Page 21 of Broken
“Psycho, you mean,” Phoenix laughs. He’s walking past us as Shane spoke. Suddenly, he ducks and grabs the back of his head, looking down at the floor. “Did you just throw a candy at me?” he asks. Lucky is behind him with her arms crossed.
“Did you call women psychos?”
He gives her a cocky grin, then leans one arm against the reception counter as Lucky circles it. She busies herself with a huge black book, writing in it, ignoring Phoenix, who is staring at her as if he isn’t sure what to say or do.
Sin chuckles beside me.
“You’re all done,” Shane announces. “Wanna go check it out in the mirror?”
My best friend grins and I shift the chair back so she can hop off the bed. She hurries over to the wall that has a row of three tall mirrors, each with their own unique frame. Shane is clearing up and swapping his gloves while Sin admires the tattoo. I’ll wait until she comes back to check it out.
My eyes move beyond Shane to see Garrett. He stands, arching his back and rolling his shoulder, loosening up after being hunched over his guy for so long. I try not to notice how his muscles move under the T-shirt. He’s not overly muscular, but he is built, and his shirt clings in some places. As I move my eyes up over his pecs and neck, I’m startled to see him staring at me.
My cheeks flush and I turn away. Fuck, the guy is mean, and I’m ogling him. And he caught me.
“I love it,” Sin declares and gives Shane a hug. He grins, pleased as punch.
“Let me get it wrapped up for you,” he says.
I lean over to get a closer look and give Sin a thumbs up. I don’t know if Jericho will be irritated. I’m pretty sure he’s going to love it.
We admire Lucky’s tattoo while Ruby gets finished up, then all stand and look at hers. She’s pleased too and part of me wonders if I shouldn’t have got one. Maybe Garrett could have…
Nope, stop right there. The surly tattoo/delivery guy is not going anywhere near me.
Once everyone is cleaned up, we all settle our bills and head for the door. Phoenix and Sumner are talking by the counter. Lucky has followed us to see us out. I’m not sure where Shane has gone, but Garrett is standing over his client, taking off his gloves, his eyes locked on me.
I glare right back. Like I’m trying to get the last word in on a non-existent argument. He needs to know I’m not intimidated by him and don’t appreciate the shit he said. My ire rises when his lip kicks up on one side in an amused smirk. Then he turns away.
And I feel stupid. Sin links my arm, drawing me back to reality. The four of us head back to the pub down the street.
I try to push thoughts of the hot, arrogant, annoying tattooist out of my head, but he’s wormed his way inside. Every time I let myself think about his face, I get annoyed all over again.
And hot and bothered.
My mind flashes on things I shouldn’t be thinking about with someone like him, but I have no control over it. He’s gorgeous. Even angry, acting like a miserable old man, he’s fucking hot.
No one ever said there was anything wrong with fantasizing about someone you can’t have. And I can’t have him. I don’t even want him. I’m never going to see the irritating asshole again.
Over the next few weeks, I grow more comfortable in the life I’m making here. Working at Swirl and Grinds is a long way from what I thought my life would be like, but I’m enjoying it. Ruby is fun and we get along so well, she makes the long days easier to bear.
I’ve taken the step of exploring the neighborhood, and I’ve chatted with a few of my neighbors. They’re not what I would call friends, enough to say hello when we cross paths.
One guy has been more friendly than the others. He is a professor at the local university. Slightly older than me, he’s handsome in a stiff, nerdy kind of way. Totally not my type. He’s interested, but it will not happen, so I keep things light if I run into him.
Jericho convinced me to loan a bike from him, something I haven’t done since I was a kid. It is all great. Everyone has welcomed me.
Sometimes, when I slow down and am alone in my small apartment, part of me pines for what I lost. Not my ex-husband, not even my family, but the job I loved, the company I created and nurtured, and the clients I became friends with.
None of them would speak to me after. It didn’t matter whose fault it was. They didn’t care I was as much in the dark as everyone else about what Jared did. I’m tainted by association.
I guess people I thought were my friends really weren’t. They couldn’t see past the scandal. Or how badly my heart and soul broke.
My free time is spent sketching. I’ve always been a talented artist, but my interest took me into engineering and buildingdesign, which meant my skill set changed, adapting to modern techniques and using computer software to design.
Here, I don’t have any software or tech, so I sketch. One thing I enjoy on my days off is riding my bike around the city. Finding interesting buildings where I set up camp and draw them.
We meet Lucky regularly at the pub. Sometimes she has Shane with her, and I’ve seen Phoenix and Sumner around too, but never Garrett.
