Page 38 of Save Me

“I did and had a meeting earlier with the client and got his approval, so…it’s all good.” He gave her hand a small squeeze and she realized she liked that too. His hand was large and slightly callused and she wondered what it would feel like if he touched her in other places.

And she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about that more than once since this entire charade started.

Tonight, however, things felt a little…different. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was definitely a little more tension in the air.

Someday, you’re going to kiss me because you want to and not because you’re being rebellious toward your family.

Okay, maybe it was that.

That phrase had been playing over and over in her head for two days, and she didn’t think he was totally wrong.

But she wasn’t going to prove him right anytime soon either.

Looking down at their hands led her to looking at his forearms—which were exposed because of his pushed-up sleeves. He had a lot of tattoos and it reminded her of the email she got earlier in the week.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What can you tell me about tattoos?”

Glancing over at her, he grinned. “Why? Thinking about getting one?”

The bark of laughter was out before she could stop it. “Um…no. I got an inquiry from a tattoo artist who’s looking for me to design a website for them and…I don’t know…I guess I never thought about that sort of thing before. Most of my stuff has been a little more on the…you know…cheerier side.”

“You don’t think tattoos can be cheery?”

“Ryker, come on. Be serious. I get that some people choose cartoon characters or something fun, but I think the majority are a little more on the darker side—skulls and dragons and whatnot.”

“So, what are they looking for?”

“They don’t want something typical,” she explained. “And honestly, I have no idea what that even means. I’ve spent almost an entire day looking at other artists’ websites and they’re all different. Now I’m a little confused and not feeling particularly confident.”

“You’re going to turn them down?”

Shrugging, she shook her head. “I haven’t hit that point yet, but I guess I was curious about the whole culture. I figured since you clearly have tattoos and you’re an artist, you might have some insight into this.”

Nodding, he squeezed her hand again. “Tell you what? Why don’t you work up some ideas and then I can look at them before you present them to your client. How does that sound?”

Relief washed over her. “Oh my goodness! That would be great. Thank you!”

“My pleasure,” he said gruffly, and it made her feel a bit…tingly.

A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot for The Sand Bar and it was a little crowded. Looking around, she didn’t spot Will or Arianna’s cars and figured they’d simply park and go and grab a table. Ryker agreed and within minutes, they were walking hand-in-hand toward the entrance. The line to get in was out the door, so they took their place and waited. Ryleigh shivered in the cool night air and Ryker reached over and pulled her in close.

This is nice…

Turning, she faced him and smiled. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

Yeah, he said it again and she had a feeling he knew exactly what those words did to her. She was about to make some lame comment about the line when she spotted her sister walking toward them from the far side of the parking lot.

“They’re here,” she whispered, and instinctively reached up to kiss him.

Ryker’s hand clamped hard around her wrist, stopping her from raking her hand up into his hair. Leaning down, his expression was more than a little fierce. “I’m getting a little tired of this dog and pony show,” he all but growled lowly. “I’ve spent enough time around your family that I can say with great certainty that they don’t immediately start making out with their significant others whenever another one of you comes around.”

Ryleigh knew her eyes were wide, but other than being mildly shocked by his words, she found she was more annoyed because this meant she wouldn’t get to kiss him.

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