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"That would be never, which is why I'm still a virgin, as Adam likes to call it."
"Then why are you here?"
"You know why." I wanted to reach over and take the sketchbook away so she was forced to look at me.
"But why me?" she asked softly. It was an unintentional echo of Adam's earlier question.
I laid it out as honestly as I could. "Because you make me happy, and I think, if you give me a chance, I could make you happy too. Both of us need that. I think we need each other."
She looked up then. There was a lot of emotion in her dark brown eyes. Most of it I couldn't comprehend
, but the dark burn of need and want and hope shone through. "I'll think about it."
While I wanted a more concrete agreement, I didn't press her for more. "One of my crew members told me about a memorial tattoo."
"Oh, yes." She seemed surprised that I was here for a legitimate business purpose. "That's when you ink the ashes of a loved one into a tattoo."
"That's right. The grading subcontractor told me about it. He and his father have his grandfather's ashes tattooed into a gravestone on their upper arms." I rubbed the spot just below the shoulder. "It says ‘in memoriam’ and their last name."
"That's pretty cool. You want that?"
"No, I want you to design something."
"Can you tell me what ideas you have?"
"I will, but they're personal, and I'd rather share them with you outside of this place."
"You're relentless," she replied but couldn't completely hide her smile.
"It's true I haven't had to fight for a lot in my life. But that doesn't mean I don't know how."
She didn't answer immediately. I took the time to admire the graceful line of her neck, the sweet smell of her body wash or shampoo that reminded me of strawberry pie in the summer. I could wait indefinitely for her verbal answer because her body was already giving her away. The pulse at the side of her throat beat rapidly, and her breath quickened. The changes were minute and probably not obvious to anyone else, although our protracted silence did gain some attention.
"Is there a problem here?" Tucker was back and defending his territory.
"No problem. Just working out the finer details of my tattoo. A memorial design. My dad passed away over three months ago."
He looked skeptical but didn't want to call me out just in case I wasn't bullshitting. "Winter? Got any ideas?"
She flipped her notebook closed before everyone could see the blank sheet. "A few. Thanks for coming in, Mr. O'Malley. I'll email you when I have some preliminary sketches."
She stood and held out her hand. I took it and squeezed it, appreciating even that small bit of contact.
"I'll talk to you soon."
Outside Adam look shocked and awed. "Did you just use your dad's death as an excuse to get Winter to go out with you?"
"Maybe."
"That's amazing."
"I know."
"He'd be so proud."
"I know."
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