Bloom Tattoo was closed on Sunday and Monday. The schedule wasn’t ideal for everyone, and it had taken Antonio a while to get used to it, but it was industry standard. Breaking away from the norm was a poor financial decision. The fact of the matter was, shops closed those days because they were the least lucrative. Antonio wasn’t going to disrupt his profit margins for the sake of a standard weekend.

Plus, none of the artists seemed to mind. An unusual schedule was to be expected in the industry. Tattooing typically attracted a certain type of artist, and most weren’t bothered one way or the other about the hours they worked or the time they took off so long as they weren’t forced to come in early in the morning.

That Sunday morning, however, Antonio had other plans.

“We’ve arrived, sir,” the driver said through the speaker. The front of the town car Antonio had rented was divided from the back by a glass partition. There was no way to slide it open, so all communication was done via a loudspeaker. Antonio didn’t mind. He’d used that rental company a few times, and he found their drivers were both professional and courteous. There was no need for direct contact.

“Thank you. Please wait here until I return.”

“Of course, sir.”

Antonio exited the car. He looked up at the apartment building, wondering which of the windows looked into Evie’s apartment. There was no telling which it was, but he imagined by the overflowing flower boxes hanging from one of the balconies that he’d found her. Evie seemed like the kind of woman who’d like to grow flowers even if they probably were cacti and other succulents in this hot desert climate. Despite her gruff, sarcastic exterior, she seemed like a soft, thoughtful person. He wanted to get to know her better.

The kiss still haunted him. Evie’s soft lips. The hunger in her touch. The way her fingers had ghosted over his skin. How soft she’d felt, and how warm….

Antonio pulled his phone out of his pocket, pushed his back against the wall by the front door, and tapped in Evie’s number. The phone rang and rang, and at last she answered, sounding groggy. “Hello?”

“Evie, it’s Antonio.”

“Antonio?” She still sounded half asleep. “What the hell? It’s Sunday morning. I’m sleeping until like… five this afternoon, at least.”

“Not today,” he said brightly. “Today, we have plans. Get dressed and come downstairs. I’m waiting outside.”

There was no reply, but Antonio heard scrambling on the other end. A door opened. He looked up to find Evie staring down at him from the balcony with the flower boxes, the phone pressed to her ear and her hair wild and messy from sleep. She wore boxer shorts and a baby blue tank top. “Antonio?”

“Hi.” He pressed off the wall and stepped out where she could see him more easily. “Do you see the car there?” He pointed. “That’s our ride today.”

“What the hell?” He heard Evie’s voice both through the phone, and from the balcony. “Are you serious? That’s a limo.”

“Well, it’s a town car,” he said. “It’s a small distinction, but—”

“I don’t even have my makeup on.”

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s get going.”

“I swear to god, Antonio.” Evie shook her head. “I’ll be down in a second.”

The call ended. Antonio huffed a laugh and tucked the phone into his pocket. There was value in the unexpected, and he knew that Evie couldn’t turn him down if he showed up at her place unannounced.

They were going to go out today. He was going to see her confidence bloom no matter what. The kiss had him more determined than ever to help her. Evie was someone special, and no matter what happened between them, Antonio wanted her to flourish.

Evie came down fifteen minutes later. Her hair was swept up in a loose, messy bun, and her makeup was flawless. She wore her customary shorts—this time black—and one of her now patented, long-sleeve billowy kurtas. The white shirt was more see-through than the ones she usually wore and he could see a black, fitted tank top underneath. Antonio did his best not to stare. She was gorgeous.

“Okay, so, what are we doing?” she asked. “You didn’t give me a dress code, so I hope it’s not some kind of fundraiser ball or trip to the yacht club or… whatever.”

“A yacht club in Las Vegas?” Antonio hitched a brow.

“Well, you have a car.” She gestured at it. “Maybe you wanted to go to the airport, or drive to California, or whatever. I honestly wouldn’t put it past you.”

She was smart not to, but that wasn’t what he had planned for the day. Today, they weren’t even leaving town.

“So,” Evie said. She tucked her hands into her back pockets and pushed her hips to the side as she looked at him. “Where are we going?”

Antonio bit back a smile. Whenever Evie was around, he felt so much lighter. “Get in the car and you’ll find out.”

* * *

The convention center wasn’t anything special, which was saying something for where it was located. The Red Cube Inn on the outskirts of Las Vegas was an economy lodge with very basic services, and the rooms it booked out for events were generous, but simple. It was exactly what a leadership summit needed. There were no flashy distractions, no gaudy designs, and no tourists.

Antonio was beyond pleased with the arrangements.

Cassian West stood at the front of the room, watching as the attendees began to enter. Antonio knew him from Giovanni and Riley. The two had encountered him during one of their technical lessons. The man was an expert on leadership and team building, but more than that, he was charismatic and easy to get along with. Even Evie, who could be a little rough around the edges and stuck in her ways, would likely get along with him.

Antonio was beyond grateful that one of Cassian’s standalone sessions was happening at the same time that Evie needed a confidence boost. With any luck, the workshops they did that day would prove to her that she had good instincts and that even wrong choices could be right, as long as enough effort was put into correcting them.

“Hey everyone,” Cassian said as the chairs started to fill. A long conference table stretched the length of the room. “Thanks for coming today. It’s really good to have all of you here. I’m always so pleased to see so many people interested in taking control of their futures by bettering themselves.”

