Antonio had heard enough to know that Evie would never get over what had happened to her without rising up to face it. He thought on it overnight, and then for the next few days until Sunday arrived and the shop was closed.

Time didn’t heal all wounds. If Evie didn’t do something to overcome her past trauma, there was no telling the opportunities she’d miss out on. The woman was a natural leader, even if she didn’t know it. Antonio simply wasn’t sure how to go about giving her the confidence she needed to get better.

When Tuesday rolled around and he headed back to man the front at Bloom Tattoo, he found his solution.

“I had a cancellation today,” Evie said as she leaned on the front desk. Antonio was counting the cash, double checking it matched the figures from the night before. “My morning’s free. It’s usually the quietest right around opening. Why don’t you get one of the piercers to man the front and come in to get that tattoo finished up?”

He lifted his gaze to look her over. Getting the tattoo finished wasn’t what he’d had in mind for that morning, but with no interviews lined up, and the likeliness of a slow morning plausible, he didn’t see a reason to refuse. “Sure.”

“Wait, really?” Evie’s eyes lit up. She smirked. “You’re seriously down?”

“Yes, I’m down.” He almost rolled his eyes. Evie had the strangest way of speaking sometimes. As cute as it was, it was entirely different from Antonio’s professional conduct. “Let me get the front up and running, open the shop for business, and then you can finish up the tattoo.”

“No way.” She grinned, propping herself on the desk. “I thought for sure you weren’t going to say yes. I’m stoked. Guess you weren’t just talking me up after all.”

Evie stretched her arms over her head, and as she did, her tunic rose up to reveal her pale skin, shaded with ink. She stretched from side to side, then craned her neck to work out the kinks. For a moment, Antonio was lost in the gesture. Evie did things to him he couldn’t fully understand. Arousal prickled down his spine, and he had to tear his gaze away before he started staring again.

“I’ll be waiting for you in my room, okay? We’re all prepped to get started this morning.”

“Great.” Antonio paid more attention than he needed to as he counted the remaining coins. He couldn’t let himself look up at her, lest he risk falling all over again. “I’ll be there as soon as I’m able.”

* * *

“So.” Evie spun around on her stool to face Antonio as he sat on the client chair. “The appointment that canceled this morning was a four hour long session. I’m only going to need two, maybe three to finish what you’ve already got… so I was thinking that I’d go in and add a few little things.”

Antonio furrowed his brow. “Add things?”

The tattoo was a family crest surrounded by filigree. It was traditional, and well composed, and he wasn’t sure what he thought about bringing in additional elements. The tattoo had been the same for so long that he struggled to imagine it changed.

“Oh yeah. You know. Stuff.” Evie waved her hand nebulously, eyes glinting with mischief. “I totally can’t explain it, and if I were to take the time to draw it out for you beforehand, we’d eat away at the appointment and we wouldn’t have time to finish. I’m just going to have to freehand it, and you’re going to have to trust me.”

Antonio’s gaze sharpened. He stared her down, trying his best to bite back on his instincts and deny her outright. Evie needed confidence, but he also knew that she was testing him. No artist in their right mind would ask for their boss’ okay to freehand on his back—not unless they were known for their freehand work, which she was.

What was she trying to prove?

“Okay,” Antonio said stubbornly. He refused to let her win whatever game she was playing.

If she made a mess of his back piece, it wouldn’t matter. He never saw his back, anyway, and he never went topless. Day in and day out he was at his office, overseeing his acquisitions and strategically planning for the future; or he was at a business location, overseeing matters there. Now that he had Bloom Tattoo to manage as well, Antonio knew his schedule was booked for the foreseeable future.

“Alright,” Evie said, a hesitant note in her voice. She picked up one of the felt pens from the pen cup on her desk. “Shirt off, stomach down, let’s see what we’re working on today.”

Antonio removed his suit jacket and tie. Like before, he hung them by the door. Button by button, he worked his shirt off. Perhaps it was his wishful thinking, but he thought he saw Evie watching him undress with a little more interest than was usual for any artist to have with a client.

Naked from the waist up, Antonio straddled the chair and got comfortable. Dread curled deep in his stomach at the thought of what Evie was about to do to his body, but he pushed it aside in order to focus on the positive. Giving her free rein like this was a surefire way to boost her confidence. If she did a good job, all the better yet. If not, he could afford laser removal. In fact, he’d already considered it. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the tattoo as it was, but it bothered him that he never found time to finish it.

“Gonna put the pen against your skin now,” Evie warned him.

“Go for it.” Antonio turned his head so his chin rested on his shoulder. He watched Evie from the corner of his eye as she uncapped the pen and started to trace its fine tip against his skin. The patterns she drew felt strange, much too big and misshapen to be well integrated into the tattoo. Antonio’s head told him to call it off and walk away before he let her ruin his body, but his gut told him to stick it out.

