I sat up in bed, blankets pooling around my waist, and zoomed in on the image again.The more I looked, the more impressed I became.
SAVANNAH
No, I really mean it.
It’s beautiful.
This time, there was no immediate reply.
I waited.
And waited.
I told myself that was fine.The conversation didn’t need to keep going.It shouldn’t keep going.I set the phone down, exhaled, tried to relax back into the pillows.
Then my phone started buzzing, and his name lit up my screen again.
Calling.
My stomach flipped like I was about to step off a ledge.I had no reason to be nervous for a phone call with him.Logic demanded that nervousness wasn't welcome here, but I couldn't stop the fluttering in my stomach, and I stared at the screen.
I answered on the third ring.“Hi.”
“Hey,” he said, voice low, rougher than it had any right to be this late.“Figured this would be better than texting.”
“Sure.”
Silence.
My lips parted to say something, but he beat me to it.
“I don’t usually show anyone my sketches before they’re done, but I’ve been staring at it all night.”
“I don’t think you’re missing anything,” I said honestly.
“Are you being nice to me, trouble?Is that where we are in thislovingrelationship?”
“I can go back to hating you if you prefer.”
His chuckle made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Humor me,” he replied.“If you had to change something, what would it be?”
I looked at the sketch again, tracing the lines with my eyes.Hesitated.“Well… I’m not a tattoo artist.”
“I know,” he said.“That’s why I’m asking.”
I swallowed.“Maybe move the rose.Put it closer to the center instead of anchoring it at the bottom.I think it would merge better with the fingers.Balance it out.”
There was a brief silence.Then I heard it.A soft hum of approval.The faint scratch of pencil against paper.
“Yeah,” he murmured.“Yeah, I see it.”
The sound did something to me.Knowing he was working, adjusting, because of something I said.He didn’t stop sketching when he spoke again.“You wanna tell me why you’re really up this late, trouble?”
My heart skipped.
I could’ve told him the truth.That he’d been living in my head since the moment we left Sunset Creek.That I couldn’t sleep because every quiet second was filled with him.
