Page 42 of My Promise To Keep

She nods as she swigs from her bottle.

‘Bud got sick, Lacey too. They ate some bad chicken or something, and it took them both out. Bud before his shift. Lacey about forty minutes after she got to work.’

‘Oh, man,’ I grimace, and she nods.

‘I would have called Bree or Doug, but Bree drank way too much at the party, and Doug and Cara only got back today. I didn’t want to drag him away.’

‘You could have called me.’

‘Turns out I didn’t need to.’

She holds my gaze, and I take a breath. This is it — this is the moment.

‘Munch,’

‘I’m sorry,’ she cuts me off. ‘Shutting you out the way I did, I’m sorry, Leo. I was angry.’

‘I know,’ I admit. ‘I acted like a dick, but, Zo, even though I didn’t handle it the right way, I hope you know why I reacted to seeing you with him.’

‘Leo,’ my name is a groan, and I know she doesn’t want me to say anymore, but I can’t stop now. I reach out and take her bottle from her hands, putting it down with mine before shuffling a little closer. I’m straddling the wall, facing her side, so she turns to look me in the eye, and I see the worry, the nerves.

Reaching up, I push her hair behind her ear and run my knuckles down over her jaw. Her eyes close, and when she opens them again, the worry is fading, being replaced by something else, something I’ve seen before.

‘Zoe, I wasn’t the man you needed me to be back then, but the way I feel about you has never changed, not even for a second.’

She exhales a soft, warm breath into the night air and shivers as my fingers trail down over her shoulder and the back of her arm until her hand is in mine.

‘I want to show you, Zo. I want to show you I can be the man you need.’

‘Leo, I…’

The vibration of the cell phone in her back pocket reverberates through the side of my knee, making me realize how close I was, and it seems to wake her up, pulling her out of the haze as she reaches back, and I see the name that acts like a cold bucket of water for her: Doug.

‘Hey,’ she says as she answers, and I hear his deep voice on the other end.

‘Zo, what happened tonight?’

‘What do you mean?’ Her voice is pinched as she turns, pulling her legs back from the edge and standing. I can’t hear him anymore as she walks away from me, but I watch, desperate to get back to where we just were. ‘No, it’s fine. Yeah, he walked in at the right time and helped me out.’ She swallows and chews her bottom lip, then looks up to meet my gaze once more. ‘Yeah, that’s what family’s for.’

And just like that, I realize I still have work to do. In Forest Falls, more than anywhere else, I’m her brother’s best friend. I’m her neighbor, her husband’s cousin, and her friend, and our family and a lifetime of memories surround us. It’s going to be harder than I thought to convince her to let me be more than that. I can’t just dive into this. I need a plan.

The Signs Of A Man In Love

Leo

Staring down at thedesign under my hands, I smile.Damn, that’s good. I’m not humble about my work. I know I’m great at what I do.

I’ve had a talent for art for as long as I can remember and became interested in tattoos in my early teens. I’ve put the work in, studied techniques and styles, completed my apprenticeship, and worked my way to where I am today: a successful, in-demand tattoo artist with a reputation growing faster than I can keep up with.

I travel all over the country for conventions and guest spots in other shops, but Lion Ink, right here in South Carolina, is my home and my biggest achievement.

‘Wow, boss, that is cool as fuck.’ Fi stands over me, and I nod my agreement. ‘Your work has been fire lately.’

‘Jesus, babe. She means even more than usual,’ Gus calls out, shaking his head, and I laugh.

‘You know, I have to agree, it feels different right now — like I’m more focused than I’ve been before.’

Who knew all I needed to take my work to the next level was a little clarity?

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