She followed me inside, looking around the shop like she’d never been here before. “I don’t know how you did it. I couldn’t work with my brothers.”
“I love them and have learned how to handle them,” I told her as we walked into the back area to start our prep. “They aren’t so bad once you get to know them, but they can be a bit…” I trailed off.
“Bossy?” she answered.
“Yep.”
“I’m honored to help bring up the chick count around here.”
“I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know. Here’s your station.” I pointed to the empty one next to mine because there was no way I was putting her closer to anyone else.
“Mind if I put a few personal things out to make it feel more like home?”
“Knock yourself out,” I told her before bringing my purse and a box of donuts I’d brought into the back room. I started the coffeepot and turned on the music because, although I loved silence at times, I couldn’t stand it at the shop.
By the time I walked back into the work area, Kat had set out a few decorations and pinned a couple pictures to the wall.
“I hope this is okay,” she said as she looked at her setup and smiled. “I like to have my good luck charms around me.”
I walked over to her station and took in her display of two troll dolls, a backstage pass, a tiny inspirational plaque, and two photographs. “Who’s in the pictures?”
She pointed to the one that was clearly her family and rattled off their names. Her brothers were handsome devils, and her sister looked like a miniature version of hers. “These are my parents, Sam and Nancy. They own a small bar on the beach in Clearwater.”
She looked to be the only tattooed rocker chick in the family. Everyone else looked like buttoned-up professionals. “And your brothers?”
“Park is a lawyer for a fancy law firm in Tampa, and Jasper is finishing his residency at USF and will soon be a full-fledged doctor.” She glanced toward the ceiling. “Lord help us. His ego is already too big.”
“And your sister?”
“Juniper owns a small boutique in St. Petersburg that sells the trendiest clothes and trinkets and makes a killing off the tourists.”
“They all look so…”
She turned to me with a smile, the cat eyes she painted on this morning becoming more pronounced. “Normal?”
I nodded because she took the words right out of my mouth.
“Yeah. I’m the one who always tended to be a little outside the norm.”
“All the Gallos are freaks, so I can’t imagine what that was like for you.”
“Eh, it was no big deal. We love each other for our differences. Most of the time, at least.”
I touched the last photo, which was of a band playing on stage and had one of the hottest men I’d ever seen holding a microphone. I couldn’t mistake the face. Cypress McDermot was the lead singer for the most popular rock band in the country. They’d been burning up the charts for the last six months, and I saw their faces plastered everywhere. “You’re a fan, I assume?”
Her smile turned into a smirk. “He’s my boyfriend.”
My body rocked backward, and my mouth dropped open. “You’re dating him?” I pointed at the photo, shocked.
“Uh, yeah. Fucking him too.” She giggled.
“Well, damn, girl. Get on with your bad self.”
I started to laugh and couldn’t stop. “I’m sorry.” I waved my hands, wondering if my sisters-in-law would back the fuck up once they heard that little nugget of goodness. If she was getting a piece of ass like Cypress, there was no way she’d be trying to steal a fortysomething tattoo artist from the middle-of-nowhere Florida.
Her smile faded. “Is it that hard to believe?”
“No,” I said quickly. “You two make a killer couple. It’s just that…” I didn’t know how to put it without sounding like a complete cunt, so I just said it. “My sisters-in-law were…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence because it was so ridiculous at that point.
