the very first time they saw each other, but he’d never claimed her. Not that she was his to claim and all, but he’d stayed back. He knew she wasn’t for him, or rather, he wasn’t for her. So he’d done the best thing possible and stayed away.

That didn’t mean he was okay with some new guy with too much product in his hair hitting on her. Of course, Sloane hadn’t missed the way Hailey had flirted right back. She’d even moved her hips just enough while walking away to let them all know she was aware of being watched.

What the hell was up with that?

In the few years they’d been circling each other yet never moving closer, he hadn’t once seen her go on a date, hadn’t seen her flirt with another man beyond a wink or two. Those winks, he knew, were just her personality. But he wanted them all.

He was a selfish bastard and he didn’t want her flirting with Brody. He didn’t want to see her with another man period, especially not one she’d flirted with right in front of him.

What kind of man did that make Sloane?

He wanted her, but he couldn’t be with her so he wouldn’t let others be with her either.

He wasn’t sure he liked that man, but hell, he couldn’t stop himself. He could say he’d always been this way, but that would be a lie. He’d never reacted this way to another man around Hailey. But she’d never flirted back either. Sure, Griffin had joked about things with Hailey and she’d smiled in the past, but Griffin would never have crossed the line. Now he was with Autumn and no longer a concern when it came to Hailey.