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Chapter Twenty-Two
Hunter
My heart is racing, beating abnormally fast as I walk up to the tattoo shop door. I’m not a nervous person, but right now I feel like I’m the quarterback in overtime with three seconds left on the clock, and if I don’t get that ball to one of my boys waiting to catch my throw in the end zone, the other team is going to go straight to the playoffs.
I can’t fail, but I also know it’s a distinct possibility. It’s been over a week since I let Dani push me away with the news that she can’t have kids, and I know that’s been more than enough time for Dani to shore up her protective walls. I can only hope that she’s missed me as much as I’ve missed her, and that she’ll be willing to give me another shot.
I pace outside the door for a good few minutes, unable to gather the nerve to go inside. Next thing I know Dani is right in front of me, holding the door open with one hand all the while her other hand is latched to her hip. “What are you doing here, Hunter?”
I stare at her, taking in her frown and stiff posture, and thinking she’s beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world to me. And if she’s ever going to be mine, I need to prove myself. Prove I’m not looking for easy. I’m not looking for perfect, even as I know she’s the perfect woman for me.
“I’m here to get a tattoo,” I say.
Both eyebrows rise toward her hairline. “Really? You, the man who loves his unmarked, clean-cut good looks and is afraid of needles, is here to get a tattoo?”
“That’s right.”
“Of what?”
I shrug. “Whatever you want.”
She swallows hard. “Why?”
“Because you’re already under my skin, Dani. I want you there. And I want to prove to you I’m capable of working through the pain.”
She stares at me, blinking rapidly, and I see the shimmer of her tears. Her lips tremble, before she visibly composes herself and lifts her chin. “More than one person has gotten into my chair with the intention of getting a tattoo only to get up and walk out and never come back.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“It’s just an observation.”
I nod. “It’s a challenge. One I’m accepting.”
* * *
Dani
Thirty minutes later, Hunter is sitting in my chair. I’d already shown him a template of the tattoo I came up with, and he’d barely looked at it before giving me the go ahead. As I prep my tattoo gun, I can’t help but notice how tense he is.
He’s not going to go through with this, I tell myself. He’ll stop me before I actually ink him. Even so, I hate to see him so tense. (He obviouslybelieves he’s going to go through with getting the tattoo and is freaking out.) To distract him, I say, “I got my first real tattoo sitting in that same chair.”
“Your first real tattoo?”
“Yeah. I was about fourteen the first time I got a tattoo, in the basement of some ex-convict who was a friend of a friend.”
He eyes my body, and I know he’s trying to recall every one of my tattoos.
“It’s long gone now,” I clarify, then set the gun down on the sterile tray. “I had it covered up as soon as I was old enough to step foot into a shop without the consent of a parent.”
He nods.
“You need to take off your shirt.”
He pulls his shirt off and I can’t help but drink in the sight of his muscular bare chest. I try to maintain a professional, unaffected expression.
After a moment of silence, he clears his throat. “So…I hear you’re trying to build a relationship with your father.”
I shrug. “I’m not doing it for me, but for Chad. If it turns out he’s trying to take advantage of either of us, I’ll show him the door and slam it for good in his ghost-ass face.”
