Priceless Ink: A Small Town Romance

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “Sofia, I didn’t want to tell you this, but…I overheard your mom telling my mom that if you refuse to marry Graham, they’ll disinherit you. You’ll have nothing.”

  I swallowed hard. So, I either had to go home and marry a man I didn’t love, or I could stay away and lose everything.

  “How much time do I have?”

  “I don’t know. I doubt Graham will wait long. He’s pissed. Whatever you’re planning, you’d better figure it out fast.”

  “They won’t find me.”

  “Your dad saw you ride away on a motorcycle. He’s got his PI looking for it now.”

  I chewed my lip, trying to come up with something, anything, but I didn’t know anything about hiding out. “I just need some time to think. Maybe tell them that I had mentioned visiting a friend in Florida or something.”

  “Alright. Keep in touch and let me know what you decide.”

  “I will. Take care.”

  I hung up and stood there for a minute, just taking it all in. I had to make a decision. I could maybe convince Joe to let me stay here for a few days, but I wasn’t cut out for living in an apartment in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t have my things. And what would I do for money? I had never had a job. I didn’t know how to earn a living.

  I started pacing up and down the hallway. Could I really return home and marry Graham just for the money? I thought of what Andrew called me as he left. Trophy Girl. I didn’t want to be known as that, but I wasn’t going to lie, I liked to be comfortable, and nothing about this place was comfortable.

  “Any news?”

  I stopped pacing and looked up at Joe. Giving a slight shrug, I gave him the short version. “I go home and marry Graham or I’m disinherited.”

  “He must be some guy for your parents to demand that.”

  “He’s not,” I admitted. “To be honest, the only version I know of him is the one that he shows my parents. But the man he pretends to be would have never slept with another woman the night before our wedding.”

  “So, am I bringing you home tomorrow or are you staying?”

  I stared at him in shock. I was sure he just wanted to get rid of me. “You mean, I can stay?”

  He shrugged. “For a few days, until you figure something out.”

  I looked at him uncertainly. “I don’t know how to live on my own. I don’t…” I stopped talking, frustrated with myself for having to admit this, but there was no way around it. “I don’t have experience with anything. I can’t cook. I don’t know how to clean. I have no clothes. And I sure don’t have any work experience.”

  He smiled and walked forward until he was right in front of me. “That, I can help you with.”

  Joe

  “Mary Anne,” I said with a touch of sweetness as I walked into her bakery. “How’s my favorite woman in the world?”

  She blushed and patted my cheek. “Joe, you’re such a kiss ass. What can I do for you?”

  “Ah, well, I was wondering if perhaps you needed some help around here?”

  She stopped and gave me a funny look. “Is business not going well?”

  “No, not for me. You see, I have a lady friend staying with me and she needs a job.”

  “Uh-huh, and does this lady friend have any experience?”

  I puffed out my cheeks, then released the air in one long breath. “Okay, I’m gonna be straight with you, she’s a walking disaster. She couldn’t boil water if you asked her to.”

  “So, why would I hire her?”

  “Maybe she can clean up after you or something.”

  “Does she have any experience cleaning?”

  “No.”

  “Has she had a job before?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “Is there any reason on earth you can think of that I would hire someone like that?”

  I thought about it, trying to come up with a great reason. “She’s got excellent taste.”

  “In what?”

  “Fashion?”

  Mary Anne thrust a hand on her hip and gave me a discerning stare. “And just how would that help me?”

  I cringed, not sure what to say. Mary Anne turned and walked away, going behind her counter. I followed her over there, ready to plead my case in any way I could.

  “I’ll come here every day to eat.”

  “Not good enough. You’re just one customer. And you already come in most days.”

  “I’ll…have my brothers come in every day as well.”

  She looked up at me with piqued interest. “Do you have any new drama going on?”

  I grinned at her, tilting my head to the side. “I think you’ll get plenty of drama with this woman. Plus, I guarantee I’ll add something really enticing to the town Facebook page.”

  The door opened, making the bell jingle, and in walked Eric and Robert. I turned quickly to Mary Anne, shaking my head slightly, hoping she wouldn’t give me away.

  “Hey, Joe. Where the hell were you yesterday?” Eric asked. “You said you would be swinging by, and then you didn’t answer the phone all day. I thought you were pulling a Josh.”

  “Uh…my bike broke down.”

  “So, why didn’t you call us?”

  “I texted Josh. He took care of it.”

  “Yeah, you left it on the side of the road. Where the hell were you?” Robert asked. “Seriously, this family has been through enough. We thought you were kidnapped or something.”

  I smirked at him. “Yeah, like I would text Josh to pick up my bike and then get kidnapped. That doesn’t happen.”

  “It happened to Josh,” Eric snapped.

  “He wasn’t kidnapped. He chose to leave. And I was fine. I walked home.”

  “Why would you walk home if Josh was on his way to get you?” Robert asked curiously.

  They were both staring me down, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide this forever, especially since I had just asked Mary Anne to give her a job. “Look, I was in Chicago yesterday, dropping off some documents for a relief fund the MC is starting. We’re trying to gain support from some more influential people.”