“This isn’t some AA meeting, is it?” Evie whispered to him as they sat at the table. Her lips were thin, and her eyes bore through him, looking for answers. A grin soured by his attempt to hold it back curled Antonio’s lips.

“No. It’s a professional workshop.”

“On a weekend?” Evie hissed. “Really?”

Antonio would have laughed if he wasn’t determined to show Cassian the utmost respect. He’d seen the work Giovanni and Riley put into leading workshops, and he knew Cassian worked hard at what he did.

“I think we’re just about at capacity for today’s workshop, so I’m going to start handing out some literature for you guys to skim through. We’ll get to it a little later in the session. The floor is always open, and I’m hoping to hear all of you speak.”

Cassian distributed stapled packets of paper. The stacks made their way down either side of the table, each member of the workshop taking one. When it reached Evie, she scrunched her nose and took one reluctantly, then passed the rest on to Antonio.

“It’s not going to bite you, you know,” Antonio whispered.

“I know. But I can’t believe you’re having me do work on a Sunday. You’d better be paying me for extra work hours.”

He rolled his eyes. “I am.”

“Good.” She crossed her arms and sat back, the packet in place before her. “… For future reference, if you want to impress me, you can pick me up in a limo and bring me for coffee next time you get me up at the crack of dawn.”

“Town car and it’s after eleven.”

“Same thing.”

A sensation, light and tingling, worked through Antonio’s chest and left him feeling radiant with joy. Conversation between them was easy. Evie wasn’t afraid to overstep her bounds and speak her mind, even though he paid her salary. Antonio appreciated it more than he could ever tell her. So often he was met with constant agreement only because he signed the checks every two weeks and had the final say on who stayed on payroll. Evie wasn’t afraid to challenge him despite his position, and it made him feel human.

It had been a long time since he felt that way. Between constantly working and meeting up with people who saw him only for his job, it was a welcome change.

“Alright, let’s get started. What is leadership?”

Evie rolled her eyes and shot him a glance like daggers. “I’m going to get you back for this, you know.”

The best part was that Antonio believed she would.

* * *

The workshop progressed as Antonio believed it would. When topics of conversation were exhausted, Cassian had written a few keywords on the dry erase board at the front of the room, and the workshop moved into its interactive portion.

The last hypothetical scenario of the day was something encountered every day in a workplace scenario—a troubled customer was causing a disruption and making a scene in front of other clients. They’d already worked their way through handling disgruntled employees, taking charge during company meetings, and rising to the challenge during an emergency situation. Each time, Evie had suggested something wild and outlandish.

Every time, Antonio had shot her down.

It didn’t seem like she was going to handle their hypothetically angry customer with any more tact so he brought up the incident with Theo four weeks ago.

“…You said the way that guy left wasn’t right. What would you have done differently?” Antonio asked her.

“Shot him.”

Her deadpanned answer startled a laugh out of him as some of the other attendees turned their heads to see what was so funny. He knew she was still unhappy about being here and was being purposely outlandish.

“Could you at least try to be serious?”

Crossing her arms, she stared him down. “Oh. I. Am.”

Antonio didn’t bother to hide rolling his eyes and he caught her answering smirk. Determined to pull the discussion back around, he tried again.

“Your gut would tell you to make sure the customer is taken care of without requiring the use of a firearm.”

“Says, you.”

Staring her down, he told her, “The Evie I know is way more cautious than that. So not only would you be thinking about making sure the customer is taken care of, but you’d be thinking about what’s the least amount of risk you can take for the sake of your coworkers and the other clients.”

Evie lifted her chin defiantly, but Antonio knew she was listening.

“How are you guys doing?” Cassian asked as he walked by.

“We’re having some difference of opinion,” Evie said.

“Ah.” Cassian nodded sagely. “Well, part of being a good leader is being able to rise above diverging views. I’m glad to see the two of you working so politely together without raising your voices or otherwise trying to shut the other down. When hardship rolls around, especially plaintive customers in the public eye, situations can get messy.”

“You’re telling me.” Evie shook her head. “There’s no simple solution.”

“You’re right. But you know what? Even if you end up choosing to follow the wrong path, you can still be a fantastic leader. What’s most important is that you keep learning and growing, and that you know when to apologize and be honest and open with those around you. So long as you do that, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Evie’s expression changed, almost like she was worried. Her gaze flicked to Antonio, and for a second, Antonio held command of her gray eyes. They were stunning.

But as soon as the gaze lingered for a moment too long, Evie looked away.

“I’ve got this for you,” Cassian said. He handed Evie a sealed, pastel pink envelope. “When you get back to work, and only when you get back to work, I want you to open it. Inside is a prompt. I want you to apply what you learned today in order to address what’s on the card, okay?”

“Homework?” Evie sighed. “This is pretty much the worst weekend ever.”

To his surprise, Antonio snorted. Evie looked toward him, shocked, then rolled her eyes and shook her head.

It was worth every bit of reluctance and sarcasm to drag her out of the house and spend the day at her side. Even when they were working together, Evie made every moment fun.

Antonio still held out hope that the kiss they shared wasn’t a temporary indiscretion, and that she meant it as something more. Until she expressed interest in him again, he wasn’t going to push his luck, but…

It was nice to dream.