There he is.
Maverick Hayes, shirtless, surrounded by what looks like an entire bachelorette party, with one girl definitely licking his neck. He’s grinning like a man who’s never known consequence, holding a bottle of Don Julio up. Hisother arm is wrapped around someone’s waist, and another girl is dancing on his lap. He’s yelling into a mic before tossing his hat into the crowd.
The shop practically swoons.
Tiff from the front desk clutches her chest. “Oh my God. He’s so fucking hot.”
“I’d let him choke me.” Jasmine squeals.
“He can ruin me.” Lyla, the apprentice, says too quickly.
Mia whistles low and looks at me. “Come on, Amelia. You sure that isn’t your type?”
“I’m sure,” I reply flatly, “my type isn’t men who go viral for acting like human wrecking balls.”
Mia grins. “You say that like it’s not sexy.”
“I say that like I’ve been shattered,” I snap, turning back to my client’s ink. “By a man who left me with nothing but a stack of legal papers and nothing to my name.”
Mia quiets for a beat, her pink hair falling over her face.
Everyone in the shop knows I don’t talk about my ex, not really, but they know the facts; I was married, at eighteen, like a fucking idiot.
It ended ugly.Shocker.
I lost the apartment, the furniture, the money, and somehow most of my friends. It took everything I had to rebuild myself—working double shifts, taking walk-in customers, and living out of my car for a while to get ahead.
Now, I no longer date.
My phone buzzes again.
Maverick
Do you think squirrels have group chats? What if they’re talking about me right now as Ifeed them?
Maverick
Also, I named one Amelia. She bit me. I respect that.
Just as I’m about to throw my phone across the room, it rings. I glance down at the caller ID.
Ugh, I could kill her right now.
“Catalina,” I say dryly, “are you high? Or just stupid?”
There’s a pause, then her singsong voice.
“Well, hello to you, too, babyyy.”
“Why the hell would you give that man my number, again?!”
“He said he needed it!” she argues. “Also, I wasn’t really paying attention, and he asked nicely.”
“He’s texting me about ghost nuggets and squirrels, Catalina!”
“I mean, that’s kind of endearing?—”
“He said one bit him, and he respected her!”
