Given that the shops on either side of it were both closed, this was the only possible option.

“Are you getting a tattoo?” Not gonna lie. I was super surprised that he was even taking me into tattoo territory, given what happened between us the last time the subject came up. But I wasn’t going to go there, especially not when he seemed so pleased with himself.

“Nope.”

“Then why are we here?”

“Because you are. Thought you might want to tick something else off that list of yours.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I squealed, but the glint in his eyes said it all. Oh, he was dead serious, and my excitement level shot through the RV’s roof. “Let’s fucking go.”

I had the door open and my feet on the pavement before he’d even killed the engine. He met me near the door, putting a gentle hand on the small of my back and guiding me inside.

“Hey. It’s Mack, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m Meryl. You must be Arabella.”

Meryl was tall, like close to six feet, I’d say, with tattoos winding up her arms and creeping around her neck. Her short, cherry red hair was styled in a choppy pixie cut and her ice green eyes were rimmed in a smoky, gunmetal gray. She wore a leather vest, a black tank and a pair of ripped jeans. On her feet were a pair of chunky, studded combat boots. She’d be scary as fuck if she wasn’t so friendly.

“I sure am.”

“Welcome.”

“Thanks, Meryl.”

“Gotta say I just about jumped out of my skin when that Evelyn lady called me. I’ve been keeping up with the show and I just love what you guys are doing.” Then she laughed and made a motion as though she was zipping her lips closed. “But I’ve signed an NDA, so don’t go asking me any questions.”

Laughing in return, I assured her, “We won’t.”

“Awesome. Come on over here and take a look at the portfolio.”

Meryl spread a huge, glossy book on the counter and we flipped through, oohing and ahhing and pointing. Well, I was oohing, aahing and pointing. Mack was his usual quiet self.

“How about a butterfly?”

I glanced at the intricate butterfly design Mack pointed out, its wings adorned with stunningly detailed patterns. “It’s pretty, but it’s not really...me, you know?” I felt a thrill shoot through me just saying that out loud. A tattoo had to be something super personal, something that resonated with my core. After all, I was going to be looking at it every day for the rest of my life.

He nodded, his eyes roaming over the other designs, clearly as invested in this as I was. “Yeah, I get it. It should mean something to you.” The next page had a phoenix rising from the ashes. “Too predictable.”

“Yeah.”

I loved that he got it so quickly. “Check this out,” I said, pointing at a crescent moon adorned with dangling stars. “What do you think?”

He squinted at it for a moment. “It’s cool, but does it say ‘Arabella’ to you?”

“Mmm, you’re right,” I conceded, flipping the page.

Next up was a dragon, coiled and fierce, almost like it was guarding something precious. “How about something more badass?” I grinned, waiting for his reaction.

He chuckled. “As badass as you are, it’s not the vibe I get from you. You’re more... graceful, if that makes sense?”

“Aaww, thank you.” I tilted my head, taking a moment to really let that sink in before turning my attention back to the book. My fingers traced over the pages until I paused at a design that really spoke to me. A lotus flower, elegantly unfurled, petals outlined in a delicate black ink, sat on the page as if waiting for me. It was like it whispered, ‘I am you, you are me.’

“Wow, look at this,” I breathed, tapping the lotus design. “This is... this is it, Mack.”

He leaned in closer, his gaze dropping to the lotus, then back up to meet mine. “Yeah. I like it. It really suits you.”