Page 137 of Deacon

Blue bit her lip to keep from laughing. I didn’t bother. “You move fast.”

“I like efficiency.” His gaze stayed on Evan. “And I do realism mostly, if that helps. Photorealism, portraits, memorial pieces. I can show you my portfolio if you’re serious.”

Evan tilted his head. “Trying to lure me into another room already? We haven’t even exchanged names.”

That should have ended it. Instead, Ink sat back from Blue’s wrist and finally looked up.

Ink’s voice went flat. “Don’t you dare.”

The room went still.

Evan blinked. “Excuse me?”

Ink held his gaze, face unreadable. “If anybody in this shop is givin’ you your first tattoo, it’ll be me.”

Blue made a sound she almost managed to turn into a cough. I pressed my lips together while the new guy’s brows climbed in open amusement.

Evan turned slowly in his chair. “I’m sorry. I could have sworn I just heard someone speaking to me like he thought he had the right to tell me what to do.”

Ink didn’t move.

Evan looked down at himself with theatrical concentration. “Nope. Still don’t see a property patch on me anywhere.”

Blue snorted.

Ink glared at both of us, which only made it worse. Evan rose with exquisite calm, smoothed one hand down the front of his shirt, and gave the man in the doorway a smile sweet enough to qualify as a threat. “Lead on, handsome.”

The man pushed off the frame, clearly entertained by the disaster he had just walked into. “Garrett,” he said as Evan joined him. “And unless I’m tattooing ‘mystery man’ across your ass, I should probably get your name too.”

Ink stared after them. Blue’s shoulders started shaking, and mine followed before I could help it.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” Blue said, still smiling as she resettled her wrist. “You absolutely did that to yourself.”

Ink turned back toward her slowly. “You moved.”

Blue gave him an innocent look. “I laughed.”

His stare sharpened. “You moved while I had a needle in your skin.”

Blue’s smile stayed exactly where it was. “Then maybe don’t have emotional breakdowns mid-line.”

I snorted before sense could stop me. Ink looked at me.

I lifted my brows. “What?”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t.”

That was probably aimed at both of us.

He muttered something under his breath and bent over Blue’s wrist again, rigid focus taking over where jealousy had been a second ago. The room settled enough for the machine to become the loudest thing in it. Blue asked a few questions about aftercare, and Ink answered while Priest’s name darkened into permanence across her skin.

It looked right there. I kept that thought to myself. Blue already had enough emotion tied to the day without me adding mine.

After a minute, she glanced at me. “So. Coffee diplomacy.”

I leaned back in the chair. “You’re really not letting that go, are you?”

Blue’s smile widened. “Nope.”