Page 19 of Reckless Harmony

She stopped, feeling the traitorous blush rising in her skin as she smiled uncomfortably at Nix. “It really is so beautiful, and you’re a very talented artist.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said. “I love it so much, I really do, and I can’t believe I finally have a tattoo. I’ve wanted one for so long. And I was surprised at how… relaxing it was. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it might. I already want another one.”

“Careful,” he said with a slight grin, “or you’ll end up as tattooed as me.”

She laughed, studying the tattoos on his arms. “I’m not sure I could pull off the sleeve tattoos as well as you do.”

“How will you know if you don’t try?” he said with another one of those - oh god, parts of her were definitely tingling now - grin.

Before she could reply, the bell jingled over the door, and Nix glanced at his watch. “That’s my next appointment.”

“Right,” she said. “Thank you for tattooing me on such short notice.”

“You’re welcome,” he said.

He stared at her like maybe he was going to say something else before he stood abruptly. “Just pull the curtain back when you’re dressed.”

“Okay,” she said, clutching the paper sheet against her body as Nix ducked behind the curtain.

She could hear him greeting his next client, and she stared at her tattoo again before sliding off the bed. Nix hadn’t looked once at her bare leg or even acted like he knew she was half-naked under the thin paper sheet.

Why would he? You’re not his type, Nola. Just because he’s nice to you doesn’t mean he’s attracted to you.

She knew that. So, why was she feeling so disappointed?

CHAPTER 9

“Aditi, can you scan this and email it to me? Hollis isn’t at her desk, and it’s a bit of a rush.” Stark handed the receptionist the package of papers.

“Of course,” Aditi said. “I’ll do it right now.”

“Thank you. Where is Hollis?” Stark asked.

“She’s with the plumber in the gym,” Aditi said. “Rayna’s figured out the problem and asked her to -”

“Rayna?” Stark’s body went stiff. “Did you say Rayna?”

“Yes.” Aditi was already starting to scan the papers. “Rayna Abrams. She’s a plumber. I went to school with her. She’s super nice despite her tragic background.”

“What do you mean tragic background?” Stark asked.

“Oh, well,” Aditi glanced around, “I’m not really one to gossip, but everyone in the town knows about Rayna’s childhood, so I guess it’s not gossiping, right?”

Stark could barely keep a straight face. He liked the receptionist, and she was excellent at her job, but she was the biggest gossip in the office. Normally, he didn’t participate in office gossip ever, but he couldn’t resist his sudden urge to know exactly what made Rayna’s childhood so tragic.

Aditi pushed the scan button on the printer. “Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it already. You go to Grind My Beans nearly every day and Seo-Jun is the biggest gossip in town. I swear she only works at the coffee shop so she can collect gossip on everyone and spread -”

“Aditi,” Stark said impatiently, “what’s Rayna’s tragic background?”

“She had a really terrible childhood. Like, awful,” Aditi said. “She grew up on the south side in severe poverty. Both her parents were horrible alcoholics and couldn’t keep jobs. They lived in the grossest places and moved around a lot. I think they were even homeless a few times. Once, near the end of high school, Rayna was coming to school in dirty clothes, and it was apparent she wasn’t showering every day because they were living in her dad’s car. She got really skinny because I think her parents weren’t even, like, feeding her.”

“Jesus,” Stark said.

“Yeah, it was pretty bad. She was bullied terribly for her clothes and not showering, and I don’t even know how she dealt with it. A group of girls led by Phoebe Edwards were so mean to her. Phoebe was the worst of them, and she nearly got Rayna expelled from school once because Rayna punched her in the face.”

“Rayna punched another girl?” Stark said.

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