AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Me neither. But he was as spineless as he was harmless. We’ll shake this one, too.”
“Okay. I’ve got to go.”
“Yeah, of course. I love you.”
“Love you. Bye.”
Lawson disconnected the call then stared down at his phone for a moment. His woman had told him to let it go, but the fact that she’d even been put in a situation for him to try to ignore made Lawson second guess his word to let it slide.
It would be a lie to say he’d given Ashlynn a lot of headspace over the past forty-eight hours, but she’d had enough of his attention for him to come to the conclusion that she’d changed. It wasn’t merely that she wanted more from him than he could give—it was that she was asking for more than she previously had. In a way, he could justify her longing for connection after losing her best friend, but it was like her grief had compromised her ability to reason.
Ashlynn’s actions went beyond seeking a fresh start, going after what she wanted, and demanding more of him. She was living in a fantasy world, thinking she could win his affections after all he’d told her about his life as it was now. But—showing up at Nora’s workplace?Sizing up the competition? That wasn’t the Ashlynn he remembered; neither was it a version of her he liked.
“Hey, you good?” asked Moretti, suddenly appearing at Lawson’s side.
“Yeah,” Lawson muttered. He shook his thoughts away and pocketed his phone, resolved to let the rest of the day play out. “I’m good. Let’s get to work.”
“Mommy, why don’tyouhave a tattoo?” Lawson heard Evelyn’s question as soon as he opened the bedroom door.
“Oh, uhm, I guess I never thought of somethin’ I wanted on my body forever. They don’t wash off, you know?”
“I think I need a tattoo,” she replied, making Lawson smirk as he journeyed down the short hallway.
“Really? What would you get?”
“Uhhhh,” she hummed the word contemplatively. “A mermaid, I think.”
Lawson made it to the kitchen in time to watch Nora-Jean’s eyebrows shoot up as she fixed her gaze on her daughter. Evelyn was at the kitchen table, a bowl of oatmeal in front of her, while Nora stood at the coffee pot, filling a travel tumbler to the brim.
“A mermaid, huh?” he interjected.
Evelyn giggled as she nodded. “Yeah. I would want her to look like mommy.”
This made Nora shrug, as if she were coming around to the idea. “That’s awfully sweet of you, baby—but you’re not gettin’ a tattoo today. You’re far too young. We can talk about this again in about fifteen years, okay?”
Evelyn rolled her eyes, as if she found the suggestion ridiculous, but didn’t argue otherwise. She filled her spoon with more oatmeal and consumed a bite as Nora screwed the lid onto the tumbler and handed it to Lawson.
It was the last day of the tattoo convention. Of all the assignments he’d been on since joining Vollucci Security, thiswas among his favorites. It went beyond getting to see his sister do her thing—which she did remarkably well. There was something about being in a large room full of badass artists and their human canvases. The concentration, the competition, the comradery, it was palpable, making his job far from boring. That week, Lawson had seen a few killer tattoos walk out the door. Of course, there were also a few unfortunate ones, but to each his own.
Later in the day, Nora-Jean and Evelyn planned on stopping by for a while along with Atticus and Mitzi. His brother’s girl had her hopes set on a small tattoo of her own. With her hometown shop opening only a week away, she thought this was as good a time as any to get a little something. Not that any of them needed the excuse to come show their support for baby Steele.
“Babe?” Nora murmured, propping her hip on the side of the counter.
She was still dressed in hardly more than a sleep shirt, the hem barely reaching mid-thigh. Her hair was a voluminous mess, draped around her shoulders, over her chest and down her back. First thing in the morning, she was a sight to behold—especially when she was offering her man his daily dose of caffeine. It made him want to kiss her. He restrained himself but eliminated the space between them just the same.
“Hmm?” he hummed, resting his free hand against the small of her back.
“I’ve been wonderin’,” she paused and then reached up to sweep a few strands of hair behind his ear, the wavy locks still damp from his shower. “Are you plannin’ on marryin’ me with all this hair?”
Lawson smiled, thinking back to the previous night. He’d made his songbird croon for him. At the height of their passion, he had the distinct memory of her fingers buried in his mane as she came undone. “I thought you liked it.”
His smile widened as he watched her cheeks flush, and he knew she’d read his mind. She fought her own amusement as she cleared her throat and replied, “I do like it. But if it gets any longer, you’ll be able to pull it back into a ponytail. I can’t have you borrowin’ hair ties from Evie and me.”
This elicited another round of giggles from Evelyn, the sound drawing Lawson’s attention. “What? You won’t let me borrow one of your bows?”
“No. You’d look silly!” she laughed.
Now it was Lawson’s turn to roll his eyes. “Fine.” Directing his gaze back on Nora, he stated, “The hair can go. I know a gal. But I’m not shavin’. My baby face days are over.”
