“ ’Kay. I’m ready, let’s do this.”

Once the outline was on and how I wanted it, I set up the machine and inks and put on my gloves. I turned to look at my princess, and I couldn’t help but just stare at her for a few moments. God, she was perfect. I heard someone clear his throat and looked up to see Brian nodding and giving me a thumbs-up. I shook my head and flipped him off before rolling my chair over to her and squeezing her hand. “You picked the perfect spot; this is gonna look awesome.”

“It better.”

I smiled and started on the outline. Her body relaxed soon after I started, but when I looked over almost halfway through the outline, her hands were still clenched into fists. She was doing amazing so far, wasn’t flinching or making any pained noises. But inking the girl that meant the world to me with this tattoo had to be a better moment for me than kissing her, and I wanted her to enjoy it, too. “You okay?”

“Yep, just pay attention to what you’re doing.”

I laughed. Did she really think I’d mess this up on her? I finished the outline, fixed the machine to start the shading, and went back to giving my princess her lilies. I tried to ignore the way my heart was pounding and jeans felt like they were tightening as I continued to work on her, but the way her body felt, all I could think about was ripping off my gloves and exploring every inch of her without them. It definitely didn’t help when I looked up to see her biting her lip and her chest rising and falling in a calculated pattern. She started moving her body slightly, like she was uncomfortable, and hell if I didn’t start thinking of every way I could make her comfortable.

“Princess, you gotta stop moving.” For the love of God, please stop moving, or I’m taking you right here in the middle of a tattoo parlor.

She froze and whispered an apology, and I tried to think of surfing to clear my mind and get back into my zone. Halfway through the shading, I kept hearing something that wasn’t the music playing in the shop, wasn’t the gun, and wasn’t my phone. I looked up and tried to figure out the noise but couldn’t hear it anymore. When I bent back over Harper I could hear it again and stopped the gun before I leaned closer to her and smiled to myself.

“Are you humming?” Good God she was cute.

Her eyes shot open, and she froze. “Maybe.”

I barked out a laugh and took off my gloves as I went back to my counter and looked for my phone. I grabbed it, my headphones, and walked back over to her as I pulled up iTunes and handed it to her. “You’re doing great; I’ll be done soon.” Without thinking about it, I kissed her neck softly, but thank God she only started blushing as she put the headphones on.

An hour later, I was done, and I had to admit, it looked perfect. Even better than how I’d imagined it on her. I loved watching her as she looked at my sketches, and though I was nervous as shit, I couldn’t wait to see her reaction to this one. I put the gun up and took off my gloves, and when I turned around, her eyes were still closed, and she was once again moving to whatever song she was listening to. Deciding to push my luck further, I leaned my body over hers and kissed her lips quickly.

Her eyes popped open, and she pulled out the earbuds. “Am I still moving too much?”

“No, Princess, I’m all done. Are you ready to see it?”

“You have no idea!”

I huffed softly. So damn cute. “Close your eyes again, I’ll let you open them when we’re next to the mirror.” I helped her off the table and led her over to a large mirror, positioning her so she’d be able to see it perfectly. I took one last deep breath and leaned close to whisper in her ear, “Open your eyes, Harper.”

For a few tense moments she met my gaze in the mirror before letting her eyes travel down. She gasped, and my body went rigid as I watched her wide eyes and dropped jaw. She stepped away from me, and closer to the mirror, and I felt like I was holding my breath as she just stared at her left hip. Still without speaking, she turned to face me, stepped close, and ran a hand through my hair, her other hand coming up to the side of my neck.

“Please tell me what you’re thinking.” Because, swear to God, I’m about to go crazy guessing.

Without warning, she kissed me hard, and I thought I’d freakin’ die. To have this, have her kiss me . . . meant everything. I deepened the kiss, and freaking Brian and Jeff started yelling for us to get a room. Harper pulled back and her face was bright red as she bit her lip to contain her smile and looked at the ground. I grabbed her hand, led her back to my table, and finished putting the ointment and wrap over her lilies. She still hadn’t said anything, but I’d take that kiss as a confirmation that she liked it.

“What made you choose those?”

I looked up and smiled at her. “I heard you talking to Bree and Mom about them being your favorite. And ever since that day, all I’ve wanted to do was get you orange lilies, but I knew I’d probably get punched again. This was my way around it.”

