Page 61 of Set It Right
“And still does. That’s cute as hell.”
I didn’t respond, and he hummed like he’d proven some kind of point and went back to work.
For a while, the only sound between us was the buzz of the machine and the soft drag of paper towels across my skin. I let my mind drift the way it always did in this chair: counting ceiling tiles, tracking the rhythm of the needle, letting everything narrow down to sensation and breath.
It was easy to think here. Or not think at all.
Zara’s laugh floated through my head anyway. On second thought, it might not have been in my head at all. She was laughing somewhere nearby, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was funny.
A few minutes later, the click-clack of high heels approached Jett’s station.
“Hey, boys,” Giselle called.
I opened my eyes as she rounded the divider. Jett’s mom had been tattooing longer than I’d been alive. Not that you’d know it by looking at her. Silver threaded through her dark hair, and sleeves of ink told half her life story, but other than those subtle signs of age, she could have been a thirty-year-old pinup.
“Hey, Mama,” Jett said without looking up. “What’s up?”
She tossed a paper towel in the trash. “Just finished up with a surprise client.”
“Yeah?” Jett replied absently. “Walk-in?”
“Mmmhmm. Pretty one too.” Her eyes flicked to me, amused. “Hey, Cormac. Your friend’s a little trooper.”
My brain stalled then restarted as I tried to understand what she was saying.
“Friend?”
She tilted her head toward the front. “Zara—the pretty one you brought with you.”
“What about her?”
Giselle blinked at me. “Her ink might be small, but she got it right on the bone, and the sweet thing didn’t even flinch. I’d love to tattoo more clients like her.”
I stared at her. “Wait. You tattooed Zara?”
“She said she’d been thinking about it for years,” Giselle continued casually. “Finally decided today was the day.”
“Years,” I repeated faintly. She’d never said. Not then. Not today. Not even a word. “She didn’t mention that.”
“Maybe she wanted it to be a surprise.” She slapped her hand against her leg. “Your girl will be up front when you’re done. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her, honey.”
After she left, it took a lot to sit still. Jett threatening to botch the lines in my tattoo was the thing that did it, but my skin was crawling to get out of the chair.
It was a good thing I was adept at waiting for Zara.
I’d been doing it most of my life.
Chapter Twenty-two
Zara
Cormacblewintothereception area like a storm, swiveling around until he locked on me standing with Giselle, the coolest woman I’d ever met. The second we’d started talking, I’d known I’d wanted her to tattoo me.
“What did you do?” he asked.
Giselle gave me a light shove. “Go. Show him, honey. He’s chomping at the bit. I don’t think he’s very good about surprises.”
Cormac stalked over to me, scanning me from head to toe. “Where is it?”
