Tempting Tatum (14 page)

“Blaise is off. He was in Steve’s office and said he would be happy to help you move,” she says, beaming.

“Oh, no, that’s not necessary. Brent and Leah—” She holds up her finger.

“Nonsense. Brent and Blaise can do all of the heavy lifting while you girls supervise.” She winks.

I don’t bother to argue any further. If I’ve learned anything these past few weeks, if Nancy sets her mind on something, there is no talking her out of it.

Instead, I say, “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

Nancy motions me away with her hands as she answers the next incoming call.

As I walk to my office, I can’t help but be a little excited to get to spend more time with Blaise. After the fireworks were over, I didn’t see much of him. He was there by the fire, but he spent most of the time talking to his dad. After that, he just sat around the fire, sipping his beer and taking it all in. I know because I watched him from afar. Several times our eyes met, and I had to dig deep to turn away from him.

Must. Resist. Temptation.

Easier said than done with those sexy silver eyes and a smile that causes butterflies deep in the pit of my stomach.

The day flies by. I’m staying busy getting up to speed and working on marketing programs for different areas of the city. I might have also been thinking about tattooed arms and silver eyes.

Shutting down my computer, I turn out the light and head toward the main lobby.

“Tatum, wait just a second. I have something for you.”

Nancy walks from around her desk carrying two cardboard boxes. “I cleaned out the storage closet and thought you might be able to use these.”

“Thank you, that’s perfect.”

My boss, the Mayor, or Harry as he insists I call him, is leaving as well. He studies Nancy and me; then looks at the boxes. “Going somewhere?” he asks, concern lacing his voice.

Surely, he doesn’t think I’m leaving Tennessee already? Nancy answers before I do.

“Tatum is going to be Ember’s new roommate.”

I can visibly see him relax. “Well, that’s great. Since tomorrow’s Friday, why don’t you take the day off to pack? It’ll give you an extra day to get settled. This has been an off week with the holiday anyway. We’ll hit the ground running on Monday.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” I tell him.

“I insist. Take the day. I’ll see you on Monday,” he says to me. Turning to Nancy he says, “You too. You work too hard and need an extra day. I’ll have Donna come in with me tomorrow and she can cover the phones.”

Donna is his wife. Nancy mentioned that sometimes she covers when Nancy needs the day off. I offered for her to train me and I would be happy to cover for her as well.

“That’s very thoughtful of you. Thank you,” Nancy says.

“Yes, thank you. Are you sure?” I ask.

“Positive, now be gone,” he laughs. “Enjoy your weekend. I’ll see y’all Monday.”

With that, he turns and walks out the door. I turn to Nancy. “Wow. That was nice.”

She smiles. “He’s great to work for. This is truly a family environment,” she says, placing her hand on my shoulder. She knows there is something in my past. She knows my parents are gone, but I didn’t tell her how. I can’t think about that day for a multitude of reasons. My nightmares are less frequent, but still there. I don’t try to decipher why I told Blaise, well not everything, but he knows about the accident. I haven’t told anyone the details. That’s a conversation I don’t think I could live through.

I’m sitting in Dad’s office discussing my schedule for the next few weeks when his cell rings. I watch as he checks the screen and a smile breaks across his face. Mom.

He answers. I continue to look at the schedule and compare it to the Self Expressions client schedule in my phone.

“Can you help Tatum move into your sister’s this weekend?” he asks me.

My head snaps up.

Tatum.

I’ve tried unsuccessfully to not think about her since the party yesterday. “Sure,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. I’m trying to hide the fact that the thought of spending the day with her excites me.

Dad passes the information along to Mom. I hear him tell her he loves her too and put his phone back on the desk.

I focus my attention on the schedule. I can feel him watching me. “Have you thought any more about what we talked about last night?” he asks.

“Nothing but,” I say with a sigh.

Dad nods his head in approval and resumes our conversation about the schedule.

After Dad and I get the schedule worked out, I quickly say goodbye and head to the shop. I have a full client load today.

Walking into the shop, I see there is no one at the counter. We really need to hire someone to replace Ember. I head back to my station and set up for my first client. The schedule says Misty and rose tattoo. I hear the chime over the door, and Asher’s voice greets the visitor. I continue my setup.

“Hey, man, your client’s here,” Asher says in the doorway.

“Thanks. I’ll be up in a minute.”

Asher chuckles, “Good luck with this one, bro. I can already tell you’re going to have your hands full. Your last client is at five, just in case you need to make plans,” he says, wagging his eyebrows at me.

I don’t know why, but that irritates me. Unless a five foot five beauty with locks of silky dark hair and sparkling green eyes is on my schedule, it’s not going to happen.

I finish setting up my gun and walk out to the reception area to call back my client, Misty with the rose.

“Misty,” I say to get her attention.

She licks her lips as she walks toward me. Great, here we go. I really don’t feel like dealing with her, but what choice do I have? I’m just glad Asher is in the next room and we’re not here alone.

