Lindsay had chosen frames that complimented one another.
Emily smiled at the next one. “We look good here.”
He reached for the photo of Lindsay and Emily at the shop and nodded. The only personal things in Lindsay’s entire place were attached to them.
“Here’s the last one.” It was a smaller picture, one with an easel back, not meant for a wall hanging, but to be put on a table. Emily handed it to him.
A tightness squeezed uncomfortably on his chest. It was a photo of the two of them, and he chewed the inside of his mouth while he absorbed the image. He remembered Ivan snapping the shot at the shop. When Lindsay blushed, he found an excuse to take her into his arms and bent her back. Somehow Ivan managed to snap the photo right as they were looking at each other. He could see the connection between them, and he wanted it back.
“Please let her forgive me.” He wiped off a light glaze of dust, stopping when his thumb covered up his hair and got a sudden flash of a different couple. This one wasn’t of an accountant with a crazy tattoo artist, but of two people who belonged together. “The kind of man I can be.”
“What?” Emily returned.
He moved his hand and set the photo aside. “Nothing.”
“We need to get moving, you still have to get to LAX.”
“LAX,” he repeated. “Let’s go.” He glanced at the box one more time before they left.
Chapter Nineteen
“We have arrived in Ontario.” The pilot’s voice announced. Everyone scrambled for their luggage while Lindsay sat, frozen to her seat. Once she stepped off that plane she needed to face some huge things. First, her job. It was a code red mess, and she swallowed hard when she watched Mr. Sebastian and Rick prepare to leave the plane. Second, her other job, or her business. She had a ton of work to do for her makeshift accounting firm.
That brought her to the third and most important item on her list. Shane. What could have happened in the last three days? Did he pine away for her or decide he was better off without her? Could she forgive him? Did she even have the right to be mad after putting him through a week of waiting for her to decide? Was the bartender right?
“You all right?” Rick came over.
“I feel a little sick.” With no real plan and her mental ledger pages full, she was a bit lost. She stood in the aisle with everyone else.
“One too many drinks with the tattooed bartender.” Rick nudged her. “You like the bad boys don’t you?”
“Take tomorrow off.” Mr. Sebastian patted the top of her head. “Both of you, you earned it.” He stretched. “The company car will be waiting for us.”
As she neared the escalator she caught sight of a few reunions. One woman and her mother embraced, and a twang of homesickness hit her. Another man ran to a woman, but when he caught her and leaned her back for a kiss, Lindsay had to avert her eyes. Her homesickness turned into jealousy.
Rick tapped her shoulder, and as she turned, something caught her attention.
An arc of blue-black.
Her body heated at the mere idea that she’d spotted it.
Tears blurred her vision and her chest and stomach clenched in unison. She forced herself to face Rick, deciding to blame her vision on altitude changes. “What?”
“Are you going to throw up?”
“I don’t know.” She stared at him while a nagging feeling to double check bubbled up in her stomach.
“Lindsay’s going to be sick.” Rick took her arm.
Mr. Sebastian came forward.
She put her hand over her mouth, certain she was losing her mind. She couldn’t have seen him. How would Shane have gotten there? Her flight was rerouted so many times, she was sure no one knew she was there. Besides, he wouldn’t have trekked all the way to Ontario, not after she’d point blank told him to leave her alone.
“Do you need to sit down?” Mr. Sebastian took her other arm.
She needed to confirm that the arc of blue-black was what she wanted it to be. Admitting she wanted it to be Shane confirmed that she needed to talk to him. In fact, she couldn’t wait.
“Can I use your phone?” She asked, afraid to look back.
“Give her your phone and go get her a bottle of water. We have at least a two hour drive back at this time of day.” Mr. Sebastian commanded.
Rick reached into his pocket and got his phone. “If you’re planning to call your friend, he’s right there.”
Shane. He always came for her. Was he really there, or was she dreaming? The room spun as she turned, and she pressed her lips together in an effort not to burst out crying.
Shane Elliott had found her.
Her heart beat hard and fast, vibrating her entire body.
He stood and casually leaned against the wall at the bottom of the escalator. The second her gaze caught his, he stood straight and revealed a huge bouquet of red roses from behind his back.
Her attempt to hold back the tears failed.
“Who’s that?” Mr. Sebastian asked.
“I have to go.” She extracted herself from his hold.
“Is that our driver?”
“No.” She headed for the escalator.
Shane wasn’t wearing tattered jeans and a t-shirt. This time was completely different. She assessed him from the shoes up. Gone were his high-tops and in their place sleek pair of dress shoes, his worn blue jeans were replaced by a pair of well-fitting black jeans, and his T-shirt was now a long-sleeved black and blue striped button down layered with a matching black shirt underneath. He was gorgeous and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
At last when she made it to the bottom, he motioned for her to move to one side.
The chaos of the airport faded into the background, the people disappeared, and she forgot to breathe. She longed to touch him to make sure he was real, but before she did anything she needed to see what he planned to do.
His eyes met hers and he held the flowers out to her. “Sometimes clichés are good.”
