Razed (Barnes Brothers #2)(43)

“Anybody who can do anything more complicated than mac-n-cheese or a pizza from the freezer amazes me.”

“Please. I passed that level before I was in high school. Mom made sure of it. Only one of the boys failed the mom test—Seb.” He curved his hand over the back of her neck. “Zach got stuck on anything more basic than breakfast, but Trey and I do pretty well. And Travis . . . well, he could give Abby a run for her money if he really wanted to.”

“Then maybe you should have Travis cook.” She gave him an innocent smile.

He bit her lip, licked her. “No. It’s just us.”





Chapter Eight




“I like the third one.”

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, but Keelie was focused on ignoring it.

So far, Zane and Zach were doing the same thing, although Zane had his hand on her spine as the three of them studied the web templates Zane had put together for Steel Ink’s new site.

Web design wasn’t particularly Zane’s milieu, but he’d designed his own and if he did this one, he’d be able to showcase the photographs he’d be taking to their absolute best. It was, in short, a good starting point, he’d told Keelie when they met at the shop.

And she didn’t care if it was his ideal job or not—she’d get on her knees and beg if it would get them something better than the eyesore they had.

Looking over at Zach, she lifted a brow. “What about you?”

He shrugged, eyes narrowed, as he stroked his thumb along his chin. “Torn between the second and third. The first one is out.”

“Agreed.” She nodded. “You’ll have people pulling it up on their phones. I do. Plenty still don’t like the mobile layouts. I think that will be the easiest to still get a good layout on a phone.”

Zach shot Zane a look and he nodded. “Both will have a mobile layout but some people just don’t like it that way. The second template isn’t going to show up as well if somebody is trying to view it on a phone, or even a tablet.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Zach nodded. “Fine.”

Zane hit a button and the images spread across the wall changed from templates to tattoos, but they weren’t the basic pictures currently displayed on the website or out in the shop. “These are what we’ve got so far. I can do more while I’m here. Maybe you can offer a discount to those willing to let me get some shots either while the designs are being done or right after, whatever, if you want to build a larger gallery to display.” Several images, all professional, all beautiful, flowed across the screen. “I’ve got images of you, Javi.”

He paused and looked at Keelie. “We need a few for the female customer base.”

She made a face at him. “I don’t do pictures.”

“Don’t trust me?” He lifted a brow.

“I don’t like seeing my face out there.”

He shrugged. “Nobody said your face had to be on them. I can focus solely on the designs. People would never know it was you. Like . . .” He stopped and showed a cute little dragonfly, perched on the pale white curve of a woman’s hip.

A soft growl escaped Zach. “When did she let you take that?”

Keelie glanced at Zach and then Zane, saw the glint in his eyes. “Aw, come on, man. You know Abby is like my kid sister. I told her we needed to get some images for the women’s gallery. She was in her swimsuit when I took it. Relax.”

“Fuck you,” Zach said, shortly.

Zane just smiled, a cool twist of his lips before he shifted his attention back to Keelie. “What do you say? The rose on your neck, maybe? I guarantee nobody would see your face.”

She shrugged restlessly. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

He let it go at that and started breaking down the equipment. Keelie went to head out, checking the time on her phone. Fifteen minutes before her first appointment. She had to get out of here, away from Zach and this awful tension. She had time enough for a cup of coffee—

“Keelie.”

She paused in the doorway, looking back at Zach.

He was staring at his desk, his shoulders rigid under his Darth Vader T-shirt. “Yeah?” she said, trying not to let anything show in her voice.

Zane stood off to the side, his movements a little less fluid, a little sharper than they usually were.

Zach didn’t say anything immediately.

Instead, he came out from behind his desk. Nudging Keelie back in his office, he shut the door and leaned against it, hands jammed into his pockets. Then, in a rush that had the words tripping over each other, he said, “I was an ass last night and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have f*cked up your night and I wanted to apologize to both of you.”

Keelie nibbled on her lower lip. Then she shrugged. “Okay.” She eyed the way he continued to bar the door. “I’ve got an appointment soon and I need coffee.”

Zach lifted his head, stared at her. “Are we okay?”

She sighed. “Zach . . .”

“I’m serious. Are we okay?”

Uncomfortable now, she looked away. “Sure we are.”

“Are we?” He continued to stare at her and, feeling like a coward, she made herself look back at him. “It doesn’t feel like we are.”