“What?” Cam asks, confused.
“You know so much of the town’s lore,” I laugh. “I think you’re officially one of us.”
Cam rolls his eyes, but he looks pleased nonetheless. He slides an arm around Olivia’s waist and tugs her close, planting a kiss on the side of her head. “This town has a way of pulling you in and making you feel like you’ve been here all along.”
“Even I might be tempted to settle down here,” Ty says as he and Grace rejoin us, and I can’t tell if he means it as a joke or not. “You know, Elsie,” he says thoughtfully, eyeing the big window that’s been responsible for more than the occasional eye twitch today. “I don’t completely hate this setup you’ve got going on. It’s bold, it’s unique. It’s giving people something to talk about.”
And peoplehavebeen talking about it. I must’ve explained two dozen times why we “decided” to keep the window between our businesses intact.
I didn’t tell people that we’re hoping to close it up soon, because I have no idea when that might be a possibility. I also didn’t mention that I’d ordered a set of massive curtains and paid extra to have them delivered overnight, only to have my order cancelled and refunded two days later with no explanation.
Instead, I tell customers we’re trying something different and I leave it at that. Only one person – Mabel Anderson, who teaches Sunday school at one of the churches in town – seemed put off by it, so I’ll consider it a win.
For my part, I tried to ignore the window, and the people on the other side of it, entirely. Which wasn’t hard to do with people in and out all day, from open until close. Okay, sure, I might have peeked over occasionally. Imighthave noticed Declan wasn’t wearing all black today, for the first time since we met. His fitted white T-shirt made the tattoos on his arms stand out even more, and I found myself itching to get a good look at them up close. I spend so much time trying to avoid him when he’s near, I have no idea what the designs snaking up his arms even are.
“Their place was swamped today,” Cam says. “Olivia here was gnawing at the bars of her enclosure, just itching to get in there and get inked.”
“C’mon, not you too,” Olivia whines. “It wasonelittle tattoo.”
“Ah, good times,” Ty says wistfully. He’d been with Olivia and Cam on their Vegas adventure, and the stories he tells from those couple days are hilarious. Cam was an absolute goner for our girl even then, and I love hearing Ty talk about it. There’s something extra special about seeing my best friend find her person, even if part of me thought she, Grace and I would always be each other’s in a way that nobody else could ever measure up to.
And we still are, in a way. She might have found her soulmate, but if there’s anything I learned from all those “Sex and the City” reruns we watched in high school, it’s that friends can be soulmates, too. Maybe in a different way, but equally important.
“Hey,” Grace says suddenly, her face lighting up. “Let’s ask the guys next door if they want to join us. They need to celebrate, too.”
“We don’t need to do that,” I say quickly. “They’re probably busy, anyway.”
Grace glances to the shop next door and everyone’s eyes follow. Declan, Sean and another tattoo artist I haven’t met are all busy cleaning their work stations, while the guy who I think is their piercer sweeps the floor. The woman I saw working the front desk is bagging up garbage at each of their stations.
“They’re notbusybusy,” Grace says. “They’re just closing up for the day.”
“Let’s do it,” Ty says. “Might as well get friendly with your neighbors.”
“Oh, Elsie wouldloveto get friendly with Declan,” Grace quips.
“Grace!” I can feel my cheeks flaming, burning even hotter under the weight of everyone’s stares.
“Alright, I’m going to need storytime immediately,” Ty says.
“I’ll fill you in while the girls go invite them to celebrate,” Cam says, grinning wickedly at me.
“Traitor,” I hiss at him while Grace grabs my arm, dragging me toward the door connecting our shops. Olivia trails behind us, laughing.
Grace knocks on the door twice and opens it partway. “Hello,” she calls out. She’s greeted with a chorus of “hey” and “what’s up.”
“Congrats on your opening day,” she says, stepping into the shop and tugging me along with her. I suddenly feel like a preteen again, that weird time when you’re terrified to look your crush in the eye. The days when you’d instant message them all night long, but god forbid they try to actually talk to you in person.
I find myself looking everywhere but at Declan. The artwork on the walls? Riveting. Distressed wood floors? Never seen anything more interesting in my life.
I very much want to deny having any sort of crush on Declan, but the way my skin feels like it’s been set on fire when I accidentally meet his eye and find him watching me says otherwise.
“Hey, thanks,” Sean says. “How was your opening?” he asks, nodding in my direction.
“It was great. Busy, but great.”
“Looked like it. Didn’t look like you had a moment to breathe all day.”
“Same with you guys,” I say.
