Page 40 of Embraced in Ink

Bristol quickly pulled on one of her dresses, a cute red number with a flower pattern on it that had a deep neckline that showed a lot of cleavage. Well, not too much, but enough that it made her feel sexy and happy. It flared out at the hips, and almost resembled a wrap dress.

She liked it because it could be casual or a little fancier, depending on what shoes and jewelry she wore.

She was going for a middle-of-the-road look, so she added a little sparkle on her ears, and then a single rectangular pendant necklace that drew the gaze to her neck—and her boobs.

She couldn’t help it, she wanted to look good for Marcus.

Her fiancé. Her friend.

And the man that made her nervous. A feeling she had never felt before. At least, not with him.

That had to count for something. She knew it did.

She took another deep breath and reached for her phone to check what time it was when the doorbell rang.

She froze, her hands shaking. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

That had to be him.

This was it. The moment. Another moment when everything could change.

She should be used to it by now. But it was hard to think that she could be.

The door opened, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

Marcus stood there in black pants, leather shoes, and a black button-up shirt tucked in. He’d rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, showcasing his very delicious forearms. She’d had that thought once before with him, the sight of his forearms doing something very dirty to her. She couldn’t help it, they were all muscled with a vein on each that stood out whenever he worked at anything. They were sexy as hell, and she hadn’t realized she had a fetish for forearms until now.

That was good to know, wasn’t it?

“You look amazing,” Marcus said, his voice husky, low. Dangerous.

She licked her lips, aware she did it far too often in front of him. But the action drew his gaze straight to her mouth, so maybe it was a good thing she did that.

“I was just thinking the same thing about your forearms.” She closed her eyes and groaned. “I meant you. But your forearms, too.”

She opened her eyes and noticed he had fisted his hands, his forearms looking even more delicious.

Dear God, was she going to faint?

“My forearms?” he asked, laughter in his tone along with something darker, edgier.

“I know. I didn’t realize I had a fetish. But here we are.”

He threw back his head and laughed, and she relaxed immediately. This was her Marcus. She could be totally honest with him even if she was lying to herself. Because she couldn’t lie to him if she didn’t know the actual answers. Hence, honesty.

“I called ahead to the Thai place and put our names down on the list in case they were busy. The guy was so excited we were coming in. We’re going to have our table.”

“Do we go there too often for a place that doesn’t have reservations to know us by name?” she asked, grabbing her purse. Marcus reached around and closed the door behind her, making sure it was locked. It was something they did all the time, both acting as if they were so comfortable within each other’s homes. They didn’t even have to ask each other to keep each other safe.

There was a sense of peace in that. Comfort. Even if it had all been upended by a single promise.

“I think I want that damn soup, so the fact that we won’t have to wait for a table? Sounds pretty damn good to me.”

Marcus reached out and slid his fingers between hers, and she squeezed his hand, feeling like she was home again. This was normal. Everyday. After all, they went out to lunch and dinner enough to this place to have familiarity.

That was why she was so glad that they were spending their first date like this, rather than trying something new. Everything else was already off-kilter, she needed something steady.

And it sure as hell wasn’t going to be her.