Page 56 of I Did Before I Do

“Of course.” She grinned, then turned away to finish closing up the shop.

I sat back, eating my cupcake slowly. It was delicious and exactly what I wanted.

Until I could see Ryker again, at least.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ryker

The guy in my chair was acting like a champ.

He’d been here for a few hours already, sitting calmly while I did the color and shading on his chest piece. We chatted while I worked—or rather, he chatted, since it seemed to be helping with his nerves. He was sitting still but had a white-knuckle grip on the chair, his jaw clenched from the pain.

I was glad he was mostly just talking at me, though. It gave me a little room to not pay attention.

All I could think about was Sydney.

I’d been with a lot of women since Bay, but none of them had gotten under my skin the way Sydney had. Every time I shut my eyes, I could see the way she’d looked this morning—spread out on her bed, looking up at me like she’d never needed anything more. Even after a shower, I kept thinking I could smell her on my skin. When I licked my lips, I tasted her.

I couldn’t wait until tonight.

We hadn’t made plans yet, but if she didn’t text me by the time I was done with this appointment, I was going to text her.

And as I was thinking that thought, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It had to be her—the only other people who texted me were all in the shop.

I looked up at my client. Sweat was dripping down his forehead.

“Hey, man,” I said, smiling. “You wanna take a breather? Get some water?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, his voice tight. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

“Okay. I’ll grab you a bottle, just sit tight.” As I rose and walked away, I took my phone from my pocket.

Sydney.

Hey! Kenzie and I are at The Republic! I skipped work lol. Come hang out when you’re done? And maybe we can make some plans for tonight?

My cock twitched.

I definitely wanted to make plans for tonight.

Sounds like fun. I’ll text when I’m on my way. Give me an hour.

Okay! See you soon!

I grinned, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and heading back to my booth.

* * * * *

I finished the guy up an hour or so later and sent him on his way. Once my station was clean, I headed up front, leaning on the counter. “Zoe, love of my life.”

“Gross.” Zoe looked up at me, freshly-dyed pink hair falling in her face. “What do you want?”

“I’m gonna cut out early. I don’t have any more appointments. If anybody comes looking for me, tell ’em I’m sick.”

“Sure, got it.” She nodded. “See you tomorrow?”

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