Chapter 6
I heaved a sigh as I closed my laptop, yawning as I leaned back in my seat. The whole floor was dark, and the only thing illuminating the building had been my laptop. I flipped on the desk lamp before looking down at my cell phone. West was filming late, and he had the puppies, so there was no reason for me to rush home. I stood and stretched. It had been months since I worked this late. With West around, I had a reason to go home and rest. It was only seven, and I didn’t know how I used to work well into the early morning. I smiled as I tucked my laptop into my purse.
I hadn’t had anything to look forward to when I went home, but now I did. My stomach growled, and I wondered if West had eaten. He’d told me to avoid the shop during filming because of the drama the producers made, but I’d nipped that in the butt with the contract changes. Or at least I hoped it had. I chewed on my inner lip before deciding to go pick us up burgers and fries. I missed him, and I was sure it had been a long day since he hadn’t text me since lunch.
When I pulled into the parking lot, my chest clenched. I hoped he wouldn’t be mad I was there, and I didn’t want to be on film. I’d had enough exposure with my ice rink tribute. It had been three weeks, but views had been doubling each week. I figured it would calm down, but for some reason, it hadn’t. I squeezed the steering wheel before giving into the fantastic scent of the fast food from our favorite spot and heading into the shop.
The puppies started howling as soon as they saw me, and West looked up from the tattoo he was watching his newest teammate, Temp, do. The camera fixed on them didn’t move, and I was glad for that. West smiled as he came towards me, pulling me into a hug.
“Just the face I wanted to see,” he said, kissing me lightly. His hands remained on my face, his green eyes lightening.
“I brought some dinner,” I replied.
He smirked. “Any reason to come see me, huh?”
“Cocky man in front of the camera?” I teased, and his eyes flashed as his smile slipped. I leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Yes, I was looking for an excuse to come see you. I miss you with all this filming.”
The smile regained its strength just as Bagel let out a howl of irritation.
“You too, Bagel,” I called over to where our fur children were attempting to climb over one another to get over the plastic gate separating them from the tattoo shop floor.
“Shall we?” West asked as he took the food from me and put his hand on the small of my back. He carefully navigated us, so he blocked the camera’s view when we passed by Temp. Any other time I would’ve been interested in seeing what he was working on, but the camera deterred me.
“Just a few more weeks,” West said as he closed the door to the backroom, locking us away from the film crew. “It couldn’t go fast enough.”
I looked up from where I was kneeling to give the puppies love. “How do the other guys feel about it?”
“They’re ready for it to be over, too,” he replied, running a hand through his hair as he sat down at the table. “I feel bad for Temp. I just recruited him, and he comes into all of this. I mean, he’s from a busy shop in Boston, but having a camera shoved in your face while you work and are trying to learn is a different level of crazy.”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t know.”
West pointed a fry at me. “You do work in a fishbowl, though.”
“Very true,” I said as I unwrapped my burger. My eyes drifted to my feet where Bagel had plopped his head over them and was looking at me with those sad Beagle eyes.
“Don’t believe him,” West said as he swallowed his bite. “I already fed them, and they’re going to get fat on the treats the guys keep sneaking them.”
“So the producers are done making them look like devil dogs?” I asked, and West laughed.
“They don’t always help the situation,” he replied as he leaned down and scratched beneath Sadie’s chin. “Now do you?”
“Howling?” I asked, one brow raised and West ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek. “I thought we would be able to train them not to do that?”
He put his hands up. “So I was wrong.”
“I’m glad you’re admitting it. Good thing we stay at your place more often than mine,” I said and West looked down at his burger. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he replied, shaking his head. “So I took this weekend off. I figured we could go somewhere nice. Maybe head into the city?”
My teeth ran over my lips, and suddenly, I wasn’t hungry.
West reached over and squeezed my hand. “You deserve a happy birthday.”
“It’s just hard. He used to always be around.” My eyes dropped. “They both did.”
I felt West stiffen next to me. “Have you thought any more about reaching out to him?”
“No,” I replied, playing with my fries. I let my gaze come up to West. “I don’t want to see him.”
One of his brows quirked.
“I don’t know. Things will never be the same. The way we left things. How could we ever pick up and fix that? Becomes friends again?” I said, and my voice cracked.
I did want that, though.
“I can tell you still want him in your life, Riv. And you can’t figure out what that looks like without talking to him,” he replied, reaching over and putting his hand on my knee.
I closed my eyes, leaning my head on his shoulder. “Why do you understand so well?”
“I’m just that perfect,” he replied with a wink.
“This is true,” I said, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
His eyes moved away from mine. “Just remember that.”
“I will always remember how perfect you are for me,” I said, standing and wrapping my arms around him. “Now why don’t you remind me how perfect your kisses are.”
West’s chest rumbled as he chuckled, pulling me into his lap and kissing just below my ear, across my chin and landing on my lips. His kisses were perfect. Agonizingly passionate and loving all at the same time. They ignited my heart along with my body in ways no one else ever had. He pulled away, and I sighed, tipping my head back. West took the opportunity to kiss my chest, and my hands slipped up into his hair.
“No fair,” I gasped.
“All’s fair in love and war,” he replied wiggling his eyebrows and my breath caught at the L-word. His cheeks flushed red, and he coughed as I pulled away to sit back down. “Maybe I can get the guys to let me off the hook for tonight.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You said you’re off all weekend, though.”
He shrugged, taking the final bite of his burger. “I don’t have any more appointments, and Temp can handle himself.”
“I’d love that,” I said, and he stood, balling up his aluminum foil.
“We can go to bed early and then get an early start tomorrow morning,” West replied, and I bit my lip, my eyes wandering his body. He chuckled. “You’re bad.”
I tilted my head. “Am I?”