Page 103 of Sass

I breathed a sigh of relief. The new manufacturer had proved to be a solid supplier, but even though the Christmas shipment had been sent out on time and we’d had a bumper season, I was still nervous with every order. “Thanks. I’ll check them tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s coming along nicely.” Michele studied my still exposed tattoo and shot me a sly grin. “And you’re right. They do look great together.”

Fuck. My. Life.I groaned loudly, but all Leon did was laugh.

“Anyway...” Michele carried on like she hadn’t just embarrassed the shit out of me. The woman was too damn good. “I thought I’d grab Kip’s opinion on these possible colours for the downstairs bedroom before I head to the paint store.”

Leon’s gaze shot up. “Caitlyn’s room?”

She nodded far too casually and with a wary look in her eye that told me this was the real reason she’d dropped by. She wanted to be sure of Leon’s reaction before she went ahead.

“I thought I might turn it into the main guest room.” She held the paint sample out. “It’s bigger than your old room but it could do with some freshening up.”

Leon blinked and glanced my way, and I knew every question and thought running through his head. I kept my expression carefully neutral. He had this. He’d been seeing a therapist ever since the anniversary and he’d come a long way. We spoke about Caitlyn a lot more than he’d done before, each time a little more comfortable, a little more positive.

A month back, I’d asked Leon’s mother for a photograph of the two of them and then had it blown up for Leon’s birthday. It hung behind his guitar stand in our tiny lounge, and I often caught him staring at it while he played. And for all his mockery of the memorial tree planting, he went every week to water and care for the damn thing in those first couple of months until it took root. He still visited regularly.

Leon stared at the paint choices long enough for me to get nervous, but then he finally smiled. “This one.” He tapped the pale lemon sample, the same colour as the dress Caitlyn wore in the photo on our wall.

Michele turned the samples to me but I pushed them away. “I agree with Leon. It’s a great colour for that room.” It could’ve been purple and green for all I cared. If Leon chose it, then that’s what it was going to be.

He shot me a shy smile like he knew exactly what I was doing and I simply grinned.

“Well, that’s settled then.” Michele looked fondly between us. “Don’t forget it’s Sunday lunch at ours.” She waved over her shoulder as she left, and Leon and I shared a pained look.

“She’s going to make us paint the room now, you realise that?” Leon groaned. “She’ll figure it’ll be good therapy.”

I said nothing, which to be honest, I was getting pretty good at. Shocker, I know. But I happened to think it wasn’t a bad idea either. I eased off the tattoo table and reached for my sweatpants.

Leon hurried me up. “Come on, slowpoke. We promised George we’d drop off that old chair of yours on the way home, remember? Why the hell you just didn’t leave it when he took over your lease, I’ll never know.”

I sighed. “Because I didn’t know if I wanted him to have anything of mine back then.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s taken me a minute, all right?”

Leon pulled me into his arms, his big body wrapping around me like it belonged, just as it had from that very first time, if I hadn’t been too much of an idiot to see it.

“I thought you guys were doing better?” he murmured against my hair.

I sighed, thinking of the long conversations that George and I had shared over the last three months since he’d all but cut ties with my parents and moved into my old apartment. The first of those talks had been just a few days after Caitlyn’s anniversary. After that, we began a slow reconnect. I couldn’t deny it felt good to have my brother back, have something of a family again. But forgiveness was a long process and there’d been more than a few tense moments along the way.

“We are doing better,” I admitted, holding him tight. “But it’s not easy to put aside all those years. The pain sneaks up and bites you in the butt when you least expect it. Something he says, some joke, usually, or something about our parents, and suddenly I’m back there again. But I know he’s trying.”

“And so are you.” Leon leaned back so he could see my face. “And you’ll get there, because you both want it.”

“I guess.” I pulled him down for a kiss. “You do realise that I’m still standing here pantless?” I groused. “It’s extremely unprofessional of you.”

“Is that right?” he whispered against my hair. “I’ll make sure to write up an incident report as soon as we’re done.”

I slipped my arms around his waist and rubbed against him. “You do that. But if you don’t let me go soon, baby, you’re not gonna have enough pages for all the incidents that are about to happen, and they use another word for that. It’s called porn.”

Leon laughed and untangled himself from my arms, leaving me to finally pull up my sweats, being super careful over the fresh tattoo. When I was done, he held out his hand. “Come on, gorgeous. I’ll even let you drive the Merc.”

I beamed. “Wow. You must really be worried I’ll hold out on you tonight.”

Leon had purchased the 1990s four-door classic the previous week, citing the savings it made in chiropractor bills after trying to squeeze into my Mini for months. I’d only driven it once so far, but the old girl was a smooth ride. Although not as smooth as Leon’s Hog, which was still my personal favourite. It had been hell on my finances though. You couldn’t ride a hog without an epic set of leathers, right? It was a fucking law of the universe or something.

“Just get in the car.” Leon threw the keys my way and went to grab his coat and satchel.

As soon as he was gone, JJ quickly handed me the bag I’d stowed under the reception desk, and I was out the front door to the car before Leon got back.

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