Page 22 of Just My Luck

“What?” I replied weakly.

I turned back toward where Jared had been standing, but he was gone. There was no sign of him near the lamppost. I looked up and down the street in panicked confusion.

I know he was there. I saw him with my own eyes.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Royal sounded concerned and slightly irritated.

I tried to answer, but the words tumbled out in a quiet and weak mumble. “Sure. I don’t know. I think so.”

“I’m calling Abe.”

“No! Don’t.” I turned to stop him, but Royal had already disappeared into his tattoo shop. Behind the counter, his face furrowed as he spoke into a cell phone.

Fucking great.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I know I saw him... right?

I rubbed my eyes, unsure if my mind was playing tricks on me and it was just some look-alike tourist I had seen or if it was in fact Jared and he was taunting me in my own town.

The bell on the glass door to King Tattoo rattled as Royal pushed it open again. “Hey, come inside and have a glass of water. It’s kind of hot out today.”

Still in a daze, I followed Royal’s orders and walked into King Tattoo before depositing myself in one of the plush leather chairs in the waiting area. A moment later Royal gently shoved a cold glass of water into my hands.

I took a sip and assessed him over the rim of the cup. He was tall and well built, as I had learned all King men were, but where Abel was deliciously thick and massive and JP was lean and long limbed, Royal had a striking presence to him.

The colorful tattoos that peeked out of the collar of his shirt and ran the length of his arms to his knuckles added an edge to him, while the colorful and seemingly random tattoos hinted at a touch of playfulness and whimsy.

Apparently all King men are also walking contradictions. It was the only conclusion for how Abel could be dark and brooding while at the same time have a soft and gentle air about him.

I flinched when the bell clanked against the glass door, then immediately laughed at myself for being so jumpy.

“The hell is going on?” Abel’s voice was growly and demanding.

I probably shouldn’t have liked it so much.

“I don’t know, man,” Royal supplied. “I looked up from the desk to see your girl looking like she was about to pass out in the middle of the sidewalk.”

“I’m not his girl.”

“She’s not my girl.”

Our voices tangled over each other, and heat scorched my cheeks.

“Whatever.” Royal raised his hands before returning to his work.

In two heavy footfalls, Abel was towering in front of me. My eyes slowly lifted to meet his, but instead of being greeted with an angry, annoyed face, his features were soft and concerned.

Abel crouched down, folding his massive frame so that he could be eye level with me. His hand reached out as if it were going to gently land on my knee, but he snatched it back.

“Are you okay? What happened?” His voice was soft and quiet, only for me.

My eyes searched his, looking for any hint of judgment or annoyance in which I found none. I toyed with my lip, unsure of how much to divulge. I didn’t want him to think that I was some scattered, paranoid lunatic when in fact that was exactly how I was feeling.

“I’m not sure.” My eyes flicked back to his but immediately looked away from the intensity of his deep-brown eyes. “I thought I saw someone and it—I don’t know.” I swallowed hard. “It rattled me.”

“Same as Ben?” My eyes flew to him. In three words he communicated that he understood and believed me.

I swallowed back the lump of emotion that formed in the back of my throat and nodded through a fresh round of tears.

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