Evie wouldn’t purposefully give him a bad tattoo. He had more faith in her than that.

“I’m thinking this is going to look amazing,” she said. “You’re going to have the coolest tattoo out of any of us. You’re going to come in to work with your shirt off every day.”

“I doubt that,” Antonio said dryly. “I think the day I come in to work not wearing a suit is the day you need to commit me. At that point, I’ve clearly lost it.”

Evie snorted. “Right. Okay then. This tattoo is going to make you crazy, then, because it’s going to be out there.”

Out there weren’t the words Antonio wanted to hear. Respectable, stunning, artistic, and well composed were some of the qualifiers he wanted most from his back piece. Out there was… worrisome. He gritted his teeth and told himself to calm down. He needed to keep the belief that Evie would do a good job, both for his sake, and for hers.

“Shouldn’t be that much longer,” she told him. “I’m just setting down some base guidelines. Everything else is going to come as I tattoo. You know sometimes when you’re doing something and all the directions it can go in unravel in front of your eyes? It’s kind of like that. But you know. With art.”

“So I can’t even see what progress you make in the mirror?” Antonio asked.

“You could,” Evie said. “But all you’d see is some basic ideas and some really loose shapes. I’m not putting anything down in pen, really. It’s all going to come from the tattoo machine.”

“Great.”

Evie laughed. “Your confidence is inspiring.”

“Let’s trade places and we’ll see what you think.”

She stuck out her tongue but didn’t reply. Instead, she wheeled back to her desk and collected the things she needed on her small rolling table. As she worked, she hummed.

“How many tattoos do you have?” Antonio asked, as a way to pass the time.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Evie shrugged. “More than twenty, but less than forty? It kind of all blends together after a while. A lot of them took multiple sessions to sit for, so it feels like they’re more than one tattoo, if you get what I mean.”

“I feel that.” Antonio already knew his back piece was going to feel like two distinct tattoos. He’d forever see the design he knew, and then he’d see Evie’s work overlaid upon it. “Who do you like to go to?”

“Famous portrait or realism artists,” Evie said. “Since that’s what I do, too, it’s what I want to represent on my body. I’ve got a lot of love for other styles of tattooing, and I don’t pigeonhole myself into only being a portrait artist, but it’s what I do best. I think clients should kind of know that by looking at you, know what I mean? Like if they walked in and I was covered in new school tattoos, they’d have a totally different impression of me. So I plan all of my tats carefully.”

As impulsive and reckless as Evie tried to make herself seem, the woman telling him about her tattoos was the woman Antonio knew her to be. She put thought into what she did. Even if she didn’t realize it at the time, she made decisions that were sound for herself, and sound for others. If he could get to that girl, if he could free her of her shackles and set her free, Evie wouldn’t just benefit from taking the position of head artist; she’d benefit from the personal growth she went through.

Her petals were held tightly closed. What she needed was a little more confidence so she could bloom.

“Any tattoos you regret?”

Evie stopped what she was doing, but only for a second. Then she shook her head and continued. “Of course. But I get those covered. These days I’m way more careful about what I put on my body, and I’ll refuse clients if I know they’re going to make a mistake. I don’t want to be responsible for ruining someone’s life, you know? That’s not me. I’m not in the business in order to put a memory on a body permanently that will sour over time.”

“You’re talking about lovers,” Antonio assessed. “People’s names.”

“Sometimes their faces, too,” Evie said. “As I get more recognition as a portrait artist, people come in with all these weird requests. Some people want their boyfriend’s face on their bodies. Some people come in asking me to do exes, because they’re crazy enough to think that tattooing someone’s face forever in their skin will be enough to win that person back. I mean, I’ve heard it all.” She shook her head and wheeled over, bringing her table with her. “It’s crazy stuff. Whenever I do lettering, or if I’m doing portraits of someone that looks like it might be a lover, I always ask during the consultation. No way am I going to be the one to do something like that.”

“Not even if they offer to tip you well?”

“I don’t care if they want to shower me with thousands of dollars. There are some things that aren’t worth it.”

The staunch determination in her voice made Antonio wonder if she was speaking from experience. He hadn’t seen any script on Evie’s body at all—but then again, he hadn’t seen all of it. He knew that there were tattoos hiding beneath her shirt.

“Fair enough. We all have our limits.”

“Then what’s yours?” Evie disinfected the skin she’d be working with. The cooling sensation from the disinfectant chilled Antonio to the core, and he shivered. He told himself that it wasn’t from her touch. “You got anything you refuse to do?”

“I’ve never professionally tattooed, so I can’t tell you.”

“You’ve never professionally tattooed?” Evie asked, incredulous. “Mr. Hot Shot artist with all his drawings hung up in the lobby, and you’ve never put needle to skin?”

