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The side door to the house opened, and a man wearing a short-sleeve shirt that showed off impressive muscles covered in ink stepped out. His short blond hair was messy and only added to the bad boy vibe he was giving off. This was another type of guy I typically went for. Especially with that blond hair and beard. Yum.
I watched him intently. His eyes were sharp and penetrating, even from a distance. His gaze started at my toes and slowly traveled up my body, stopping at my face. I felt exposed. His lip curled up on the side ever so slightly. I swallowed hard. Will and him together equaled trouble with a capital T.
“Kat, this is my buddy, Jackson Mitchell,” Will said.
Jackson walked over and stuck out his hand. He was even more impressive up close. Tall and muscular. I stuck my hand in his and felt…nothing. Hmm, that was weird. Normally, when a man who looked like Jackson touched me, I felt tingly. He was hot, but that was about it.
“Pleasure to meet you, Kat.” His deep voice sounded raspy, like a rock star’s. His eyebrows danced slightly, and the sexy smirk on his face would have worked on me in the past.
“Same,” I said.
“This is Elijah’s brother. The chef at your sister’s restaurant,” Sid said.
I looked up at him in surprise. “The angry guy who yells in the kitchen?”
Jackson barked out a laugh. “He is pretty bossy in the kitchen.”
Will laughed and clapped Jackson on the back. “Let’s get this party started. We don’t have all day.”
Jackson showed us around his house, which was even more impressive inside. I stopped to look at a wall of photos. One in particular caught my eye. It had been taken here and had a lot of people in it.
“That’s the Mitchell clan,” Jackson said, making me jump. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“That’s okay. How many siblings do you have?”
“Seven.”
My eyes widened. “Wow. That’s a lot.”
He chuckled. “Four boys and four girls. Two sets of twins. Mom came from a big family, and it seemed natural for her to have the same.”
“Are you guys ready?” Sid asked from the doorway at the end of the hall.
“Yes,” I said, scooting around Jackson and heading toward Sid.
“What were you guys talking about?” he asked.
“He was just showing me photos of his family.”
“Come this way,” Jackson said.
He led us to a small room in the back of the house with a window that overlooked the property and the mountains. I sighed. I would love to have this view every day.
“Who’s getting tattooed today?” Jackson asked. He sat down on a stool and put on a pair of black rubber gloves.
There was a black chair in the middle of the room and a table that ran the length of one wall. It was covered in drawings. Jackson pulled a small cart on wheels toward him and started filling small containers with ink. His tattoo gun sat next to the ink.
My stomach flipped as my nerves came back. I was really doing this. Looking around the room, I realized I was in excellent hands. The framed artwork was amazing, and I was glad he was doing my tattoo.
“I am,” I answered, taking a step into the room.
“Excellent. Hop up here,” he said, nodding to the chair. “What are we doing?”
“Honestly? I’m not sure. I have a few ideas, but I haven’t settled on anything.”
Sid leaned against the doorjamb, watching closely. Will was nowhere to be found. We’d sort of lost him when we came inside.
“Do you want Will to go first? He only needs a few lines pulled for a touch up. It should only take about ten minutes. You can browse my art book over there while you wait,” Jackson said, motioning to the table. I picked up a black binder and held it up. He nodded, and I took a seat in the lone plastic chair in the corner.
