Page 26 of Make Me Dream of You

Taryn tucks a lock of bright blue hair behind her ear and sighs. “I’m going to go get a coffee, then I have someone coming in for a bridge piercing.” She looks at me with half-lidded eyes and a blank expression. “If someone walks in, maybe stop staring at the boss long enough to help them?”

My face goes hot. And knowing she can see the color in my cheeks makes it worse.

“I wasn’t?—”

She rolls her eyes. “Bet.” Then walks out the door, the little bell clanking against the glass.

“Don’t let Taryn intimidate you,” a guy in a red muscle tank says, elbows on the counter, leaning over as he steals a pen from me.

He’s one of the tattoo artists but we haven’t met yet.

“She’s kind of a bitch to everyone. Until you get to know her. I mean, she’s still a bitch after you get to know her, too, but—” He scratches behind his ear where his hair is buzzed and squints an eye. “I forgot where I was going with that. I’m Anthony, by the way.”

He reaches over the counter, and I shake his hand.

“Olivia—or Livvy. Everyone calls me Livvy, except for my mother.”

“That’s a pretty name for a pretty girl.”

I laugh it off like a joke, but he doesn’t laugh with me. Still shaking my hand and staring at me unblinkingly.

“Thanks,” I say, ending the handshake.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Noah’s low voice pulls my attention away, but his dark gaze is fixed on Anthony.

Anthony shrugs with a light-hearted grin. “Hey, I was just waiting on my next client.”

“Go wait somewhere else.”

“You got it, boss.” He gives me a sly wink. “Later, Livvy.”

Anthony walks back to his station and then Noah’s eyes are on me, dark and sunken in shadow, they almost look black.

“Feel free to tell Anthony to fuck off if he’s bothering you.” His voice is rougher than normal when he says it, his mouth set in a hard line.

“Oh no, he wasn’t bothering me.”

Noah’s scowl deepens. “I was wondering if you could help me with something. A project.” His expression is unchanging.

“Sure. What kind of project?”

He hands me an iPad I hadn’t noticed he was holding until right now, then comes around to sit next to me. “I haven’t had the time to update my digital portfolio in a while.” He opens his current portfolio of work and then a second folder filled with hundreds of photos. “I was wondering if you could replace some of the older ones with my newer work. It needs to show my range in styles and subjects, but not be too overwhelming for new clients to look through.”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

I start scrolling through the photo album, pretending my ears aren’t getting warm from his nearness and the scent of his cologne.

“Noah, these are so good. All of them are fantastic. This is actually going to be challenging,” I say with a light laugh.

His eyes soften and his lips part so subtly it’s barely noticeable.

“Seriously, the drawing skills needed for some of these is amazing.”

“Thanks,” he says, rubbing the back of his head, his little smirk growing.

“I mean it. Half the people in my fine arts program didn’t have talent like this.”

“You studied fine arts?” He tilts his head as he leans in even closer, a lopsided grin playing on his lips.

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