Page 2 of Claimed By my Best Friend

“How do you like it?”

“Is she your girlfriend? She’s pretty,” he muses, and I can practically see his mind running as he tries to place her. “She’s too young to have gone to high school with us. Where do I know her from?”

“Sebastian!”

“What? Can I not ask about my friend’s personal life?” he snarks. “EventheDarrell Nord is allowed to fall in love. I know you have a reputation as Valor Spring’s official bad boy and trouble magnet…”

I glare at him, panic swelling in my chest at the chance that she’s close enough to the door to hear Sebastian. I can’t have her hearing about my past. I am not the same kid that used to cause trouble when I was younger. I am not exactly clean-cut now, but my past is something I would much rather keep behind me. Assuming she hasn’t already heard about it from the locals. Valor Springs is after all a small town with its residents all up ineveryone’s business, though most seem content to forget about the troubled kid I used to be.

She’s never given me any indication that she knows, thank God. She can’t know about my past. She just can’t!

“The tattoo, Sebastian,” I say, my voice firm. He raises a brow at my hard tone before his eyes cross to the closed door again.

“Why are you anxious all of a sudden?” His eyes assume a mischievous glint. “Oh, she’s important to you, isn’t she? Could the jaded and cold Darrell Nord be in love?”

“Fuck off.”

He laughs. “Okay, alright. I’ll mind my damn business. The tattoo looks great by the way,” he says, running his fingers over the fresh ink and nodding appreciatively. “My girlfriend is going to love it.”

“Good,” I say, getting ready to start with the aftercare. I can tell Sebastian wants to ask more questions about the girl waiting for me outside, but I ignore him as I apply a thin layer of aftercare ointment. “Leave this on for a few hours,” I say as I cover the tattoo with a sterile bandage. Even though this is far from his first tattoo, I still take a moment to explain the aftercare instructions.

“You are really not going to tell me anything about the blonde waiting for you?” Sebastian asks, shrugging on his shirt when I’m done. I begin cleaning up my workstation, ignoring the curious man. I want to turn off the music still playing, but I also don’t want to risk Sebastian saying something damning and Paula hearing it from the other side of the door.

I can’t risk her finding out about my past, or even worse…my feelings for her.

“Get out of my shop, Sebastian.”

He smirks, completely unfazed by my attitude. “You know most people beg for me to stick around and take photos. One photo with me could easily get you thousands of people flocking to you for work.”

I shudder at the thought of that. Attention is the last thing I need. Most of my clients are regulars, and I would like to keep it that way. “No, thank you.”

“Fine, I’m leaving, but don’t think for a second that this conversation is over. I’m like a dog with a bone when I want answers.”

Oh, I know he’ll bring it up in the near future, but I don’t plan on entertaining him. I follow Sebastian to the front to show him out. He flashes the girl seated in the waiting area a smile, and with a wave, he’s gone. I lock the door behind him and flip the closed sign before turning around to…her.

Paula Tate.

Valor Spring’s golden girl and the girl I have spent a better part of two years loving.

Chapter Two

Paula

My heart is pounding in my ears when Darrell flips the sign on the door and tugs down the blinds to his shop before turning to me.

His eyes are blue, like a clear sky. It’s the first thing I noticed about him when we met at the local fair. He didn’t look like the type to frequent town events, and he stood out with his dark clothes and the ink on his biceps. He is a huge man, imposing in frame with a full sleeve of tattoos and short-buzzed hair. To me, he was the most interesting thing at the fair, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Well, me and all the other girls at the fair.

When we met, I’d been trying to win a large teddy bear from one of the games. I knew the game was probably rigged, but I was determined. By my fourth attempt, I was twenty dollars poorer, frustrated, and ready to give up. Like an avenging knight, Darrell swooped in and won the bear on the first try, then turned and gave it to me. I’d convinced him to let me buy him a lemonade as thanks, and that was that. We ended up spendingthe rest of the day together touring the fair, riding all the rides, and talking like we’d known each other our entire lives.

The attention he drew didn’t seem to bother him much as we walked around together, and to date, I still have no idea what exactly he was doing at the fair. We became the type of friends that see each other nearly every day, but he’s never shown interest in visiting another fair since we met.

It’s been two years since that fateful day, and my enchantment with Darrell hasn’t changed one bit over time.

He still…captivates me. With those beautiful and intense blue eyes that remind me of a clear day. Everything about this man leaves me a stuttering mess, and I haven’t exactly made an effort to hide my feelings for him.

All things considered, ours is an odd friendship, but it’s worked well for us so far. Now, though, I want us to be more than just friends. I’ve been thinking about this for so long, and it’s about time I did something about it.

“Paula,” he says, stepping up to me, and I quickly shoot to my feet. “What’s with the paint all over you?” He nods at the stains on my shirt.

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