“No, I’ve tattooed before—I’ve never been paid for it.” He closed his eyes. The point of no return was coming soon, and Antonio knew these were his last few moments to enjoy his unbroken skin. “I’ve done pieces on Giovanni and Luciano. Of course, they’re both so covered with tattoos you’d never know it. Back when I inked them, they were cleaner canvases—not virgin, but with much more real estate than now. I think Giovanni’s just about out of room at this point.”

“Anyone else?” Evie asked. “I can’t believe you’ve only done two people. I mean, you’ve probably done a lot of practice skins, right?”

“Yeah. When I get an itch to tattoo, that’s what I use.” How long had it been since he’d allowed himself to be artistic? These days, it was all business all the time. “I don’t think I’ve ever given much thought about what kind of work I’d turn down.”

“The luxury of choice is also a curse.” Evie patted his back. “We’re all set. You ready?”

Antonio couldn’t say that he was. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. “Go for it.”

“Then here we go.”

The buzz started. Antonio braced himself for the first touch of the needle against his skin. It had been a long time since he’d felt a similar pain.

Evie’s touch was gentle, and she guided her tattoo machine with efficiency. She didn’t overwork the skin, and she didn’t leave him raw. Antonio zoned out as she worked, letting his mind free. It wasn’t often that he had the chance to relax like this. The only time he had any downtime was when he went to Lysander to meet with his brothers, or when he called it a day and finally crawled into bed to get some sleep.

There was value in doing nothing. Even though Antonio was enduring pain for the sake of art, he didn’t remember the last time he’d felt so good.

“You’re taking this like a champ,” Evie said after quite some time. Antonio wasn’t sure how long it had been. “We’re just about done here.”

“Already?”

“It’s been almost three hours.” Evie laughed. “If you want, you can cancel my next appointment and I’ll hook you up with a full back piece, but I don’t think you want that. Your adrenaline only lasts so long, you know. That’s why we cut big pieces into sessions. When you run out of adrenaline to handle the pain of being stabbed thousands of times, your life kind of starts to suck.”

Antonio snorted. He couldn’t help himself. He felt good, Evie was funny, and he was tired of always being so distant and professional.

“Oh my god, the stone wall just laughed,” Evie said. “Well, as close to laughing as it gets, I guess. I’m still in awe.”

“I’m a person, too,” Antonio reminded her. “I may be professional most of the time, but I’ve still got emotions, and a sense of humor, and everything else that goes with it.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Her tone was light. “Annnnd… we’re done.”

The buzzing stopped. Evie wiped off his back for the final time. “Go check yourself out in the mirror before I wrap you. You should be able to get through the rest of the day with the wrapping on, but as soon as you get home tonight, you know the cleaning routine you’ve gotta go through. And remember, no scratching, or rubbing, or anything that involves friction like that. If it gets itchy, you slap. And don’t pick your scabs.”

“I know I’m not covered in tattoos, but I know the basics,” Antonio said. He picked himself up from the chair and walked to the full length mirror hanging on the wall. Evie slid a second mirror out from behind her desk and carried it over, standing behind him so she could reflect the image on his back into the other mirror.

Antonio was stunned.

Not only was the crest beautifully shaded, but it had been embellished in ways he’d never imagined, but that brought out the natural beauty of the design. Evie had worked exceptionally well with negative space and shading, and she’d brought the whole thing to life. Even though it was black and white, the filigree shone like it was metallic. The tattoo wasn’t too dark, and she’d used her accents in one of the most stunning ways Antonio had ever seen.

He couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“So?” Evie prompted. “It’s pretty out there, right? Totally out of control?”

“It’s gorgeous,” Antonio said. He didn’t think he’d ever meant that word more. When the tattoo healed, he knew it was going to look even better. “I’m impressed. I don’t even think the original artist could have done it the justice you gave it.”

“When your motivation is in the right place, you can do some pretty spectacular things.” Evie winked.

“What do you mean?” Antonio asked.

She set the mirror down, leaning it against the wall. Then she shrugged. “You’re sexy. Seeing you with a sexy tattoo only makes you sexier. I’m not going to do the rest of the world a disservice by ruining your back. If you walk around shirtless more often… bonus for me.”

Antonio’s heart raced. He turned to look at her, but found himself tongue-tied. Evie winked and returned to her station, starting to clean up her mess. “So anyway, when you’re done ogling yourself, I’ll wrap up the tattoo and you’re good to go.”

Antonio’s tattoo might have been good to go, but his head wasn’t. It had been a very long time since a woman had so clearly demonstrated interest in him, let alone a woman he was already deeply attracted to.

His body left Evie’s tattoo bay, but for the rest of the day, his mind lived in that moment.

Evie may not have wanted to be head artist at Bloom Tattoo for fear of being in control, but there was no question that she’d captured his heart and commanded his thoughts.

Evie led him whether she wanted to or not.