“It looks amazing, Chase, thank you.”

Thank God.

I shrugged, but she grabbed each side of my face and pulled me down so I was less than an inch from hers.

“I’m serious. I love it, thank you.”

I kissed her softly and skimmed my nose across her cheek, breathing in that soft vanilla scent that was distinctly my princess. “God, you’re beautiful, Harper.”

Her gray eyes were shining, and her smile widened, but just as I started to lean in, her phone rang, and we both froze for a few seconds before she reached into her pocket and pulled it out.

“Hey, babe,” she answered.

You have got to be kidding me.

“Um, it’s not done yet. Can I call you after?”

I held my breath and watched as her eyes got that crushed look like she’d had after I’d kissed her on New Year’s Eve. Son of a bitch.

“I love you, too. Have fun tonight.”

And that ended it. Right there. She couldn’t kiss me and talk to her boyfriend, telling him she loved him while I was still standing there. I stepped away from the table and tried to shake off the feeling like she’d just punched me in the stomach.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked up at me, “Chase—”

No, fuck no. I can’t do this with you. I couldn’t be a dirty secret for her. I wanted her, but I didn’t want her to fucking play with me. “So you’ll need to go buy some antibacterial soap to clean it.”

“Please talk to me.”

“I’m trying.” I grabbed a piece of paper and turned back toward her, looking everywhere but at her. “Look, here are some aftercare instructions. Don’t take the wrap off for at least an hour. If anything looks wrong, give me a call.” Dropping the piece of paper on her stomach, I stepped away and looked over to see Brian at the front just watching us with a confused look on his face. He handed someone a binder and pointed to the back of the shop before making his way over there.

“Chase!”

I finally looked back at her and gritted my teeth as I spoke again. “I have another appointment, and he’s waiting. I’ll see you later.”

She nodded and shook her head on an exhale. “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. It was a gift. But I’m busy, so please go.” Without another glance in her direction I turned and went to the back room to meet Brian.

“Dude, what the fuck? All looked good the last few hours, so why do you look like someone just killed your dog?”

“Brandon just called her—”

“Oh, fuck me.”

“Yeah.” I sighed heavily and sank down onto one of the couches we had in the back. “She dismissed him and whatever, but she called him babe told him she loved him . . . all while keeping one hand around my neck to keep me close to her.”

“Slut.”

“Shut the fuck up, Bri. I just . . . I’m not going to do this with her anymore. I want her to be mine, not a secret to be kept while Brandon’s away, one that she feels guilty about after.” Brian’s eyebrows raised, and he just stared at me. “What?”

He shrugged as he searched for the words he wanted to use. “I guess I just didn’t think she really meant that much to you. You’ve grown up a lot in the last few months; I know I bullshit with you a lot about the girls that come in here for you or that you used to be with, but it’s awesome to see this from you. I mean, it sucks that all this has been the result of a girl who’s with your best friend, but good to see you grow up, man.”

I huffed and looked around, “Uh, thanks . . . I guess?”

“You know what I mean. So does this mean you’re done messing with Brandon?”

“I don’t know. Fighting with him keeps my head on straight that she’s with him and not me. I just know I’m done pushing it with her. I thought it was worth it, just to have her for any amount of time . . . but I can’t keep playing this back-and-forth with her.”

“Yeah, all right.” He nodded, then smirked. “I bet you don’t last a month until you’re chasin’ her again.”

“Then I’ll have to make sure I’m not around her for over a month.”

“That’s what I thought. Gotta get back to my next guy, see you out there.”

Chapter Eight

I PULLED INTO the empty driveway of my parents’ house and was glad everyone was out of town for the weekend. I was doing work on Brian’s leg in a couple days, and the sketchpad that had the drawing on it was here, but I’d been avoiding seeing my family and Harper since I walked away from her in the parlor a week ago.

I heard the TV seconds before I saw Harper lying on the couch. Her eyes went wide, and I froze. I was gonna kill Brad; he’d texted me almost an hour ago saying they all had left for LA, and Harper was with them.

“I thought you were going to LA?”

“No, I told Bree I was sick.”

“Are you?” I took a step toward her but forced myself to stop and look over her from where I was. She looked fine, better than fine, actually.