“Don’t worry about it. We all need a minute sometimes.”
“Yeah, but I’m still embarrassed.”
“Um…I’m pretty sure that was you in the room when I got all weird about laying down for my tattoo.”
He smiled. “Point taken.”
Pete chose that moment to chime in. “If it helps, Sadie informed me I was being a bit of a dick. Sorry, by the way.”
At that, Renn’s smile grew, and I saw the first glimpse of some nugget of affection between him and his uncle. A minuscule glimpse.
“Thanks for defending my honor.” Renn reached out and ran his pointer finger along the back of my hand, pausing it on the tip of my pinkie.
“Thanks for saying how much you love my tattoo.” I started to curl my finger.
Just another half an inch and our fingertips would hook together.
Closer…closer…
“Hey, doll.” Zach pulled up beside me, breaking the moment like a record scratch. “Did you see there’s a Seahawks basket? I put in a bid.”
The appearance of my best friend quickly broke me out of whatever spell I’d been under, and I stumbled slightly before replying.
“Oh, great. I’m glad you found it. I was on my way to tell you about that when I got sidetracked by these guys.”
Zach raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, it’s good to see you makingfriends.” Yep, he’d definitely seen Renn and me practically holding hands. “And are you going to introduce me?”
I blinked. “Sorry. This is Pete…and Renn. This is my best friend, Zach.”
“Renn, as in, your tattoo artist?” Zach appeared almost gleeful as I glared at him. He met my stare with one of his own, reaffirming that he’d just caught me getting friendly with the man he thought I should give a chance to.
Renn grinned at me and reached out his hand to my friend. “I take it Sadie has mentioned me. I think I’ve heard a bit about you as well.”
“Yes. She may have mentioned your name a time or two. And I have to say that the partially done piece she has now is gorgeous.”
“I’m gonna take that as high praise,” Renn said.
“Oh, you should. My praise is rare and very valuable,” Zach said solemnly. I rolled my eyes.
Renn chuckled before leaning toward me again like a magnet. “It’s going to be fantastic when it’s completed.”
I glanced at him, feeling his nearness. Our gazes met and held as his laughter trailed into a warm smile. I watched as his tongue poked out to lick his lower lip. He really did have nice lips.Jesus. Stop it already!
Pete and Zach looked back and forth between us before Zach finally spoke. “Well, I came to find Sadie, to see if she wanted to hang out with me and my new man, but if you’re in the middle of something I can—”
“No.” I shook my head. The threat of Zach’s departure brought me to my senses. It had already been aneventfulnight. I’d been having enough trouble keeping Renn at a distance even before this party. I didn’t want to stay here and blur the lines even further. “I’ll come with you. I do want to get to know Teddy.” I turned to Renn. “I’ll see you soon, at my next appointment.”
“Can’t wait.” He reached out and sort of squeezed my arm, pulling his hand away slowly. “It was great running into you.”
“Yeah, for sure… Nice to meet you, Pete.”
“You too. Thanks.”
Zach draped his arm across my shoulders, steering me toward the other hallway. “What the hell was that?” he asked.
I explained to Zach about Studio Obscurum having an auction item and running into them by accident.
“Okay, yeah, that’s an insane coincidence,” Zach said. “But I was talking about that next-level sexual tension between you and Renn.”