  “What kind of documents?” Robert asked. “You should have asked me to look over it first.”

  “Relax, we already have a lawyer that does that stuff for us.”

  “So, what happened on the way home?” Eric asked, pushing for more information.

  “A woman came running out of a church. In a wedding dress.” Their eyebrows shot up at my confession. “She hopped on my bike and I got her out of there.”

  “She ran out on her wedding?” Robert asked.

  “How did you fit her dress on your bike? Isn’t that dangerous?” Eric asked, always concerned with anything dangerous.

  “I…uh…I cut her out of her dress.”

  They both stared at me and I heard a snort from Mary Anne behind me. Sighing, I knew it was coming. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold this back forever.

  “What was she wearing under the dress?” Robert asked curiously.

  “A corset and underwear,” I admitted, turning slightly red.

  Eric’s face contorted into rage as he stared at me. “You let her ride on the back of your bike with her ass hanging out? What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Hey, I pulled over and gave her my jacket.”

  “Oh, how courteous of you. And what happened when your bike broke down?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck and blew out a breath. “Look, we walked home. It was no big deal.”

  “Why would you make her walk home in that?” Robert asked, a grin pulling at his lips.

  “Look, she’s rich, okay? And she’s a pain in the ass.”

  “So, you were teaching her a lesson,” Robert grinned.

  “You’re such a selfish bastard,” Eric spat. “How could you treat a woman like that?”

  “Trust me, when you meet her, you’ll understand.”

  “Meet her? You…she’s still here?”

  “She’s at my apartment.”

&nbs
p; “Oh, this I gotta see,” Robert laughed. “When do we get to meet her?”

  “You don’t. Not yet anyway.”

  “You do,” Mary Anne chimed in. “She’s actually going to be working here.”Her eyes glinted with mischief and she smiled. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Joe. Make sure she’s here by four in the morning tomorrow. And you’d better follow through on your promise.”

  “What promise?” Eric asked.

  I sighed, knowing he would be pissed at me.

  “No,” he shook his head. “Please tell me that you did not post about this poor woman on the town page.”

  “Not yet,” I grumbled.

  “Oh, but you will,” Mary Anne grinned. “This will bring in so much money.”

  “She’s not a spectacle,” Eric argued.

  “That’s not exactly fair. We’ve all been spectacles,” Robert said. “Why not her?”

  “Because she didn’t ask for this.”

  “Neither did we. I say it’s time Joe got some of his own medicine.”

  I grinned, but then my smile fell and I shook my head. “No, this isn’t about me. This is about her.”

  “And you, by association,” Robert smiled. “Just imagine, everyone in town asking about the new girl, and she’s here because of you. Oh, the gossip that will spread because of this.” He rubbed his hands together and chuckled to himself. “This is gonna be good.”

  “Except she and I aren’t together,” I argued. “All I did was bring her here. She’s got her own mess to deal with.”

  “And you’re right in the middle of it,” Robert grinned.

  “Christ,” I muttered. “This is a disaster.”

  “So, do you want the job or not?” Mary Anne asked.

  I thought about it for a minute, trying to figure out some way out of this. I had never intended to be the target of this. I just wanted to help her find a job, because I knew she didn’t want to go back to that prick. She couldn’t return home unless she intended to get married, and if she didn’t, she would have nowhere to go. She needed a job, any job, and if Mary Anne was offering, it was probably the only offer she would receive in town.

  “Fine,” I told Mary Anne. “I’ll have something on the page in the morning.”

  “You won’t regret this.”

  “Oh, I have a feeling I will.”

  * * *

  After finishing up work for the night, I shut down the shop and headed upstairs. I was expecting to see Sofia on the couch, but when I opened the door, she was nowhere to be found.

  “Sofia?”

  She didn’t answer, and Andrew didn’t come out either. That wasn’t surprising. There were many nights that he stayed over at Stacy’s place. Setting down my keys, I walked through the apartment, which wasn’t very big, and opened the door to my bedroom. What I saw pissed me off.

  “Son-of-a-bitch,” I muttered.

  Flipping on the light, I stalked over to my bed and tore the covers off Sofia. She gasped and sat up suddenly, blinking at the harsh light. But my eyes were glued to her ass. She was sleeping in one of my shirts, with nothing else on. Her smooth skin went on for miles, leading all the way up to the cotton underwear she now wore. I thought seeing her in her corset and silky underwear was sexy, but this was downright indecent. Something about seeing her in my shirt and cotton underwear was more enticing than seeing her practically naked.

  When she caught me staring, she tugged the shirt further down her legs and glared at me. “Do you mind?”

  “Actually, I do. You’re in my bed.”

  “I’m a guest.”

  “No, you’re the woman that followed me home. I said you could stay, not that you could take over my place. This is where I sleep.”

  “And where would you have me sleep? On the floor?”

  “If you want. There’s a perfectly good couch out there that has your name written all over it.”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock. “You want me to sleep on that lumpy thing?”

  I shrugged. “As long as it’s not my bed.”

  “I’ll hurt my back if I sleep on that.”

  “And where do you think I’m going to sleep?”

  “Well, on the couch,” she spluttered. “Isn’t it customary for the man to give up his bed for the woman?”

