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“Sometimes.” I paused between patches of shading and wiped excess ink away. “Especially couples’ tattoos.”

“Have you ever done one you wished you could go back and do differently?” he asked.

I thought about it as I worked, a weird ache forming in my chest. “A few times, yeah. Especially my early stuff. My style has changed over the years and sometimes I look back on those pieces I did during my first year and wish I could change something.”

When I looked at Kieran again, he was biting his lower lip and nodding along. He looked away from the tattoo and met my gaze again. “Do you… do you like it here? In this shop, I mean. Or is it just where you ended up?”

That one stung. Hard. I swallowed and took a slow breath to steady myself, mind racing for an answer. Instead of coming up with something to say, I did the last few strokes and sat up straighter, stretching my back. “All finished. Why don’t you take a look?”

Lena glanced down at her leg and squealed her approval. “I love her!”

“Go check her out in the mirror before I put the second skin on.”

She jumped up from the table and went to check out her new tattoo. As she peered at herself in the mirror, turning her ankle to see it from different angles, I glanced at Kieran again.

His cheeks were pink. “Sorry. I’m too nosy for my own good sometimes.”

I gave him a small smile and nodded once. “It’s okay.” When Lena returned a moment later, I cleaned the spot and placed a square of second skin on her new tattoo. “All set.”

She looked from me to Kieran and back to me, probably clocking the tension that stretched between us. “I’m going to run to the restroom really quickly.” With that, she disappeared into the back of the shop and Kieran and I were effectively alone.

“I’d like to open my own shop eventually,” I said quietly, making eye contact before focusing on cleaning up my station.

“Yeah? How is that different from what you’re doing now?”

“More control. Creatively, but also over my schedule. I don’t know. I’d also be able to really make the space my own. Hire artists I want to work with, maybe, or partner with them. Besides that, there’s more money when you’re not renting a booth from an existing shop.”

“Lena said you’re pretty booked, though.”

I nodded. “I am and I’m not complaining about that at all, but like I said, I wouldn’t mind having more control over my work.” Our gazes locked and neither of us looked away. As we looked at each other, heat built inside me, crawling up from my chest to my neck and throat.

After what felt simultaneously like an eternity and no time at all, Lena returned, a huge smile on her face. “So, what have you kids been talking about?”

I rolled my eyes. “Kids? Okay, baby sister,” I said fondly.

She looked at me and then at Kieran. “We should probably get out of here before he starts embarrassing me.”

Kieran’s laugh was bright and sincere, making something inside me flutter. “Sounds like a plan.”

After they left, I finished cleaning up and headed back to the office to complete the design for the next day. My entire body felt hot and restless and I couldn’t quite pin down why.

Chapter Seven

Kieran

Lena parked her car in the driveway, smiling widely. “That was fun. You should get one next time.”

“Me? A tattoo?” I laughed. “Hardly.”

She gave me the side-eye. “Why not?”

“Like I told Ellis, I’ve never seen anything I wanted permanently.”

She shrugged. “You will one day. And then you’ll get more and more and eventually you’ll just be covered in weird, unhinged tattoos that mean you had a little extra money and impulse control issues.”

“I think you’re thinking of you.”

With a laugh, she turned the car off. “Guilty.”