I shook my head. “Don’t do that, Mace. I always want you around. Period. And that shit’s not gonna change. Got it?”
“So bossy,” she laughed, pressing another kiss right over my heart. “I’m staying and I guess that means you’re stuck with me.”
“Lucky me,” I said and pulled her on top of me. The weight of her mixed with the heat of her was enough to have my cock standing at attention again.
Her eyes widened when she realized what her moves were doing to me. “Get ready to get a whole lot luckier.”
Who knew falling in love with my best friend would be the best fucking thing that ever happened to me? “I’m glad you found me.”
“Me too,” she answered softly. “So fucking glad.” And then she spent the rest of the day—and night—showing me just how much.
Epilogue
Macy
Six Months Later
“Your lovesick fool, I mean Vandal, is here.” Raven leaned against the second, unnecessary desk inside my new office space with a smirk on her face.
I shot her a narrow-eyed glare, and she laughed so loud it bounced off the walls. “Not funny.”
“Me?” She put a hand to her chest. “I’m hilarious and we both know it.”
“You’re all right,” I conceded because she was hilarious and somehow over the past six months she’d become a friend. Probably my best friend aside from Drew. “I just need to save this past hour’s work.”
“You’re like a full-on businesswoman now, aren’t you?” Her words contained her usual dose of sarcasm, but I detected a hint of pride there too. “It’s pretty cool, what you’ve done here.”
Heat burned at her unintentional compliment. “It’s just a small office space so I have a place to meet clients.” I started a small bookkeeping business three months ago and now I have six clients, all owners of small businesses here in Steel City. “Meeting at the clubhouse wasn’t an option, and when I met at their places of businesses, they were too busy to sit down and talk about the books.”
Raven waved me off. “Learn to take a damn compliment, would ya?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving her off in response. “I’m working on it.” There were a lot of things I was working on, which made me feel like I was a permanent work in progress. But that also felt good because it meant I was alive and constantly changing for the better.
“It’s cool that you have your own thing. Too many chicks lose themselves in relationships.”
I nodded. “I’ve been that chick before.”
Raven’s gaze met mine before she turned to face the windows that showed all the pedestrian traffic.
“Everything okay?”
She stiffened for just a moment, but I saw it and I knew. Just as I knew she was about to lie to me. Her shoulders relaxed and she turned with a fake as fuck smile. “I’m good. Just dropped in to say hey before my appointment next door.”
My brows shot up. “You’re getting another tattoo?” She had at least eight that I could see.
“Yep. It’s great therapy.” She crossed her arms and a slow smile spread across her face. “Today was the last day of my apprenticeship.” She saw my confused look and shrugged. “All of my classes and paperwork are done and this morning I completed my apprenticeship so I can get a job as a tattoo artist.”
It took a second for her words to sink in but then it all made sense. Where she snuck off to for most of the day and the new energy about her. I stood slowly and rounded the desk. “All this time I thought you had a secret boyfriend.”
“Nope.” Her eyes widened and she tried to take a step back as I advanced on her, but she had no place to run from my impending hug. “I’m so happy for you, Raven. This is so fucking awesome.” I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed tight. “Congratulations.”
She grunted with her arms still at her sides for a second too long before she hugged me back. “Yeah, thanks.”
“So are you going to ask Dagger for a job at Steel City Ink?”
“I’m thinking about it, but I doubt he’ll agree to it. They all see me as nothing but Falcon’s kid sister.” She nibbled her bottom lip, the only sign of her insecurity.
“No.” The word came out more forceful than I meant it to. “Don’t go in there with that mindset. Go in like a professional artist, show off your work and let them see you as Raven, your own woman. You got this.”
