Page 166 of Tattooed Love

“Amber, you look,” Troy pulled her off him, “Professional!” He grinned. “And really happy.”

“I am!” She frowned, “Although I don’t know how to take the professional comment. Sounds like something dad would say.” She gave him a pointed look.

“Move over!” Cole pushed Troy over and wrapped his arms around her. “You forgiven me yet?”

“I told you Cole, months ago, I’m not upset with you,” she said into his chest, her voice muffled. “God, have you put on more muscle?”

“Says the girl who looks like she has given up eating,” he grunted back. “Seriously Amber, you have always been small, but I don’t approve of this new skinny frame.”

“I just train a lot. Tae is very into exercise.” She pulled back from him, grinning up at him, looking like she was telling the truth. Actually, I looked closer at her expression. She was telling the truth.

Cole let go of her and Tyler was quick to take the opportunity to get a hold of her.

“I’ve missed you little sis.” Tyler lifted her off the ground.

“Yeah. I’ve missed you too Ty,” she said into his shoulder. “I like your neck tattoo by the way,” she said as he put her back on the ground.

“Got my other leg done too.”

“You will have to show me.”

“Yeah, Cole got the rest of his back done. In fact, we’ve all been getting our tattoos finished,” Tyler made conversation with her. He was right, we all had been spending more time at our tattooist.

Even me.

And I had one particular one that I had got yesterday that I wanted her to see.

“Must be in our blood or something cause Tae just paid for my back piece,” she said, and my eyes widened. She had done what?!

“What?!” Cole snapped at her. “Since when did you do tattoos?”

“Well, first I got that awful mark on my stomach covered, then I got the HellBound tattoo covered, which turned into a theme, which resulted in a back piece.”

“I thought you were never going to get that tattoo covered?” Adam picked up on something she had said a long time ago, and moved to hug her.

“I just had to let go of the past. Covering that was well, a needed step.” She was hugging him and then frowning. “Why didn’t you answer the other day?”

Adam and her relationship I never got. He wasn’t overly protective of her. They didn’t have the unhealthy relationship she had with Cole. She didn’t play with him, like she did with Tyler and she didn’t treat him seriously, like she did Troy.

If anything, they just supported each other. Maybe it was because they were closest in age but he was the one that had made the rest of her brothers come around when it came to me. He was the one encouraging me to make up with her.

In fact, he always supported her and I. Like he knew what her heart wanted, and he supported it, but he had told me not to muck up her new chance with a new guy. If she had moved on, I had to let her.

He was the only one of them that knew I hadn’t moved on from her.

And right now, they were having a silent conversation with their eyes.

So I was half surprised when he stepped out of my way, letting go of her. Her eyes went from him to me, and that’s where they stayed.

After how I treated her, I would understand if she ignored me. The old Amber would have punched me, insulted me, screamed all the reasons I was wrong for doing what I had done.

But the Amber I was looking at right now, well, she wasn’t doing any of those things.

Her eyes mirrored mine; pain. It was painful seeing her. After all this time, it still hurt to see her. Hurt more knowing she’d said I’d never get her back.

She took a big gulp of air in, and all her brothers were watching her reaction. Was she going to be childish? Was she going to play a game? Amber knew I loved her. She had all the cards. She could flirt and dance with fire by teasing me with Tae, and I would have to suffer it. Hell, if teasing me was all she was going to do… I deserved a lot worse.

Instead, she took a step closer to me, and then another, until she was standing in front of me.

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