Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)(7)

Maya sniffed and squeezed Austin’s knee before pulling back. Austin might show some emotion and didn’t mind hugs, but she knew when her big brother needed space. “The old Alex wouldn’t have, and I know that when he gets out, he won’t be the same Alex as he was before the drinking. But hopefully he won’t be the man he’d become with it.”

Austin was silent for a few moments before giving her a slight nod. “We just have to wait and see. And, by the way, I know you went on this tangent with me because you’re hiding something. But I’m going to be good, or at least as good as I can be, and let you off the hook. For now.” He narrowed his eyes a moment, and she did her best to keep her expression blank. It wasn’t easy when her family saw so much without even trying. She wasn’t any better with them, though.

With that, her big brother strolled over to his station and started setting up for his next client. Maya let out the breath she’d been holding and leaned back in her chair.

She couldn’t hide her unease for much longer. Frankly, she wasn’t hiding it that well to begin with. Her family had always been good at reading her emotions since she never truly tried to hide them. There wasn’t a reason to in most cases. The more she let out, the better she’d feel and the easier she’d be able to help her family.

Jake, however, could read her like no other.

He was her best friend, her other half in all ways that mattered. Other than the one time when they’d first met, they’d never kissed, never done anything more than share a few hugs and cuddles. And the cuddles were more of a way to relax during a movie or after a long day. She’d pushed all thoughts of what he tasted like and how she’d loved the way he’d made her come out of her mind. There hadn’t been a point in keeping those memories at the forefront of her mind since she’d been dating Franklin and getting somewhat serious. And frankly, she’d wanted to be friends with Jake. It had been surprisingly easy to do, and she wouldn’t change that for any reason.

Only now, her damned heart was going crazy.

It was all because Jake was falling in love with Holly. Sweet, adorable Holly, who didn’t fit in with the Montgomerys but seemed to fit Jake just right. She was everything light and airy to Maya’s dark and broody. And if Holly were any other person, or even had a shred of cattiness, Maya would hate her. As it was, Holly liked the fact that Maya and Jake were friends. She wanted to be friends with Maya, as well, but seemed to understand there would always be a connection between Maya and Jake.

Only that connection had changed for Maya, and she didn’t like it. She hated it. She wanted to go back to the way it was where Jake was her best friend. She wanted to have her family joke about the fact that she and Jake should just have sex and get it over with so that she could wave them off. She didn’t like this overly angsty version of herself.

If she didn’t start thinking about something else, she’d end up with another headache, so she forced all thoughts of Holly and Jake out of her head. She picked up her sketchpad and worked on the large piece she’d be doing later that afternoon.

Montgomery Ink had eight stations, but only four full-time artists. Sloane, Callie, Austin, and Maya worked five days a week each so the place stayed open all seven days. They had a few floater artists that showed up when they were in town, as well as a few part-time ones. And, finally, after years of going through receptionist after receptionist, they’d hired Autumn to work the front and keep them in line. Autumn also happened to be dating and in love with Griffin, Maya’s brother, so it all worked out family-wise in the end.

Maya narrowed her eyes at the corner back station and frowned. With the way things worked out, they only ever had a max of six or seven artists at a time. Even if they hired another full-time artist like she and Austin had been talking about, they still wouldn’t use their full capacity. And as much as she’d like to hire two or three more full-time tattooers, she wasn’t sure she could deal with that many people. Montgomery Ink was thriving and could afford it, but she liked the fact that while they had time for some walk-ins, they were still decently exclusive.

They needed to do something with that back station. Either make it another office or a recovery area. She sighed and tried to picture what it could be, but couldn’t quite place it. She let out a breath then cursed as her bra dug into her. The damned underwire broke with an audible snap, and she was pretty sure it had stabbed her. The little f*cker. Damn bras and damn all the breasts.

She wiggled around, trying not to let it pierce her skin more than it already had. She froze.

A piercer.

They needed a piercer.

“Austin!” Maya called out as she dug into her bra. She slid the broken underwire out and waved it at her brother.

He held up his hand and closed his eyes. “I did not need to see that. We aren’t that close.”

“Oh, shut up, that’s not why I wanted you over here.” She used the underwire to point at the corner station. “I have an idea.”

“And what does it have to do with your tits?”

She rolled her eyes and tossed the piece of metal into the trash. “You know how we’ve been trying to think of what to do with that station?”

Austin nodded, doubt in his gaze. “And?”

“Why don’t we hire a piercer?”

He frowned. “That will take more licenses and paperwork. Plus the building codes and everything since we can’t just have a piercer out like this. It would need a closed door station rather than the curtains we use for privacy now. Not to mention we’d need to find someone to work with us.”