Forgot the shop.
Forgot every reason I’d ever had for keeping people at arm’s length. Then the bell above the door jingled, and the moment broke.
A group of teenagers walked in, and Josie stood. “Duty calls.”
I nodded and watched her head behind the counter. The kids immediately started talking over each other, and she handled it easily, helping them decide like she’d been doing this for years instead of days.
I finished my ice cream and sat there longer than I needed to.
Watching. Thinking.
Not about anything important. Just... Josie.
I stood, immediately threw away the bowl, and headed for the door.
“Leaving already?” Josie asked.
“Got people’s skin to permanently scar.”
She smiled.
I hated that I liked making her smile.
I pushed open the door, and the afternoon heat hit me.
Before stepping outside, I looked back.
Josie was still watching me. She gave a small wave, and I just walked out. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I knew I needed to figure it out soon.
Chapter Seven
Josie
I had walked past Bad Habit three times.
Not because I was trying to work up the courage to go inside.
I was a thirty-six-year-old woman who owned her own business. I paid taxes, signed contracts, and once unclogged a toilet using nothing but determination and a YouTube video.
I did not need courage to walk into a tattoo shop.
I just... hadn’t. Yet.
I stood on the sidewalk with my purse hanging from my shoulder and stared at the front windows.
The lights were still on inside.
Rome moved between the stations, wiping down counters and putting things away. He wore a black T-shirt and dark jeans; the sleeves of his shirt stretched around his tattooed arms. Music played low enough that I couldn’t make out the words, just the steady beat leaking through the glass.
I had closed Scoop & Swirl an hour ago.
Gone home.
Changed clothes.
Sat on my couch.
Then somehow found myself back downtown standing outside Bad Habit like a creep.
