Daddy Ink
Page 24
Dana got out of her chair and went to Javi, embracing him tightly. His arms hung for a moment at his sides, but then he hugged her back, his eyes shut tight. Mason came over, hugging the both of them. Then my mother joined in as well, and I stood back and held Giuliana’s hand as she sat in her highchair, letting Javi have this. Seeing my family accept him was a blessing for the both of us.
When everyone released and went back to their seats, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Javi was swallowing repeatedly, and I reached under the table to put a comforting hand on his thigh. He finally nodded. “Thank you. It means s...s-s-so much t-to me to be a part of your family.”
We all raised our glasses, Mason leading the final toast. “To family,” he said, and we all repeated it and drank.
To family. How I could ever have believed that I was supposed to shut everyone out except for Giuliana was beyond me. When I looked around the room, at all the faces of my family, I knew this was forever.
And when Javi grabbed my hand under the table and held it tight, as if holding on to stay afloat, it was clear he knew it, too. This was forever.
We were forever.
30
Javi
I loved how Gordo looked all laid out before me. The long, muscled expanse of his back exposed to me. The sheen of sweat on his neck, so lickable and enticing. But if he moved one more damned time…
“Quit squirming, I’m almost d-done,” I said.
He groaned but his hips stopped shifting. There was only a little bit of shading left to do, a rich and saturated brown that would bring Giuliana’s face alive. Coloring usually wasn’t terrible for clients, but Gordo had been sitting for me for hours, and I was going over a sensitive area. I knew he was close to tapping out. I tried to keep my hand as light as possible without losing the efficacy of the needles.
I did one final pass, sat up, and admired it. It was done, and it was beautiful. Portraits weren’t something I did often, especially of children. There were too many ways it could go wrong, and those beaming, cherubic faces were dear to the client’s heart. If I screwed it up, it was bad. But tattooing Giuliana had been an act of love, and besides, I knew her face so well I could draw it with ease. From her brown eyes to her mischievous smile, she was forever inked in my heart.
“Okay,” I said, putting down the tattoo gun. “Let me wipe you d-down.”
When I was finished, I gave him a mirror so he could look at the finished product in the large, full-sized mirror. Seeing a client’s reaction to a tattoo is always the best part of the job. Seeing Gordo’s reaction to his daughter’s image, forever inked into his skin? Priceless. The sheer volume of unconditional love that stretched his smile lifted my heart, and I knew I’d nailed it.
“She’s...she’s perfect,” he said, voice cracking with emotion.
“I’m glad you t-trusted me with her.”
He set the mirror down and came over to cup my face. “I’ll always trust you with her...and with my heart.”
I chewed on my lower lip, wondering if it was a good time to ask him the question that had been burning inside of me for days. “Gordo...I was wondering…”
“Yes?” he asked, hitch in his voice.
“Would it b-be okay for me to get a s-similar tattoo? Of Giuliana?”
For a moment Gordo said nothing, and I was afraid I’d asked for too much. But then kissed me suddenly, hard and fierce. “Nothing would make me happier.”
“Not even—” I sucked in air, steeling my quaking nerves “—if I want to b-be able to adopt her?”
Shock pulsed out from every single one of Gordo’s pores. His eyes were glassy and wide, his hands shaking as they reached for me, stopping just short of grabbing my waist. “What are you saying?”
I took his hands and kissed the knuckles before stepping closer, my arms going around his waist, his arms draped over my shoulders. “I want you to b-be more than my b-boyfriend. And I want her to b-be my daughter. Officially and forever.”
His fingers slid into my hair, tugging lightly at the roots. Gordo nuzzled my nose, my cheekbone, and my jaw. “Javi,” he said into my ear, hot breath sending fingers of pleasure skipping down my spine, “Name the time and the place and I’ll be there.”
“Okay, break it up,” Dane called as he entered Get Ink’d. “This is a family establishment. We can’t have any bodily fluids upsetting our clean environment.”
I laughed as I stepped away from Gordo, who went back to admiring his new ink. “Whatever, Dane.”
I hurried to clean up my station and get ready while all of the others arrived. Reagan was bringing in a projector to show the pilot of the episode we filmed. I’d been excited about it, but after Gordo had said yes to letting me adopt Giuliana, my heart and mind were fuzzed over and flooded with happiness. Who cared about a TV show when I had them?
Still, as more of my crew and our guests arrived, the nervous energy in the air looped me in. We were all talking a little too fast, drumming fingers, and tapping toes. Jason had called us to let us know the pilot had been a success during the internal showings at the network, and now, weeks later, we were going to have a private showing before it went live. Reagan had made sure the contract stipulated he had some say over the final cut.
