Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(13)

I kept my posture casual and expression friendly. I was well-practiced at altering my demeanor to suit each client and make them comfortable. I’d be gentle and soothing with someone like Alicia. Tougher with a guy getting ink for the tenth time.

“Tell me what you have in mind,” I said.

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’d like a flower on my upper back or shoulder blade. I’ve looked at lots of pictures but it’s hard to decide.”

“That’s okay, I can help you narrow it down. Right or left side?”

“Right.”

“Do you want just the flower or another design element, like text with it?”

“Just the flower. Or multiple flowers. It doesn’t have to be just one.”

“Okay. Are you thinking something with color or black and gray?”

“I’m pretty sure black and gray. I heard that colors fade faster.”

“Some do, especially reds and lighter tones, like light blues and greens. It also depends on how well you care for the tattoo, especially when it’s new. Colored tattoos generally require more aftercare and take longer to heal. I can definitely do both, but I’ll be honest, my favorite is black and gray. I can create designs that are beautifully realistic and detailed.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“How about I show you some options? You point out what you like, and don’t like, and we’ll go from there.”

She nodded and I noticed she wasn’t fidgeting anymore. I got out a binder with samples of my work and we flipped through the pages. She gravitated toward roses with both blooms and leaves, and as we chatted, a few designs began to solidify in my mind.

Climbing roses with a leafy vine. A couple of open blooms and another still closed. Hints of growth, change, a young woman becoming who she’s meant to be. Mid-back to shoulder. Lots of shading and depth.

It would be gorgeous.

When we finished, I took her to the front desk to get on my schedule for her tattoo. I’d have several design options to show her and could make any alterations she wanted before we got started. Then I went back to my station to jot down a few impressions and ideas while they were still fresh in my mind. It wouldn’t take me long to sketch out her designs. I’d done a million flowers. Which was fine. It meant I knew what I was doing and most importantly, she’d love the final result.

Kind of important when you were talking something permanent.

Alicia was my last appointment of the day, so after taking care of some bookkeeping in the back office, I headed home.

Nora’s garage door was open and her Jeep was inside. The memory of her perky tits flashed through my head. Damn it, Nora. Why couldn’t she have at least worn something dark to bed last night? Then I wouldn’t have the image of her gorgeous body burned into my mind.

The minivan in my driveway helped dispel the image. My mother had that effect on me. I parked next to her and went inside.

I found her sitting in the kitchen with Riley, each with a mug of tea. My mom was on the tall side, with a short silver bob and skin that was still bronzed from her recent trip to Hawaii with my dad. She glanced at me with a smirk that made me nervous.

Then again, my mom had at least eight hundred looks that made me nervous for various reasons.

“Hey, Mom. Hey, Ry.”

“Hi, Dad.” Riley’s tone was bright. Probably the grandma effect. They’d always been close.

“I didn’t realize you’d be home so early,” Mom said.

“Sorry if I interrupted your plotting.”

“Who said we were plotting?”

I went into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. “You’re always plotting something.”

Riley laughed.

Man, I loved hearing that sound. She could plot with Grandma all she wanted if it made her laugh like that, although she’d been in a pretty decent mood for the last week or so.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mom said.

“Yeah, I bet you don’t. What are you up to today?”

“Oh, you know, grandma taxi. Today was preschool pickup and gymnastics.”

Mom drove a minivan, despite the fact that her children were all adults, so she had ready transportation for her growing brood of grandchildren. Dad still worked but Mom had retired, and now she spent her free time helping her kids with their families. I had a brother and two sisters, and they had a total of ten kids between them, all nine and under. I was the odd man out with an only child.

Then again, I was kind of the black sheep of the family. My older brother, Dallas, practiced law in the same firm as my dad. So did his wife, Tori. Our oldest sister, Angie, was married to Mike, a software engineer, and she stayed home—and homeschooled—their five kids. Like a boss. Sometimes I wished I could send Riley to my sister’s school. Maggie was the baby of the family and she’d popped out two kids, alongside running a successful home decor shop with her husband, Jordan.

Me? I was the only one who’d never been married—not even to Riley’s mom—I was a single dad to just one kid, and I’d dropped out of law school to open a tattoo shop.

That had been an interesting conversation with my parents.

But I couldn’t complain. My family wasn’t perfect, but we’d always been tight.

Riley handed me a flier for her school’s spring art show. “Can you come?”