Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“It’s amazing,” I tell him, coming to a halt in the kitchen. “I love it.”
“Thank you.” He comes to me, and for a moment I think he’s going to kiss me, but instead he reaches over my head for a pair of cut-glass tumblers. A tiny part of me is relieved; a larger part is disappointed.
He pours us each a glass of juice from his high-tech fridge. I take a sip. “This is delicious. What is it?”
“It’s my own blend.”
It’s tart, but not too tart, and it has me going back for another taste. “Whatever you’ve got in here, I approve.”
“Thanks. I like having something that still tastes … entertaining, shall we say, when I don’t feel like alcohol.”
“Smart man. But then, you always were.”
He doesn’t answer, just looks at me, and his expression opens up another fault line under my feet. We could skip the drink and the talk and go straight to bed, if I wanted it. And I do want it … but I’m not ready.
So I gesture toward a sofa with my glass of juice, and Gage lets me lead the way there. He won’t push me, not like Kai. As we sit, my mind wanders off, into the past.
“Something’s got you deep in thought,” Gage says, inviting me to respond, not demanding answers.
“I was just trying to remember what you did to get your way when we were kids.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Get my way?”
“Yeah. Kai’s always been the pushy type, and that’s not your style. But you were never a pushover, either. You didn’t just let him call the shots.”
A half-smile teases around his lips. “And what does your memory tell you?”
I sip more of the addictive juice. “You should bottle this and sell it at your shop. You’d make bank.”
Amusement dances in his eyes, but he doesn’t answer.
“Stubbornness,” I say. “If Kai’s the irresistible force, you’re the immovable object.”
“I did sometimes have to stand my ground with him,” Gage agrees.
“Like when he wanted us to break into the pet store and free all the animals. Because seeing them in cages made me sad, and he hated it when I was sad.”
“Funny you should mention that. The store is still open, but it doesn’t sell animals from backyard breeders anymore. It offers rescue animals from the local shelter for adoption.”
The grin that splits my face is so huge my cheeks hurt. “That’s awesome.” And then, remembering the neighborhood park, and how I’m coming to realize my old friends seem to be capable of just about anything, I ask, “Did you guys have something to do with that?”
GAGE
“We might have persuaded the store that it would be better for their public image. Not to mention the animals,” I admit.
The delight on Lexy’s face ignites a warm glow that spreads across my chest.
It’s odd that there’s so much she doesn’t know, because even though she was gone, it’s somehow always felt like she’s been with us. She’s been living in my heart, and a part of me always knew she’d be back in our lives.
“Speaking of furry creatures,” she says after taking another drink, “that reminds me of a question I had. Why is your tattoo shop called Beasts Ink?”
“Ahh, okay. Remember the monsters we used to draw?”
Her brows lift. “Oh, right. The gory ones?”
“Yeah. We didn’t show them to you very often because we knew you didn’t like them, but we had a whole army of them. When we were brainstorming names for the shop, we both thought back to the drawings and it seemed like a good fit.”
She smiles, and I can see that she’s remembering.
“To commemorate the shop’s opening, we got new tattoos, and had our beasts inked on our skin. It was a way to say we were all in.”
“Something from the past taking you into the future. I like that.”
As she ponders it, I find myself wondering whether she’s seen Kai’s beast tattoo. Then her eyes scan my body, little flames glimmering beneath her lashes, and I forget all about Kai.
She licks her lips, and just as I knew she’d be back in our lives, I know we’ll be together. I know she’ll discover the tattoo on my upper thigh, along with the one over my heart, and all the others. But I’m not going to rush things. I can be very patient.
She has a lot going on right now. Massive life changes. I don’t need to push.
“It makes perfect sense that you became tattoo artists, and I’m definitely not surprised that you’re successful, but how did you end up on tv?” she asks.
I shrug and shake my head. “It just happened. When our clientele grew and we started to get a reputation in town, we moved into a bigger place, closer to the Strip. Not where we are now, but a place with more foot traffic than where we started out.