Her comment isn’t lost on me. Is she fishing for information? Is she interested in me? Nah, she can’tbe. The woman hasn’t had the best track record, and I’m sure hooking up with me is the last thing on her mind.
“No. No one’s waiting for me. And I’m kind because that’s just who I am and who I was raised to be.”
It’s partially true. I do have great parents as role models. That’s the true part. But is that really me? Kind of. I could never leave a woman out there alone to face the elements and the city at night. It’s not how I’m built. But if it were some random dude, would I care? A little, but by no means would I be walking them to a spare apartment above my sister’s tattoo shop.
“You have good parents.”
“I do,” I tell her as we both pull on our coats, ready to do battle with the weather for the second time tonight. “The best.”
“Mine are decent, but they’ve been overbearing ever since…” Her voice trails off, but I can guess the last part of the sentence.
“Rough,” I mumble as I walk behind her while we head for the door.
“That doesn’t even begin to describe them.”
All conversation dies the moment we step outside and the cold and wind suck the air from our lungs. I don’t understand how it’s possible to breathe, but it is. I make quick work of the lock, and we hustle acrossthe street like our asses are on fire and we’re running from the flames.
As soon as we step inside Inked and I switch on the lights, she stops dead in the middle of the customer waiting area. “Wow. Wow. Wow. This place is amazing,” Iris says as she gazes around the space.
It is impressive. I never thought my sister would make the place as beautiful as it is. Besides the family shop in Florida, most tattoo places I’d been in were dark and dingy, but Tate made it look more like an upscale spa. She wanted it to be welcoming for everybody, especially women.
“Wait until you see it in the daylight.”
Iris drags her gaze away from the artwork on the wall to look at me. “I’m sure it’s even more beautiful.”
“It is,” I tell her, and I want to say it’s not as beautiful as she is, but I don’t want to sound corny or for her to think it’s the alcohol talking.
Iris covers her mouth as she yawns. It’s late. Later than I planned on going to sleep tonight. I can’t wait to crawl into bed and drift off.
“I’ll show you up to the apartment, and then you can get some rest.”
“Thanks,” she says with a sweet smile.
Iris follows me to the back of the shop and the stairwell that’s just as beautifully decorated as the rest of the place. The apartment is unlocked, which my sister often does when it’s not in use. She refinished the space for visiting artists from out of town. Themajority of the visitors have been our cousins from Florida who come back to Chicago to visit and do some tattooing while they’re here.
I flip on the lights at the top of the stairs, illuminating the apartment.
“Wow. How is this place even better than downstairs?”
I laugh softly as I take off my boots. Tate would kill me if I left a trail of melted snow through the apartment. “My sister is a perfectionist.”
“I can tell,” Iris says, toeing off her boots on the rug near the doorway. “She could get big money for renting out this space.”
It’s bigger than my place. The entire top of the shop was converted into a decked-out apartment. My sister does nothing half-assed.
“The bedroom is over there, and the bathroom is next to it. I don’t think there’s anything in the fridge,” I tell her as I stalk into the kitchen and open the fridge. “Just as I thought. Empty.”
“It’s okay. I can grab water from the tap, and I don’t plan to eat anything until I leave in the morning.”
“The bakery is open early.”
“A bakery?” she asks, her eyebrows rising. “Where?”
“Next to the bar. My stepmom owns it, and it has the best cupcakes in town. The coffee isn’t bad either if you like your coffee strong.”
“You’re speaking my love language,” she says, her face turning pink before she clears her throat. “I love cupcakes, and coffee is my lifeline.”
“Then you’re in luck.”
