I’m just finishing up cleaning my work area when I hear the door chimes ring out. I don’t have any more clients on the books today, but I’m expecting a buddy’s wife and her friend to stop in, according to his text message earlier.

“Hey, Lilly,” I greet as I walk into the reception area, tossing some papers next to the computer.

“Ethan! This is my friend, Cam. She might want to get a tattoo, and Cash told us to come see you.”

I’m caught off guard almost instantly by Cam’s beauty. She’s not “runway model” beautiful, but she has that “girl next door” look that captivates me. She’s the kind of woman you can take home to your mother and know, without a doubt, that she’ll love her. Fuck, where in the hell did that thought come from?

“Nice to meet you, Cam.” I reach my hand out to take hers and instantly feel a spark travel up my hand from the contact against her skin. “What kind of tattoo are you thinking about?”

“I want a memorial tattoo. I just don’t know what exactly I want it to be.”

“Take a seat and let me grab my notepad. We can discuss your ideas and I can offer some suggestions. Sound good?”

“Sounds great,” she says, smiling at me.

“Can I get you ladies anything to drink?” I offer, as I take a few steps toward the back.

“A water would be great,” Cam answers.

“I’ll take a water, as well,” Lilly says, plopping down onto one of the couches we have in the reception area.

I grab three waters from the mini fridge we have against the back wall, along with my notepad, and head back out to the reception area, taking a seat next to Cam. I open up to a blank page, ready to jot down notes on what she is looking for in her tattoo.

“So, who is your tattoo in memory of?”

“Um, my fiancé. He passed away a few years ago. It was a couple months before our wedding,” she softly tells me.

My gut twists at her response. I can sense it still affects her, and I give her a sympathetic smile. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Do you have any ideas on what you want?”

Cam sighs, twisting the cap on and off her water bottle. “I’ve thought of using his initials, but don’t know if that’s all I want. I also considered incorporating our wedding date in, as well.”

“Do you want any flowers or symbols included?” I question, a few ideas already forming in my mind.

“I don’t think so, but maybe the words ‘Forever in my heart.’ Or ‘Always on my mind, forever in my heart’ in the shape of a heart, and in the center, having his name.”

“And what was his name?”

“Ben. Benjamin Gibbs.”

“Do you want to include his middle initial, or just first and last?”

“I think just his first and last, but his middle initial is R if you want to include it in one of the designs.”

“Let me draw up a few things and we can go from there. Do you have time to wait? I can draw up three or four ideas from what you’ve told me, and we can modify from there.”

Cam looks at Lilly, giving her a questioning look. Lilly smiles, nodding her head yes.

“Sure, that’d be great,” Cam finally replies.

I walk back to my station, grabbing my sketch pad. I’ve done plenty of memorial tattoos, so I get right to work designing three options for her. The first two use the sayings she gave me, along with his name. The third is a saying I’ve used as a basis for memorial tattoos recently. It’s a feather that has birds flying away from it, with the words, “Your wings were ready, but my heart was not.”

About fifteen minutes later, I head back out to Cam and show her what I came up with so far.

“Oh my! I love them!” she exclaims.

“Does one speak to you more than the others?”

“I really like the heart one, but I also like the one with the feather.”

“So we can eliminate the third one?” I ask, chuckling.

Smiling up at me, Cam agrees, and once again, her beauty just about knocks me on my ass. Knowing this girl has already lived through something as painful as losing the one person she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with has my heart clenching in my chest for her.

“Would you like to take the designs home with you and think on it? You can call me once you’ve decided, and we can schedule an appointment?”

“I think I will. How long of an appointment will I need for one of these?” she asks.

“No more than an hour, unless you want them a lot bigger. I made them on the smaller side, not knowing exactly how large you wanted to go. Do you know where you want to place it on your body?”

“I can’t have it showing when I’m working, so I was thinking along my side,” she says, pointing to just below her left breast, along her ribs.

“You do realize that area can be pretty painful, right?”

“Crap, I didn’t think of that.”

“We can still do it there, I just don’t want it to be too painful for you. Especially since it’s your first one.”

“Would you recommend a different area?” she asks.

“Not directly on bone. Maybe if we drop it slightly, so it’s closer to your hip, but not actually on the hip,” I say, pointing to the area on my body.

“That would work. I’d still be able to keep it covered when at work.”

I grab one of my business cards from the counter, quickly jotting down my cell number on it before handing it to Cam.

“Here’s how to reach me. I put my cell on the back, so feel free to text or call me directly. We don’t always have someone working the desk. If you want to rework either design, just let me know, and I can change any element for you.”

Cam stands, reaching out her hand to me, and I take it in my own, feeling that spark as soon as our skin connects again. The flash in her eyes tells me she felt it, as well. “Thank you so much, Ethan. I really appreciate your help and look forward to coming back to get the tattoo.”

After we say our goodbyes, Cam and Lilly head out of the shop while I grab my things from my station before locking up and heading home.