Page 13 of Love in Design

“This looks delicious. Thank you, ladies, for making me such a wonderful meal. What do you want to do today?”

“Harry Potter!” Victoria waves her spoon around like a wand. “Miss Laura, can you stay longer?”

“I’d love to, but I need to get home to my best friend. She’s leaving tomorrow for a few days. I should spend time with her.” Victoria pouts, which makes my heart sad. “I know. Why don’t you come with Amy and me shopping? I need to get my dress for the Valentine's Day dance.”

“Can I go, Daddy? Please?” Victoria is bouncing in her seat now while Nate tries not to choke on his pancakes.

“Yes. I will be working in the studio today, so this would help me. But you need to eat your breakfast first before you go anywhere, young lady.” She pouts, but Nate points to the food on her plate.

I can spend time with Victoria without getting too attached to this little girl and dad, right?

Chapter Fifteen

NATE

Unlocking the door to the studio, I walk in to start my day, thankful that Laura has Victoria for the day. Amy is coming by when she gets back from wherever she is to begin training on the tattoo gun. My phone starts ringing, and Ryan’s name flashes across the screen, so I answer it while wiping everything down.

“Hey, man.”

“Nate, what is the shop looking like for Valentine's Day?” Ryan is in work mode right now.

“We have a steady stream of bookings, but the town shuts down for this big festival. I’m working a booth for face painting, well the whole shop is. What about your studio? LA is running great. I got their numbers over the weekend.”

“I’m closed. I decided to spend it away with Bethani. She needed the break.”

“Okay. So, what’s wrong?” I can somethings up.

“What if we opened a new location somewhere else?”

“I’m not moving. Victoria is settled and happy. I feel at home here, especially since I started to see Laura.” I was always willing to leave and pick up my life but not anymore. Ryan can move this time.

“Slow down. I’m not telling you that you need to move. It was a suggestion.”

“I think we should see what this business does before we look into other places, to be honest. I have a new artist who has never tattooed starting this week.” We talked a few more minutes about Victoria and Laura. Bethani gets excited that I’m putting myself out there.

The day goes by slowly, but I do some beautiful artwork on some newbies. Lily has come by to grab Victoria and is happy Laura is spending time with us. I sigh. The door opens toward the end of the night, and Victoria comes running in toward me.

“Daddy! I had so much fun. Miss Laura and Miss Amy took me shopping. I tried on pretty dresses.” I gave her my credit card to buy things Victoria needed or wanted. “Thank you for letting me get some new dresses. They’re so pretty. Miss Lily, can I do a fashion show tonight for you?”

“I’d love that. Let's go.” Lily grabs Victoria’s hand, and off they go. Amy isn’t with Laura, so it is just us.

“Are you ready for that tattoo yet?” I tease her as she walks around my cubicle, checking out the artwork that I’ve done.

“You’re quite talented. Are these all yours?”

“This side of the wall is all free-handed of what people wanted without having a design of their own. Most people come in with a picture off the internet. That is the wall over there.” I stand behind her, letting my breath tickle her neck. She shivers when I talk.

“You have a lot of talent, Nate.” Laura spins around slowly, and we are now facing each other. I can smell the fresh winter gum she’s chewing. I smile at her.

“Thank you. When I was in college for my business degree, I started tattooing on weekends for extra spending money. Ryan was the art major.” I can’t help but laugh, remembering telling his parents about giving up being a lawyer to study art. “We never knew that Cupid’s Arrow was going to be so successful. It was crazy. When celebrities were calling us, we knew that we made it. We would wait a year or two before opening up a new one.”

“Will you be moving in a year or two?” Laura asks. I pull her close to me by wrapping my arms around her waist.

“I told Ryan this was home. Victoria is thriving here. I like the scenery.” Laura blushes. “You are a bright spot in this move.”

“Stop saying those things.” She blushes more. I lean in to kiss her, and she meets me halfway. When her lips touch mine, I feel like a high school teenager again. It’s like I’m experiencing my first kiss with the cheerleader you’ve been dreaming about since middle school.

“I want you so bad,” I whisper into her lips.

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