Page 51 of Mountain Challenge

Isla worried her lower lip. She didn’t yet know the man well enough to know if he was joking or not. She relaxed when she saw Ry’s wide smile. “Stop complaining. I’ll bet you’ve been skinny-dipping in the hot tub every night.”

The men laughed vociferously. “Yeah, Hugo. Maybe you should be paying extra in rent.”

“Forget I said anything. The house is certainly less messy than it used to be, anyway. Laura, Isla, what can I get you? Beer? Wine?”

“Do you think they’ve got Guinness?” Isla had always liked stout.

“White wine for me, please,” Laura said, squeezing in next to Lorenz. “Man, but you’re all big. I wish I could take one of you back to Brussels with me.”

Isla rolled her eyes at Laura’s brashness, but the men didn’t seem offended.

“Only one of us?” Tristan asked.

“I don’t think I could take all of you on,” Laura said, her expression serious, as she took the wine Hugo offered. “Not quite at the same time. Though I’ve read a book where that’s exactly what happens.”

Isla choked on her Guinness. Ry laughed and patted her back.

“Tell me, Isla, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever tattooed on someone?” Tristan asked. He seemed genuinely curious, and Isla found herself relaxing into the question.

“So, the weirdest thing was mainly weird because of where they wanted it.”

“Oh, kinky. Tell us more,” Laura asked.

“No, nothing like that,” Isla laughed. “It was a little bearded leprechaun. Cute, except the beard was a patch of unshaved underarm hair.”

Laura almost spat back into her glass. “Ugh. Gross.”

“It was fairly creative, actually,” Isla said, laughing.

“I gave myself a tattoo when I was sixteen,” Tristan said, raising his sleeve to reveal the inside of his left arm. There, written in capital letters a little less than an inch tall, were three lines of text. THIS. IS A. TEST. Laura gasped. Isla leaned forward to examine the work. “Stick and poke, I see. That must have hurt.”

Tristan chuckled. “It did. Enough that I never moved on to the second design I had in mind. This one made me realize how hard it was.” He shook his head. “It did piss my parentsoff, which was half the point, so it wasn’t a completely wasted effort.”

“Letters are a hard way to start. Most people begin with a heart or a star. If you still want a tattoo, I’d be happy to do it for you.”

Tristan covered his sleeve again. “You know, I might take you up on that offer, Isla.”

“Hey, Gael, Diana!” Ry called out, waving at a couple who’d just walked in. Isla recognized the man. She’d done a couple tattoos for him, and knew he was the one who’d recommended Ry come to see her, but she hadn’t realized he was with the PGHM as well. The woman with him had beautiful silver-colored hair.

“Isla Bernard. My favorite tattoo artist,” Gael said gallantly. “This is Diana, my better half.”

“Nice to meet you, Diana. This is my friend Laura. She’s visiting from Brussels.”

Diana came over and sat next to them, so the three of them took one end of the table.

“I have to ask,” Laura said. “Every woman I’ve met in Chamonix has great hair. Where do you all get it done?”

Diana laughed. “I do mine myself. I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s messy work! I can’t even imagine what my sink would look like if I died it red.”

“I can recommend a place,” Isla said. “I’ll make a reservation for you for Saturday morning.”

“Deal.”

“Isla, I love the work you did on Gael’s back. I’d like to surprise him with a joint tattoo for his birthday. Is that something you could do?”

“Of course,” Isla said happily. “If you tell me what you have in mind, I’ll draw up some designs for you to look at.”

They stayed in the bar for another couple of hours, though she and Ry didn’t drink anything else. She’d placed all her appointments in the morning the following day, to free up time to spend with Laura in the afternoon, so she had to be up early.

---