Me:I want to bring coffee for the guys. What’s their usual order?
Drew:Well, I won them over with coffee and donuts. Maybe it will work for you too.
Me:Thanks Drewster! I knew you’d get it. I need to get ready. Send me the deets.
Jordan knocks on my door thirty minutes later and enters without actually waiting for my response.
“Now,thisis the kind of outfit I want to see you wearing every day. You look incredible, Sunshine. Where are you off to looking so fine?” he asks with a wink as he walks into my room and comes up behind me as I stand in front of my closet, already sweating with nerves.
“I think I have a job interview at Savage Ink. Well, I’m assuming I do, or hoping I do at the very least,” I say, running my hands through my curls again to try and fluff them up more as I look myself over in the mirror.
I know I don’t need to conform to anything working at Savage Ink. Ryan told me himself I could wear whatever I wanted, and it would be fine. Well, I mean, he did tell me I couldn’t show up in my assless chaps. He knows me so well. What better way to get my Grumpy Bear’s attention than rhinestone assless chaps? But this can’t be just about Gavin. I really do need this job, and if any place of business is going to be slightly more lenient with my clumsiness, it’s Savage Ink. Those guys love me… or at least find my antics amusing.
I take in my skintight stonewash denim jeans that I had to sell my soul to the devil to get into this morning. My ass looks incredible. It’s totally worth it. Paired with the torture jeans is a white crop top showing off my slim, bare midriff and a bright neon green short-sleeved shirt left open so Gavin can enjoy all my loveliness. The question now is, which color Converse do I go with? Maybe the green to match the shirt, but then that’s kind of boring.
“These,” Jordan holds out my rainbow Converse high tops in front of me, showing me that they are indeed the perfect match.
“This is why I love you.” I emphasize that statement with a loud smacking kiss to his cheek before I drop to the side of the bed to pull on my shoes.
“Let’s hope today is a hell of a lot better than yesterday. At least if nothing else, you already know there will be tattooed eye candy for you to enjoy.”
I look up at him as I jam my feet into my shoes. Why do they make these things so fucking hard to get on?
“My future husband is not a piece of meat, Jordy,” I scoff and continue the battle with my Converse.
“Future husband, huh? What is it about him that has you thinking he’s husband material? You barely know him. Maybe he has skeletons in his closet or bodies in his backyard?”
“It’s hard to describe, you know. There’s just something about him that calls to me. Makes me want to climb up his big tattooed body and wrap myself around him like a freaking koala. I have a type. I’ve always had a type, and it’s not all about looks. His grumpiness speaks to me. He needs sunshine in his life, even if he doesn’t realize it. I want to get to know him to see if I’m right. I think he has pain in his heart, and I want to bring him the joy he needs. So yeah, I guess it’s him as a whole.”
“You got all of that after meeting him once?”
“I’m very perceptive, Jordy. Now help me. I don’t want to make a complete fool of myself. I need a job, and I really want Gavin to notice me, but so much could go wrong. What if I embarrass myself and Ryan? How awkward will family dinners be after that? This is a terrible idea. I should call and cancel, actually, you call, say I died in my sleep, oh wait, that’s a bit much. Say, I’m sick, no, no say…” Jordan cuts off my spiraling ramble with a hand smacking across my mouth, physically stopping me from speaking any further.
“Wow. That was going to strange places. Okay, first things first, calm the fuck down. Next, you need to remember who the fuck you are, Sunshine. You are Pete Motherfucking Cliffer, and you can do anything you set your mind to. Now get up and take your sexy ass down to that tattoo studio and secure yourself a job and a husband.”
I look up at my best friend and let his words seep into my bones. He is right. I need to get the fuck up and go dazzle Gavin Savenger with my charm… and donuts.
CHAPTER 4
GAVIN
I walk into Savage Ink the next morning after just a few hours of sleep and I’m still dead on my feet. At least I got all of the paperwork done yesterday. Perhaps I’ll take off early today. I laugh at that thought because there is no way I’ll be able to take off early. I may have gotten the paperwork squared away, but I still need to draw up an advertisement for an assistant as well as deal with my clients for the day.
“Hey, bossman,” Ryan says from behind the desk. I guess it’s his turn to play receptionist. “I have good news. You have a guy coming in for a job interview in half an hour.” My brows crease in confusion.
“I haven’t posted the advertisement yet.” One look at his smirk tells me something is up. “What did you do, Ry?”
“Oh look, he’s here early.” I follow his line of sight, and my heart stops for a second. There, in all his colorful glory, walks the man from the dream that has been replaying in my mind since last night. Pete fucking Cliffer. Wait a second. Ryan said someone was coming in for an interview. Did he mean… No, he wouldn’t.
When Pete stops in front of our doors, taking a deep breath like he’s preparing himself for battle, the reality of it all dawns on me.
“What did you do?” I grit out again, snapping my head back to Ryan.
“We need someone at the desk. He needs a job.” He shrugs like it’s the obvious solution to all our problems. “It’s a win-win, bossman, and look, he brought coffee and donuts. The C&D deliveries are back.” I don’t have a chance to wipe the grin off his face because the bell above the door jingles, and in walks the enigma that is Pete Cliffer.
Fuck, why did it have to be him, and why today? I still haven’t gotten the fantasy of him showing up at my apartment out of my head, and now he’s right in front of me with that mop of curls and ever-present smile. This man is so pure. He’s unmarred by the shit that life has to offer. His perpetual happiness oozes from his pores and bleeds all over anybody in his vicinity. And for some unknown reason, he has a fucking crush on me. Any idiot could tell that. I’ve already told him not to bother, but something tells me this guy doesn’t give up that easily.
“Someone order coffee?” he asks loud enough for everyone to barge into the waiting area like they’re starving for their next caffeine shot.
