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The house had been easy enough for Aunt Emmie to acquire. She’d found a two-story, four-bedroom close to the local high school. It was in a nice area, even if I’d only met a few of my neighbors; those I had were friendly and welcoming. Getting Masterson to let me work for or with him was another story.
Nothing was going to stop me from doing what I loved and being with the girl who had ensnared my heart.
When Masterson had continued to refuse even after Aunt Emmie tripled the generous original offer to buy in to his business, I’d gotten frustrated and finally told her to find me a space near the local university to open my own shop. College students were always looking for a new tattoo, and I would give Mila’s dad a run for his money with the local clientele. On top of the client list I’d picked up working at Branch House of Ink, I knew that would have Masterson scrambling to get me to join forces with him if he wanted to keep his business prospering.
And b
ecause I wanted to be with Mila and make her happy, I would. But not until I made him sweat a little.
While my aunt was busy getting my new life ready to go for me, I still had to work out the three months on the contract I had signed with Dustin Branch. I’d enjoyed working there the short time I had, and I’d learned a shit-ton of skills from my mentor, but it was hard as fuck being so far away from Mila when all I wanted was to see her every minute of every day.
Now that I was in the same town as my girl, I finally felt like I could breathe deeply again.
I’d see her soon, I promised myself. And then I was never letting that girl go again.
“It takes you like ten minutes to get from your house to the shop across town,” my brother grumbled. When I glanced down at my phone’s screen docked on my dash, it was to find his face scrunched up in distaste. “I bet there isn’t even a McDonald’s around that place.”
“There is.” I turned my gaze back to the road. “But it doesn’t get a lot of business. That diner I just passed is where everyone seems to eat around here. I haven’t tried it yet, but I was thinking of stopping there for dinner tonight.”
“Dude, do not chance it. You’re going to end up with food poisoning or a parasite.” He blew out a frustrated sigh. “I still don’t understand why you had to go to some backwater town in NorCal. If you wanted to set up shop in a college town, you could have come here. This place has a college and a pro team. It’s basically party city all week long, and you would have been booked up two years in advance once you got established.”
“I told you why,” I reminded him, driving past city hall. As I passed, some guy with short dark hair stepped out of a police cruiser that said SHERIFF on the side. He wasn’t wearing a uniform, but his eyes narrowed on me.
I’d gotten plenty of looks like that since I’d gotten to town three days before. Everyone in Creswell Springs knew everyone who lived here, and I was a newbie to the area. They would get used to seeing me, though, and once Mila and I sorted everything out, I was confident the community would welcome me.
“Yeah, yeah. For some girl you met at a club.” He muttered a curse, and I knew he was about to start the same shit he’d been throwing at me for months now. “Really, bro? You changed your life plans for some chick you fucked once? Just altered your goals, decided you didn’t actually have to work for Dustin Branch—the guy you’ve idolized since we were sixteen. Uprooted your entire life and transplanted it to upstate California. Her pussy must have tasted like ambrosia.”
“It did, actually,” I snarled at him. “And yeah, I did all of that for her. I’ll do whatever the hell I have to just to be with Mila. Because she’s the one. You remember what it’s like to have ‘the one’ in your life, right, Luca? How it feels to be beside the girl you love, know that she loves you back, have her fucking smile at you?”
I could hear him gritting his teeth, and I didn’t even have to look at my phone to know his jaw was clenched. “Oh wait, you haven’t had your ‘one’ in so long, you probably forgot what it’s like. My bad.” I clenched my fingers around the steering wheel, wishing I could wrap them around his neck. Instead, I hit him where I knew it would really hurt. “I spoke to Violet last night, by the way. She’s in Nashville visiting Aunt Dallas and Uncle Axton before she starts the fall term.”
“I have to go,” he half growled, but he couldn’t hide the hope in his eyes.
“Or was that last week?” I scratched at the stubble on my chin, pretending to consider. “Oh yeah, it was totally last week. Sorry, bro.”
“She was that close to me last goddamn week, and you didn’t fucking tell me?” my twin raged, and I almost felt sorry for whoever he’d be tackling on the practice field later.
I shrugged. “Sorry, not sorry.” Since Violet and Luca’s breakup, I’d had to split my loyalties between the two of them. I loved my brother, but I loved Violet too. I wouldn’t betray one for the other, though, and when Violet asked me not to tell my brother something, I didn’t. Since she was already at school, I knew there was no harm in telling him she’d been to Nashville.
“That’s cold, Ric,” Luca said dejectedly, but I didn’t feel an ounce of regret or remorse. “I thought we had each other’s backs.”
“Normally, I would say yes. But you’re being a dick about Mila and my move. Chill your shit and stop running your mouth, and we’ll revisit the subject again at a later date.” I stabbed disconnect and turned on the satellite radio for the last few minutes of my drive.
When I heard Jace St. Charles’s voice singing his wife’s latest song, some of the tension my conversation with Luca caused began to ease. I hated fighting with my twin, but since everything had gone down with Violet, he hadn’t been the same guy. She made him a better person, and without her, he’d become almost a stranger to me and the rest of our family.
My shop was a prime piece of real estate just off campus. Students had to drive right by it to get to any class. Frat Row was within walking distance, and I’d already booked appointments with several people for when the shop officially opened the following week.
The day after I’d arrived in Creswell Springs, I’d started setting everything up. Aunt Emmie had already had everything I needed delivered. Now, it was just putting it all in the right place and hiring a receptionist.
Parking behind the building, I unlocked the back door and turned on all the overhead lights. It was slow progress, but I was getting it done.
I walked through to the front, and I unlocked the door and then put the chalkboard easel out on the sidewalk. Both sides read: NOW HIRING RECEPTION STAFF. APPLY WITHIN.
I knew classes had already started, so I figured I would get at least a few college kids to apply who were desperate for a job. But what I really wanted was for Mila to take the job. I’d been dreaming of us running this business together. She could handle the office stuff, and I could spend the day inking skin. It would be a perfect partnership.
I just needed to find her and get her on board with the dream.
The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon were spent getting as much done in the shop as possible. For now, things would be quiet. Aunt Emmie made sure no one knew it was me who’d bought the house or was leasing the shop, so the paps weren’t there to hound me or sneak-attack pictures.
