Page 30 of Beck

Kole shook his head. “You really need to get more sleep before a Monday morning.”

“I get enough sleep, thanks. What I don’t get enough of is seeing Di singing her heart out at karaoke.”

Kole laughed. “You’re smitten.”

“You will be, too, when you find your match. How’s that going, by the way?”

Ignoring the need to divulge and dissect what had happened with Beck, he huffed a laugh. “I’m happy to just find my feet in a new city for now. I’ll consider looking for my soul mate in a few months. Is that okay with you?”

Christi sighed. “I suppose. I just want you to be happy.”

“I know, and I am. I promise. This move, while unexpected, was the best idea I think I’ve ever had.”

“What about that time you—”

“Nope. We’re not doing memory lane. We all have plenty of things hidden in our closets, Christi. No need to unlock those doors.” He laughed, setting her off.

“Well, if you insist.” She snorted.

“How’s the salon?” he asked once they’d calmed.

Christi and Di were working on getting the perfect location for the salon they wanted to open together. It was an inspired idea, what with their unique skill sets and abilities, and clients would beat the door down as soon as they opened.

“We’ve just found a space that might work,” she gushed. “We’re going to look at it tomorrow.”

“That’s great. Just remember not to sign on the line before you’ve gone away and thought about it first.”

“Yes, Dad,” she sassed.

They spoke for a few minutes more before Christi rang off when Di got the microphone. Apparently, Di couldn’t persuade Christi to go running, which Kole was not surprised about, and she also couldn’t get her to sing with her. She wasn’t remotely into getting sweaty anymore, as she called it, but give her yoga, Pilates or meditation, and she was there for it. She used to go to the gym all the time, but recently, she had changed what she had enjoyed previously. Kole thought something might’ve happened, but he had no proof, especially as Christi had never seemed scared or anything remotely unsure or unhappy. Maybe he was looking for answers where there weren’t any, and Christi was just fed up with what she had been doing and wanted a change. He hoped so, anyway.

Despite the still fairly early hour after he’d said goodbye to one of his best friends, he got ready for bed and slid between the clean sheets. The scent of Beck had gone, although he could lie to himself, but the memories hadn’t. And they are what kept him company during the dark hours of the winter’s night.

It was three days before he saw Beck again. The guy had been sent to cover Dallas in Scotland, and because they loved taking their own equipment, he had driven himself up there early on Monday morning. Kole wasn’t sure why he had gone in Dallas’s place, but it wasn’t his place to ask.

When he did catch a glimpse of him, Beck was running down the stairs to reception, but by the time Kole got there, he had left the building for lunch. If Kole had been a worrier, he’d have thought Beck was avoiding him, but there was no reason for him to do that. They both knew what they’d had was a fleeting onenight—all right, one night and one day—but they’d agreed that it wouldn’t affect their working relationship.

Hadn’t they?

Kole thought they had, but what if Beck didn’t want to see him anymore? Even as a friend? What if it made things too difficult for them both to work there? Kole would have to leave. After all, artists were a dime a dozen, whereas a tattooist was a different matter. Especially one as talented as Beck was.

“Everything okay?” Ani asked, and Kole realised he’d stopped at the desk and was staring out into the rainy day. He shook himself.

“Yeah, sorry. My mind is a little frazzled.”

“You should go for a walk. Staring at the same four walls can drive everyone insane at times. Have you had lunch?”

Kole shook his head. “I brought stuff.” He tilted his head towards the stairs.

“Even so. If you hurry, you might be able to catch up with Beck. He’s gone to get his and my lunch. He won’t mind you tagging along.”

But would he?

“Thanks. I just might do that. Be nice to get some fresh air, even though there’s a little shower with it.”

Ani chuckled. “Well, British people could never be said to stay indoors when it’s raining. We’d never be out of the house.”

Smiling, he left the shop, even as those pesky butterflies in his stomach tried to fly out into the rain-soaked streets. He pulled his hood over his head and headed down the street to where Ani said Beck was heading. He wanted to see him, to make sure they were okay, that there weren’t any issues between them. Seeing Beck’s eyes was the only way for him to know the truth. And when he stepped inside the sandwich shop, Beck’s eyes lit up, and all the tension Kole had been carrying disappeared.

---