“What do you mean?” Her mind reeled from it all. She hardly recognized her own voice.
“They express everything you want to say.” He swallowed. “If you’ll do me the honor, I would like to take you out tonight on the date you deserved Saturday.”
Even if she wanted it, she couldn’t just let him come and make it better. They both had too many doubts.
“Please, Lindsay.”
Her heart screamed yes. It wanted to forget everything and let him take her out, but her mind crept in. She ground her teeth trying to prevent the next words from leaving her mouth, but she couldn’t. “What happened Saturday?”
“I screwed up one of the best things that ever happened to me.” His answer was fast, his words direct.
“Why didn’t you come?” She focused just beyond his shoulder and waited. She heard him inhale and could tell he was struggling, but she needed to know.
“I got in a fight with Dillon. He said some things that made me question if I could be the man for you.” He stepped closer.
The heat in her cheeks burned. “I don’t understand.”
He stepped even closer. The cellophane wrapping on the flowers crinkled between them. “I can’t just take you out and have it mean nothing later.” He leaned over until he looked into her eyes. “That’s not us.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Never meant anything more.” He caught her tear with his fingertip. “I want to be with you, Lindsay.”
Like a dream, Shane swept in like he always did and set things right, but somehow he managed to make the dream better.
“I want us to go out. Right now, just you and me, like it should have been.”
“I’m not even dressed.” She needed the chance to process, get out her ledger and analyze the situation.
He placed the flowers in her hand, and brushed his fingers against hers. “I thought you might want to change, so I brought your dress and everything.” He pointed to the far end of the baggage claim area. A man in a burgundy suit and hat was stand
ing by the door saluted them.
“You know someone in Ontario?”
“If you give a man a good tattoo, he’s your friend for life.” He touched her cheek. “Please say yes.”
For more times than she cared to count, she slammed her mental ledger closed. Who was she kidding? She was going to go. “Let me change.”
*~*~*
“Shane.” Lindsay gasped. “What is this?”
For the first time since that ill-fated night, Shane felt like himself and he smiled. His goal was to show Lindsay the type of man he could be, and with the flowers and the limo, he knew he was on the right path. However, when he took her into the exclusive clubhouse at a beautiful racetrack near Los Angeles, he knew he’d won the race. Her face lit up, and she clutched his hand in both of hers.
“I thought you might like this.” His original plan of sushi and a club wasn’t special enough. He wanted to do something purely Lindsay, and luckily he had friends in all the right places.
“I love it.”
He put his arm around her as they were led to their table overlooking the finish line.
She sat by the window and he sat next to her, ordered two beers and handed her the racing programs. “Do you know how to do this?” He didn’t really care if they bet or not, but he wanted to hear her voice. She was quiet the whole ride, and he’d been content just holding her hand.
“You know. This is really a science.” She opened the paper.
“I take it you’re fluent in horseracing?” He glanced over at the gibberish on the page, impressed at how she read it with ease.
“I know a bit.” As she assessed the races, she ran her finger down the list. “This is a young horse, he’s doing well, but his jockey isn’t my favorite and he may not be used to racing here.”
“Okay.” He tossed some bills on the table. “How do we do this?”
“You can bet to win, place, or show.” She retrieved a pen from her purse and made some notes on the paper. “Or we can try an exacta, trifecta or superfecta.”
“Superfecta.” He leaned over, putting his face closer to hers. “So I suppose choosing a horse because the name is cool is not going to work.”
He watched her eyes move down and the smile dissipated. Not sure what caused the reaction, he hooked his finger under her chin and made her face him. “I’m glad you came with me tonight.” Ragtime music whispered through the restaurant and he took the program from her hand. “They’re playing our song.” He stood and took her to the miniscule dance floor.
Lindsay glided into his arms. “I only slow dance.”
“Well then that’s what we should do.” They swayed together.
“How did you find me?”
“I had to.” He wrapped one arm around her pressing her to him. “I had to.”
“I’m so glad you did.”
He didn’t really know what to say, and put his hand on the crook of her neck.
“I was going to talk to you when I got home.” She swallowed. “I never gave you a chance to explain.”
“We’re here now.” He kissed her ear.
“Biomechanical tattoo.” She ran her hand across his forearm.
“What?” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
“I just like this one.”
Any time she acknowledged his tattoos it ignited something in him and he squeezed her close.
“Why tattoos?” Lindsay asked softly.
Now they weren’t dancing, they simply stood in the middle of the dance floor holding each other.
“I don’t know. I always drew.” He wanted to give her an honest answer. “At first I thought it was cool. Ivan and I would hang out at Hugh and Stubbs every weekend. They started paying me to create pictures and I found something really fulfilling about seeing what I drew on people’s skin. It’s not really art.”
“Yeah, well I call it art. A lot more people pay for your art than most traditional artists, and your customers wear your art permanently.” She stared up at him. “They have to love it forever.”
“Lindsay.” He tangled his hand in her hair. “Maybe I should have stayed an artist and tried to make it in the business world.” Now he frowned and turned away. “I screwed up in so many ways.”
