Page 86 of Hooked
Tayla set her books down on the desk in back where Ginger’s computer lived. “Hey, Ginger?”
“Be down in a sec!”
Like Emmie, Ginger’s apartment was above her shop. Also like Emmie, Ginger had once lived with Ox. Awkward? Maybe. But you had to get over all sorts of things when you lived in a small town, even exes living right across the street and working at rival businesses.
Not that it was all that dramatic a year and a half after the initial conflict. Ginger was never going to be Emmie’s favorite person, but they weren’t enemies or anything.
Tayla had developed a sudden interest in relationship dynamics. Why did Ox and Emmie work but Ginger and Ox didn’t? Were they too much alike? Maybe. When Tayla thought about it, more couples she knew were different than they were alike. Ox and Emmie. Daisy and Spider.
Speak of the devil.
Spider walked into the shop and bumped knuckles with Russ. He smiled when he spotted Tayla. “Hey, gorgeous girl.”
She walked over and gave him a hug. “Hey yourself. How you doing? Haven’t seen you in a while.”
He shrugged. “Busy at home. Refinishing the woodwork in the front bedroom.”
Spider was one of the preeminent tattoo artists on the West Coast, regularly visited by very picky clientele and regularly profiled in national magazines and trade journals.
But his face was never shown, and he kept a very low personal profile. The man didn’t even have a mobile phone. He was like the opposite of a marketing genius. He had no social media. No website.
The mystique had become his brand.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He lifted his arm and Tayla saw an outline of flowers spreading from below his elbow and wrapping around his wrist. “Working with Ginger on a new piece.”
“I didn’t know you got your tattoos from her.”
“Notjusther, but…” He lowered his voice. “Ginger’s better than Ox. Especially with color.”
Russ laughed in the corner. “It’s true.”
“Shut up, Russ.”
Tayla examined his arm. “Daisies?”
Spider’s harsh face broke into a grin. “Gotta get my woman on my skin, no doubt.”
“That’s gonna be beautiful.” She dropped his arm and walked back to the desk just as Ginger came downstairs.
“Hey, Spider.”
“Hey.” He handed her a coffee. “Large caffe latte, as requested.”
“You’re a saint.” Ginger reached for the coffee.
“I’m the opposite.” Spider sat down on Ginger’s rolling stool. “Ready when you are.”
“Get outta my chair. This isn’t your place. We doing all the fill today?”
“I think we have time.” Spider smiled and moved to the client chair. “The area’s not that big.”
“Let’s do the main fill, then we’ll talk about shading when that’s done. Just because it’s flowers doesn’t mean it’s not worth the time to do it right.”
“Damn straight.”
Tayla broke into their conversation. “Ginger, I’m probably going to have the occasional question while I do the books since we’re new. Is that cool, or am I going to be distracting you?”
