Page 50 of Christmas with Four Tattoo Artists

"Where is she, anyway?" I asked, glancing around the room.

"She's upstairs," Kai answered. "We took her up to her bedroom, told her to sleep in."

My mind went back to her story, the raw emotion in her words. "You guys know anything about this writing of hers?"

They all shook their heads, their expressions thoughtful.

“I’ve seen her typing stuff at the computer during downtime at work,” James replied. “Didn’t occur to me that she was writing stories.”

"We should ask her about it," Andrew said. "Maybe she's got some published stuff.”

James shook his head. “Nah, not a good idea. It’s best not to let her know we pried into her personal stuff.”

I nodded. “Yeah, but this shit was good. I’d love to read more. And I’m not a huge story reader.” Something else occurred to me. "You guys ever notice how she never talks about herself? Like her past, or deep, personal things?"

The guys exchanged glances, a shared realization dawning on them.

"We don't know much about her past," James said, his voice contemplative. "She's always so in control, so guarded."

“It’s like she just dropped from the sky one day. Landed on the street outside our studio and came into our lives.”

"Yeah," Kai chimed in. "But there's something underneath, something she's hiding."

“Yeah, she’s private. But we don’t need to pry,” Andrew said. “If she wants to keep her past to herself, that’s her own damn business.”

I leaned forward, my elbows on the table, my eyes fixed on each of them.

Kai snorted. “Now what?”

"You guys ever stop to think about what we're doing? With her, I mean."

They all fell silent, the weight of my words settling over the room. It was clear I’d touched on something that’d been on all of our minds.

“Kinda wrapped up in it,” James admitted. “Haven’t really taken the time to sit and give it thought.”

“We should, though,” I said. “Whatever’s happening, it’s a hell of a lot more serious than anything else we’ve known before. Damn sure a hell of a lot more than that thing with Adele, or any other woman.”

Silence fell as our thoughts raced. It was as if we all knew the answer, but nobody wanted to say it out loud.

"I think we're falling for her," Andrew finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.

I looked at him, then at James, then at Kai. The truth was there, in their eyes. We were all falling for her. Hard.

It was a dangerous game we were playing, a tangled web of emotion and desire. But there was no denying the connection, the way she made us feel.

"We need to be careful," Kai warned, his voice tight with emotion. "If we're not, we could end up hurting her. And ourselves."

I nodded, my thoughts a jumbled mess. Falling for her was never part of the plan, but there we were, all of us caught in her spell.

"We need to talk to her," I said. "Find out what she wants, what she expects from this."

They all agreed, a sense of determination settling over the room. Whatever was happening between us, it was real, and it was powerful.

"We're not going to ruin this trip by overthinking things," Kai stated firmly, breaking another heavy silence that had settled over the room. "This Christmas is about relaxing and letting go of everything weighing on our minds, not adding more to them."

I had to agree with him. As much as our feelings for Julia were growing into something we couldn't ignore, it wasn't the time to dwell on it. We were there to enjoy ourselves, to celebrate the season, and to take a break from the chaos back home.

"You're right," I grumbled, pushing myself up from my chair. "Let's just enjoy the weekend."

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