“You’ve done what most people don’t have the guts to do and started your own business. We will fix this.” She took hold of his upper arms. “We’re getting organized, I’m making arrangements with those you owe money to, and the IRS is only going back a year.”
At her words his blood pooled in his feet. After all they had been through, he couldn’t tell her, not with her looking at him with hope and conviction. She was even more stunning when she had a cause.
“Maybe we should get to some betting, the races will start soon.” He gave her a soft kiss not feeling worthy to deepen it. “Let’s figure out the best horse.”
They returned to the table.
“Let’s just pick a name we like.” Lindsay slid closer to him. “We’ll beat the odds.”
She fit perfectly next to him and he handed her the program. “I think we should use your expertise.”
*~*~*
The limousine driver pulled up alongside their apartment. “I’m going to stretch my legs.” He nodded at Shane and left the car.
“Did you have a good time tonight?” Shane put his arm along the back of the seat and reached out for her hair with two fingers.
The limousine, exclusive seats at the track, and dancing to ragtime music were all incredible, but nothing compared to him coming to meet her. His honesty and his words meant everything.
“I had the best time.” If she had a ledger to record how amazing the night had been, only one thing would be missing. Would she be able to fill in her last entry?
“Do you think you’d allow this humble tattoo artist to take you out again?” He moved closer and looked into her eyes while his fingertips traveled from her hair to her jaw line.
“I think I may.” He barely kissed her all night, and now she wanted it.
“If I formally ask you now, will you answer me now?” He wrapped his arm around the back of her neck.
“Absolutely.” She watched him lick his lips.
Shane moved his face closer. “Will you go out with me?”
She waited for the rest of the question.
“You said you’d answer now.”
“When do you want to go?”
“Just answer the question.”
Still not feeling like it was a full question, she answered anyway. “Yes.”
“That’s the answer.” He took her chin in his hand. “Do I get a kiss now?”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes. If she didn’t, she would attack and devour him.
Since the last time he kissed her, she’d thought about nothing else. He’d magically returned to her and she wouldn’t waste it.
His kiss was soft and tender, as if he was holding back. He parted his lips and his tongue tentatively explored, instantly stoking that incredible yearning inside her. He continued, keeping his mouth pliable and gentle, but she wanted more. She needed to scratch an itch only Shane could reach by kissing her hard and deep. She didn’t want his restraint. She wanted him to grab her like he did the night in the tattoo shop.
Then it hit her. He kissed her but she wasn’t kissing him, only followed his lead. She needed to kiss him too and the thought made her nervous. Shane was experienced, she wasn’t, but she needed to figure out how to please him and keep up.
Lindsay gathered her courage and leaned in. When he followed, she took the initiative to put her hand on the back of his neck. With all her resolve, she kissed him deeply, pressing her lips hard against his and searching out his tongue with her own.
“Yes,” Shane growled and tilted his head, treating her to more of the same, giving her what she wanted.
She pressed her palm to his face and her other hand slid down his back.
“That’s right, baby.” He moved on top of her, raking his hand down her
side.
For the first time she felt his full weight on her. At his reaction, she slid her lips from his, kissing his jaw and down his neck.
“Right there.” Shane buried his face in her hair. “That’s good.”
Remembering how amazing it felt when Shane did the same to her, she gave him an open-mouthed kiss on his neck, running her tongue across his skin. The tang of his aftershave tickled her taste buds.
“Harder, baby.”
She sucked on his neck at the same moment he palmed her breast and his fingertips tickled her already hard nipples.
“Oh man, don’t stop.” He ground his hips into hers.
She gasped. His body pressed against her in just the right way.
“Oh yeah.” He did it again, this time harder as he found her lips again, thrusting his tongue in search of hers.
Her insides coiled and pressure built. It could only be relieved by moving against him and allowing the enormous bulge in his jeans to perfectly stoke that specific swell of pleasure within her.
She braced her foot on the floorboard, reaching to heighten the sensations and grabbed at his Mohawk, arching her back.
“Lindsay, yes.” Now he kissed and sucked her neck and caressed his hand along her leg. “Kiss me, now.”
She kissed him and he made a noise, a cross between pain and euphoria.
“Linds.” Shane drove his hips into hers. “Oh God.” He kneaded her breast and slipped his arm under her, holding her tight to him. “Linds.”
As he pressed himself along her again, her body demanded release, but the realization at how easily she could go over the edge with Shane right there in the limo on their first date, suddenly cleared her head. The fog of lust faded, and the blaring light of inexperience shone down on her. She couldn’t sleep with him, not on their first date. She put her hands on his chest.
Almost instantly he pulled back, panted and touched her lips. “You okay?”
Not quite sure how to answer, she nodded. Technically she was okay, but her body disagreed. “I had the best evening.”
He blinked with glazed eyes then gave her a soft kiss. “Me too. I guess you had a really long day.”
Permanent (Indelibly Marked) (Volume 1) Page 18
