Page 20 of The Heartbreak List

“She was.” His smile is indulgent and sad at the same time. He and his grandma must have been close. He must miss her a lot. “Anyway, I was thinking about Grandma last night and it occurred to me that I should google what you could and can’t do in your current situation.”

“No tattoo.” I sigh. “No dying my hair.”

“No drinking, smoking, fighting or…” His mouth curls up on one side. “Fucking strangers.”

“Well, that last one isn’t a problem.” I can’t even get Gray to have sex with me these days. Not that I have the energy for it all that often. I have no interest in sleeping with anyone else. “And actually, none of them are a problem.”

“Perhaps not for you.” Theo snorts to himself while he rocks on the balls of his feet.

I stick my tongue in my cheek. “I guess we should both be glad I’m the one dying, huh?”

He turns so that we’re facing each other. There’s a boyishness to his smile. It’s replaced the sadness and a flash of seriousness. “So here is what we’re going to do.”

Butterflies start in my belly.

“We’re going to go inside and meet Harlan. I asked him to draw up something special for you.”

“But—”

“It’s a temporary tattoo. It’ll last a few weeks and won’t be a problem with the chemo.” He leans in and takes my elbow. “I made sure.”

“Seriously?” He went above and beyond so I’d be able to cross this off my bucket list. I’m suddenly awake and practically bouncing on my toes as warmth radiates through me.

“Yes, seriously.” He ushers me into the shop, grinning. “And once we’re done here you can come to the bar while I open, and we’ll work on what should really be on that list of yours.”

The man with the turquoise mohawk looks up from the arm piece he’s working on.

Theo approaches the counter. “We’re here to see Harlan.”

The guy nods and calls out to someone who must be in the back.

A few minutes later another man saunters into the main room. He has shoulder length, finger combed blond waves, and an incredible jawline. His body has been melted down and poured into jeans and a white muscle top that is so fitted it looks like if he flexed, he would rip through it like a werewolf under a full moon. And the tattoos are so… prolific, artistic, delicious. They give him that wild boy vibe.

America would love him. My chest tightens. She would want to be here, doing this.

Theo chuckles as he steps forward to clasp arms and bro hug with the guy. “This is my friend I was telling you about. Indy.”

“Hello, Indy. I’m Harlan.” He has these pale green eyes that seem to see everything as he sweeps them over me from head to toe and back again. They brighten when he smiles. Lines crinkle his cheek as he takes my hand and covers it with his. “What are you doing with this asshole? You’re not his sister, and you don’t seem like one of those fight groupies.”

“Fight groupies?” The first time I saw him he was covered in bruises, the next time… well, I was pre-occupied. Since then he’s worn a T-shirt that’s barely more than a second skin. I assumed… I don’t know what I assumed the bruising was from. Fighting makes sense though. That must be why he said it was one of his vices.

Harlan looks to Theo. “She doesn’t know?”

“What?” I glance between the two men, both with their lips pressed together into tight lines. It seems whatever the secret is, it’s a bone of contention between them.

“She’s a friend.” Theo crosses his arms. “That’s all. How about we stop asking stupid questions and concentrate on the tattoo?”

“You’ll love it.” Harlan walks over to a station, where he gestures for me to sit. “Theo told me that you wanted cutesy and that it should be symbolic, to represent the bucket list.”

“You put that much effort into this?” Why?

Theo still has his arms crossed over his chest as he leans against a cupboard, but he also has a good vantage point to supervise from. “Tattoos should mean something.”

“Have you decided where you want to put it?” Harlan asks me.

“On my arm.” I pull up the sleeve of the loose peasant top that I’m wearing and cover the top half of my forearm with my hand to indicate the placement.

“Oh, yeah. It’ll be perfect.” His smile widens. “I’ll go grab the decal off the printer and we’ll put it on.”

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