The door opened and Jason walked in. What interested me about Jason was how he’d hung around long after filming, stopping in here and there unannounced. And almost always talking to Dane.
While neither Dane nor Christian had spilled the details on their sudden distance, I still had hope for them. I’d never seen Dane act around another guy the way that he did with Christian. Hell, that he’d even been with Christian for weeks spoke volumes. So Jason’s continued interest in my friend… rubbed me the wrong way. But maybe that was because I was happy and just wanted it for him, too, like I’d always accused him of trying to set up for me.
“Okay, guys, I’m going to get this set up,” Reagan announced. “So you have ten minutes to talk, get snacks, get drinks, whatever.”
There were some whoops and cheers. Trinity had her parents with her, looking perfectly happy with their daughter while confused about the shop and all the men she worked with. I think they wondered why we weren’t all scrambling to date her. Bryce and Mateo were hanging with a friend, all of them seated and drinking beers.
Gordo’s hand slipped under my shirt just enough to skim his fingers along my waist. “I think you should tell everyone about us after the screening.”
I twisted my head to smile at him. “You think s-so? Won’t they expect a wedding? B-bells and whistles?”
He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “I hope so. Would you go grab us some beers? I’m going to help Reagan set up and let him know we have an announcement. Sound good?”
Gordo was still trying to get in Reagan’s good graces. Reagan had assured me multiple times that Gordo had gone above and beyond to prove himself, but Gordo seemed to view my boss as a father figure and was desperate for his approval.
As I headed toward the back, I heard Gordo say, “Christian! I’m glad you came.”
Glancing around quickly, I noticed Dane still wasn’t out with the crowd. That was curious, as Dane relished being the life of the party. Since I was grabbing drinks, I figured I would find him, too. I didn’t want him to miss out on anything, and I guessed he’d want a head’s up about Christian’s arrival.
I walked to Reagan’s office and opened the door, and then froze on the spot.
Jason had Dane pressed against the office wall. He was kissing Dane, his hand cupping the front of Dane’s jeans. Before I could back out or say anything, a loud gasp snagged all of our attention.
We all looked behind me to find Christian, sheet white and staring at Dane. Dane shoved Jason off of him, but Christian’s trembling shoulders spoke of too little, too late. “I… I just needed the bathroom,” he mumbled. “I—”
He didn’t finish. He shot Dane one last look so full of heartbreak, it made my own chest ache, before he turned and ran past
us to the back exit. The door slammed open with the force of his escape.
“Fucking hell,” Dane spat at Jason. “Would you take a hint and leave me the fuck alone?”
That was directed at Jason, and Dane looked so twisted up that I worried for a moment he’d deck the producer. Not that Jason didn’t deserve it, but I didn’t want any more trouble for him than he was currently already in. Dane ducked past me and took off after Christian.
My mind was still scrambling to make sense of all that I’d seen, and everything seemed to click into place all at once. Including Jason’s continuing interest in our shop. When I glared at him, Jason shrugged and shot me a smile so nasty, it felt like I had ice in my gut.
“Well, Javi, things just got even more interesting around here,” Jason said. “Now, let’s go watch the pilot. I wanted this show to happen, and I have to say… I always get what I want.”
He walked out, patting my shoulder as he passed me like we were friends. I cringed away from the touch.
“Javi, you don’t want to miss your debut,” Jason’s voice called to me from the hall. Totally in control, not fazed in the least by the trouble he’d just caused. Hell, he almost seemed amused by the entire situation.
Neither Dane nor Christian had returned. But I’d seen Christian’s face. It was the same face I’d made when I saw Kyle touching Gordo. And Dane… all of his tension, building for weeks, the way he’d smiled less and made fewer jokes… it all made sense. My heart ached for them, and all I could do was pray they’d get the happy ending that I had with Gordo.
My chest tightened as I thought about Dane, about how hard he worked to take care of himself and his mom, how happy he’d been with Christian. When we’d signed on to do the show, I’d thought that it would be great for him to have the extra income, that the deal we’d signed with Jason could be a lifesaver for Dane. But recalling that smug smile and Jason’s smugness, I could only wonder…
Had we just signed a deal with the devil?
Get ready for Book 2 of my Get Ink’d Series, Messy Ink.
Available Now!
Messy Ink
Get ready for Book 2 of my Get Ink’d Series, Messy Ink.
Available Now!
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Daddy Ink
Get Ink’d: Book 1
Ali Lyda
© 2020
Disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).
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