“Have a seat.” I motion to the table. “So it says here you want a rose. Do you have anything in particular in mind, and what location were you thinking?” I ask, getting right down to business.

Misty pulls a small piece of paper out of her bra and winks at me. Yeah, that’s not really doing it for me. In the past when this kind of thing would happen, I would just chalk it up to another easy lay. They’re all the same. Things have changed; I don’t want an easy lay. I refuse to think about why that is.

I slip on my gloves before taking the paper from her hand. I can tell by the look in her eyes and the small pfft sound she makes that I’ve offended her. I’m not going to be losing any sleep over it.

I take the paper to my desk in the corner and begin to draw up a design. We get a lot of request for roses, so this is a quick process for me. Once I’m finished, I show Misty the design.

“I love it. It’s sexy, just like you,” she says with a purr.

Really? I ignore her statement and begin to cup up the ink colors I’ll be using. Once I have everything ready, I turn to Misty. “All right, so where do you want it,” I ask her.

Misty licks her lips and trails her hand over her crotch, up her stomach, and onto her right breast. “How about right here,” she purrs.

I have to fight against rolling my eyes at her. She’s not sexy; she’s easy. Easy used to be enough; not anymore. Visions of Tatum last night flash through my mind. I push them down and regain my focus on Misty and her rose tattoo. The sooner I get her out of here, the better.

Unfortunately for me, Misty wants the rose placed on her left breast. This means I will have to touch her…there. Normally this would be a good thing. I’ve never minded touching the many women’s body parts that come through the shop, but tonight, I’m just not feeling it. Thank God, it’s a small piece and I can have her out of here in less than thirty minutes.

Misty pulls her tank top over her head. She reaches to unhook her bra and I stop her.

“That’s not necessary for the placement,” I tell her.

Again with the pfft sound. Whatever.

I place the transfer paper and hand her a mirror. She agrees with the placement and I get right to work.

“So what time do you get off tonight?” she asks me.

“Not until later. Asher and I have a family thing,” I tell her. I wish she would just not talk. That wish goes unanswered.

“What about after?”

“It will be a while,” I reply without looking at her.

“Hmpf. I was told you were a sure thing,” she scoffs.

My temper is flaring by this point. Who the hell is this chick? “Well, you were given false information. I’m taken.” The words spill out of my mouth before I even realize what I’m saying. Asher clears his throat behind me.

I lift my gun from Misty’s breast and turn to look at him. “I’m going to run next door, want anything?” he asks, smirking.

Great, he heard me.

“Yeah, pick me up a sweet tea will you?” I ask him, ignoring the fact he heard me tell Misty I’m taken.

I turn back around and resume Misty’s tattoo. She doesn’t try to make conversation and neither do I. Asher walks in just as I give her the care instructions.

“What about you, sugar, you free tonight?” she asks in what I can only guess is a voice that is meant to be sultry. Yeah, it’s not.

Asher throws his head back in laughter. “Hell, no. I’m unavailable,” he tells her.

Misty smirks. “I won’t tell if you won’t,” she tells him.

“All right, this one’s on the house; time for you to go,” I say, standing up so she can get off the table.

Misty stands and her mouth is gaping open. She looks like a fish. “Well, whatever!” she says as she storms out of the building.

Asher finally composes himself and plops down on the table.

“Dude, I just cleaned that,” I tell him.

“Chill out,” he replies. “So you’re a taken man, huh?”

I give him the look. You know the ‘shut the fuck up, you’re on my last nerve’ look. “I had to shut her up,” I tell him through gritted teeth.

“Hmmm,” Asher says, tapping his index finger against his chin. “Are you sure this has nothing to do with a dark haired beauty who seems to have attracted your attention?” he says slyly.

“This has nothing to do with Tatum,” I grit out.

“How do you know I was talking about Tatum? There is a harem of dark haired beauties who come through these doors,” he quips.

“Shut it,” I tell him.

“Bro, she seems like a great girl. She’s not like the harem; she’s different,” he says, growing serious.

“Yeah, she’s my Grace,” I mumble under my breath.

Asher sits up. “What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on, dude. What did you say?” he asks again.

I shake my head no and continue to clean up.

“You don’t have to repeat it because I heard you. I just wanted to hear you admit it again, louder,” he says.

I remain silent, still just cleaning up my area.

“Blaise,” Asher says my name in a tone where I know he’s being serious. “If what you said is true, if Tatum is your Grace,” a huge grin crosses his face from just speaking her name, “hold on tight with everything you’ve got. That doesn’t happen twice in a lifetime.”

I take a deep breath and exhale. All this shit has got me tied up in knots. Tatum is always front and center in my mind. The shit my dad was saying last night intertwined with the feelings I’ve been having and now Asher, too. “Dad said some stuff last night,” I say. I don’t look at him as I continue to clean up. I can feel him watching me.

“Really? Was it the story of how he knew when Mom was the one?” Asher asks.

“Yep.”

Asher walks over and places his hand on my shoulder. “Bro, don’t fight it.” And with that, he leaves me to myself.