  I huffed out a laugh. “If I was a gentleman, maybe.” I took a step forward and hauled her out of my bed, ignoring her cries. “But I’m no gentleman. We’ve discussed this like five times.”

  I walked with her into the other room, narrowly avoiding a punch to the face, and tossed her down on the couch. She shrieked, her arms and legs flailing as she tried and failed to stay on the couch. She rolled off, almost hitting her head on the coffee table.

  “How dare you!”

  I walked back into my room, ignoring her yelling, and slammed the door behind me. Stripping out of my shirt, I tossed it in the laundry basket and then unzipped my jeans, ready to lay down for the night. The door flew open just as I was pulling down my jeans.

  “I’ll have you know-“

  Her tantrum died on her lips as I continued to pull down my pants. I turned and let her get a good look, watching every breath and the flush of her cheeks as she took in my body.

  I tossed the jeans into the laundry basket and then slipped my hands into my underwear. “If you don’t want to see it all, I would suggest you leave.”

  Her nostrils flared in anger and she stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I chuckled to myself and then got in bed, my underwear still on. I knew the threat would be more than she could handle, and it worked exactly how I wanted it to.

  I shut off the light and climbed into bed, sighing contentedly as I snuggled into the comfort of my bed. The Princess could take the couch if she was going to sleep here. I wasn’t giving up anything for her comfort.

  When my alarm went off in the morning, it was way too early. I had only gotten about two hours of sleep because I had to make sure Sofia got up for her shift at the bakery. I wasn’t sure why I was putting in so much effort with her. She made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t someone she would ever interact with under normal circumstances.

  Yawning, I rubbed my tired eyes and got out of bed, stretching my sore muscles. God, this was going to be a long day. Opening the bedroom door, I stumbled into the living room and over to the couch. Sofia was sleeping with a blanket pulled up over her shoulders and she was curled into a ball. I shook her shoulder, but she just shoved my hand away with a groan.

  “Sofia.”

  I shook her again, but she still wouldn’t move. I tried three more times, and when she just rolled over and went back to sleep, I decided I needed a better wakeup call. Heading into the kitchen, I grabbed a bowl and filled it with cold water. Whistling to myself as I filled it up, I imagined the look on her face when I tossed it on her. It was cruel for sure, but she would have to get used to waking up harshly instead of sleeping in until all hours of the morning.

  I shut off the water and strolled over to the couch. Looking back at the bowl of water, I wondered briefly if this was taking things too far. Then I grinned and upended the bowl right over her head.

  “Ahhh!”

  She screamed and jolted upright on the couch, wiping at her face and shaking her head to get the water off. The door to Andrew’s room flew open and he ran out. He actually did not sleep in underwear, so when Sofia looked his way, she slapped her hands over her eyes.

  “What’s going on? What happened?” Andrew asked, ready to take anyone out with his dick sticking out for everyone to see.

  “Nothing. It’s Sofia’s first day of work.”

  “Work?” Sofia shrieked. “I don’t work!”

  “If you want to stay here, you’re going to have to get a job and pull your weight around here.”

  “She’s staying?” Andrew asked.

  “Not if you’re going to throw water on me to wake me up,” Sofia yelled. She tossed the blanket off and stood, glaring at me. “And I never agreed t
o get a job.”

  “You said you didn’t know how to work, and I said I could help you with that.”

  “So, you just ran out and got me a job?”

  “Actually, I walked. And I’m assuming this is on a trial basis.” I glanced at the clock on the wall and grimaced. “And if you want to be on time for your first day, you’d better get moving.”

  “I don’t even know what I’ll be doing.”

  “I got you a job at the bakery with Mary Anne.”

  Andrew groaned, shaking his head. “Dude, not cool.”

  “Do you know of any place else that would hire her?”

  “Still…that’s just wrong.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with it?” Sofia asked. “Are they mean?”

  “Mary Anne is the nicest person you’ll ever meet.”

  “Yeah, but that place is known to be gossip central,” Andrew added. “Everyone in town is going to be talking about her and showing up to see her in person.”

  “That’s exactly how I got her the job,” I grinned. “Of course, it’s going to come at my own expense, but I figured it was worth it to ensure she had some income.”

  “You’re not listening to me,” Sofia said testily. “I don’t work. I don’t know the first thing about having a job, and in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have any clothes appropriate to go out in.”

  “Oh, well, you’ll learn on the job. That’s the way the world works. Everyone has a first job at some point in their lives,” I grinned. “Granted, yours is coming a little later in life than most, but I have a feeling you’re gonna do fine.”

  “And what about my clothes?” she snapped.

  “You have the ones Stacy gave you yesterday. Trust me, you won’t need anything pretty working at the bakery. And when you’re done with work, I can ask Kat, my sister, to take you shopping at the thrift store.”

  Her face dropped and she glared at me. “You expect me to get clothes at the thrift store?”

  “I’ll even spot you fifty dollars to get what you need.”

  “Fifty— that won’t even get me a top.”

  “Well, then I guess you’ve never been in a thrift store before. You should be able to get at least five outfits with fifty dollars.”