As she outlined her name on my arm, she whispered, “After this piece of work, I might have to believe you.”
ChapterTwenty-One
Codie
I walked into J.T.’s bar, also known as Jimmy’s, grumbling because my so-called best friend was running late. Again. We’d agreed to grab a burger, mainly so I could bitch about the fact that it had been three months since I tattooed Mav and he hadn’t called or texted once. Not even today. And it was my birthday.
As soon as I pulled the door handle and entered the bar, a weird sensation gave me chills. It was eerily dark and too quiet. It was a weeknight, and only eight o’clock, but Jimmy’s was always humming, no matter the day or time.
“Surprise!”
I damn near wet myself when people jumped out from all directions and the place was flooded with bright light. My mama and sister were there. Friends I hadn’t seen in weeks, or some cases months. My tattoo family. Amanda, of course, the little scoundrel. J.T., and his wife, Nikki Spencer. Even Sierra, Trey, Luc, and Marisa were there. But when my eyes landed on Mav, I couldn’t breathe. Damn.
All I wanted for my birthday was that man with a big red bow.
He smirked, standing back, as everyone rushed to hug me and wish me a happy birthday.
I kissed, hugged, thanked everyone for coming, and promised to catch up, but couldn’t tear my eyes off Mav, who was watching the whole scene unfold. Finally, my mama and sister caught on when they glanced over their shoulders and realized who’d captured my attention.
Mama sighed. “Since he arranged this whole party, I guess we should let him have his moment.”
“He did this?” I asked stunned, that with everything that had been had going on, he remembered my birthday. It wasn’t even a milestone birthday. Just my thirty-fourth.
“He did.” Grace hugged me, whispering in my ear. “If I ever find a man who looks at me like that, you can bet I’m never letting him go.”
She was right. The look Mav was giving me said it all. Helovedme. With everything he had. And everything he was. And I’d be crazy if I let him leave town again without telling him I felt the same way.
Once I was alone, I watched him walk slowly towards me, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Hey,” he said, quietly.
“Hey, yourself.” I reached for him, pulling him close. “God, I missed you.”
Our last meeting had ended with a hug and a brief kiss, but since we had an audience at the shop, we’d kept our good-bye P.G. rated. This time, I wanted his good-bye to have X stamped all over it.
“I missed you too, baby.” He pulled back, looking into my eyes as he tucked a stray lock of my hair behind my ear tenderly. “Happy Birthday.”
“I can’t believe you did all this.”
“To make up for all the birthdays I should have been with you. I never want to miss another one, Codie.”
I curled my hand around his neck, pulling his face close to mine, as I whispered, “I’ll make sure you don’t,” before I kissed him. I didn’t care who was watching. How many tongues were wagging or how many questions I’d have to field later, about our relationship. I wanted to claim this man, the same way he’d claimed me with my name on his arm.
I turned his arm over, smiling. “My name has never looked so good.”
He grinned. “I know, right? Turns out it’s a damn good groupie deterrent, too. Who knew?”
I knew it would be. And I loved it. “So, that means you’re still…?”
His eyes were dark with need when he said, “Waiting for you? Damn right I am.”
“How about you?”
“No one else could compare to you, Mav. You gotta know that.”
“God, I love you.” His kiss was deep and passionate, making my toes curl. When we finally broke apart, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a blue chip out of his pocket and I recognized it immediately.
“Your six-month chip.” I remembered how I felt when I got mine, like maybe, just maybe I could finally lick my problem. “I’m so damn proud of you. I knew you could do it, babe.”
