I nod my head and wonder who the hell Preston is and why is he giving my kid fake tattoos.
Okay, maybe I’m a little bit protective of my daughter. But as a single mom, I have to be. Stranger danger is still a foreign concept to Autumn, and I need to work on it with her.
“Grammy said I could,” Autumn explains. “Come on.”
She takes my hand and pulls me through the shop until we stop in front of a guy who is sitting at one of the stationswith three other little girls around him. “These are my new friends, mommy,” Autumn says matter-of-factly.
I look at each girl, and their arms are full of glittery fake tattoos too.
The guy sitting with them has a buzz cut and two full sleeves of tattoos. He stands when he sees me. “You must be Autumn's mom, Penny. Briana said I could give her a fake tattoo. I can take it off if you want. I don’t want to overstep.”
“Um… no.” I shake my head. “It’s fine.”
He reaches his hand out, and I take it in mine. “My name’s Preston, and these are my nieces. I work here.”
His grin is lethal. I can tell right away this guy is a flirt. He’s seriously cute and has an edge about him that probably gets him any woman he wants.
Each one of the little girls, ages ranging from what I’m guessing is four to eight, says hi to me, and I say hi back with a smile.
“Can I play, mommy?” Autumn asks.
“Um…”
“Everything is locked up and, for the most part, not breakable in here. They should be okay.”
“Just be respectful. No running.”
All four girls giggle and take off toward the front of the shop, where I see them jump on the brand-new sofa. I cringe, but they settle in to show each other their tattoos.
“Thanks for giving her a tattoo. You didn’t have to do that,” I tell Preston.
“No worries.” He waves me off. “I have five nieces and a drawer full of tattoos just for when they come to visit. My sister’s slightly hate me for it, but at least they’re not real.”
“You can’t go wrong with glitter and unicorns.”
“And occasionally baby shark.”
I easily laugh at his comment and, from the corner of my eye, catch Declan talking to a beautiful brunette who is covered in piercings and tattoos, and another man covered in tattoos who sports an impressive beard. The brunette’s aesthetic is goth meets Barbie, and she has on the most perfect shade of crimson red lipstick. She throws her head back and laughs at something Declan says, and he smiles effortlessly at her.
My stomach dips, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m nervous or jealous.
“Do you know Declan?”
My attention is pulled back to Preston. “Uh… no. Not really.” I push a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’ve met him twice, briefly. I work at the coffee shop next door.”
“I’ll definitely be coming by there before work.” His gaze flicks towards Declan and then back to me, and a devious smirk crosses his face. “So, Penny, do you have any tattoos?” He takes my wrist softly in his hand, inspecting my forearm.
“I don’t.”
His fingers linger over the translucent skin, but not a moment later, a large hand lands on Preston’s shoulder. “Preston…” Declan says as he moves in on our conversation.
Preston lets go of my arm. “Hey, boss. Just asking the lady if I could tattoo her.”
No, he wasn’t.
Declan growls. Yes, growls. And Preston throws his head back and laughs like he’s in on some kind of joke and we’re not.
“If anyone is going to be tattooing her, it’s going to be me,” Declan proclaims, and his tone sends a chill down my spine.
