Page 78 of Save Me

“Well…Will moving here certainly was a deciding factor.”

“Ryleigh…” he whined.

“No, no, I get it. I get what you’re saying, and…thank you.” Walking over, she kissed him on the cheek. “I need to finish up here because I want to run over to the shop and see how Ryker’s doing.”

“Any word on a name?”

She shook her head. “Obviously he can’t open until he has one, but it’s just not there yet.”

“He’ll get there.” Turning, he was wiping down the last surface when Uncle Ronan called his name. “Duty calls.” Tossing the cloth into the laundry bin, he grinned at her. “I guess I’ll see you and Ryker on Sunday.”

“Sounds good!” And as soon as he was out of the kitchen, Ryleigh whipped up a quick pot of chowder for the dinner shift, along with some pasta salad, and prepped several trays of dinner rolls. Once everything was done, she handed it all off to Bobby, grabbed her purse, and was on her way.

* * *

“Tattoo Zone?”

“No.”

“Laurel Bay Tattoo?”

“No.”

“Bayside Tats?”

Ryker didn’t even try to disguise the eye roll. “Is anyone even trying to think of a good name?” he asked.

Both Marc and Billie shrugged and his buddy Dax—who was in on the meeting via Zoom—simply smirked. “Dude, it’s your business, and you’ve given us literally zero direction. What do you expect?”

Sadly, Dax was right. “I don’t know. You three know me better than anyone and I just figured you’d put a little of that knowledge into your suggestions.”

At that moment, Ryleigh walked in like a breath of fresh air. Ryker smiled at her and stood to greet her, while everyone else called out a greeting.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Am I interrupting?”

Taking her hand, he led her back over to his desk and tugged her down into his lap. He knew she felt a little self-conscious, but he firmly placed a hand on her hip to hold her in place. “We’re talking business names and making no progress.”

“He’s being difficult,” Billie said with a small huff.

“Okay, what’s been rejected?” she asked.

“We’d be here all day if we went over that list,” Dax said with amusement. “And it’s nice to finally meet you, Ryleigh. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Same,” she said with a smile. “So…we’re getting nowhere, huh?”

Everyone groaned.

She gently cleared her throat. “Um…if I might offer a small suggestion?”

“Please,” he prompted.

“As I was walking over here, I was looking at all the business signs—you know, like you and I did a few weeks ago.”

He nodded.

“But my gaze kept going to Alloro because it’s so different,” she went on. “It’s classy and it makes you stop and wonder about what the business is. The lettering on the sign is elegant and…I don’t know…the point basically is that it generates interest.”

“O-kay…”

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