When the door shut behind her, I turned to Bishop and mouthed a silent wow.

“Sorry about that, man,” he said to the customer first.

“No worries, dude. You don’t have to explain crazy to me. I’ve got an ex-wife who could give her a run for her money.”

“I’ll be back in a second.”

Bishop lowered the tattoo machine to the counter, snapped off a glove, and came toward me.

“What’d she say to you?”

I shook my head. “Not important.”

“What’d she say?”

“Do you mind if I go up and shower?”

Bishop’s hand landed under my chin, and he lifted my gaze to his. “What’d she say, Eden?”

“She called me a slut and told me I wouldn’t be able to keep you because no one could. That’s all. Moving on now.”

He didn’t move his hand, and the muscle in his jaw ticked again. “If Delilah were here, she’d track her down and kick her ass. Star’s drunk, probably hopped up on pills, and what she said was dead fucking wrong.”

I nodded. “I know. I’m not a slut.”

His expression softened. “That’s not all she was wrong about.”

My heart beat harder at the words and the possible implications.

“Go on upstairs and take a shower. I’ll be up in a little while.” Bishop lowered his hand from my chin and laced his fingers through mine. “Come on. The door is this way.”

He pulled me toward the back hallway of the shop and stopped before the door next to the employee break room. I’d assumed it opened to a closet or something, but when Bishop pulled it open, I realized I was wrong. Inside was a stairway leading up to a door.

“It’s unlocked. There should be a clean towel in the closet in the bathroom. You can grab a shirt out of my dresser if you don’t want to put your work clothes back on. Hell, you can even wash them if you want. Washer and dryer are up there too, in the big closet by the door.”

“Uh . . . okay. I’ll be good. Sorry to interrupt your work.”

“You’re not an interruption, cupcake. You’re a breath of fucking fresh air. Go on up. I’ll be done soon.”

With his words propelling me, I climbed the stairs as he shut the door behind me.

I stood in front of the shower, debating how tonight was going to go. I truly had no expectations, but something had changed between us. Bishop wasn’t the gruff, brusque, and nearly mute broody guy who I had a crush on anymore. Now he was looking at me like I mattered. Like this might not be all one-sided and mostly in my head.

What was I supposed to do with that?

I didn’t know how long I would be here, and I’d decided that was okay. Not knowing gave me some time to soak up all the adventures I could, but with it came a sense of urgency so I didn’t waste it.

The edges of my plan had frayed until it was in tatters. I wanted to stay. I wanted to be part of this little world I’d discovered. I liked the people and loved the city, even if I still got lost half the time.

And Bishop? What if this could be more than the dreams I had at night and the crush I nursed during the day? What if it could be real? I honestly didn’t have a clue how to have a real relationship.

That was something to worry about some other time. Like when I wasn’t about to get naked in Bishop’s apartment.

I’m getting naked in Bishop’s apartment. Holy shit.

“I THINK I’M GONNA CALL it a night, man. We knew I’d need another session, so you cool with stopping now?”

My client’s question was the best thing I could imagine him asking. “Your call.”

He grinned. “What kind of guy would I be if I kept you down here working when you’ve got that sweet thing upstairs waiting for you? A shit guy, that’s what kind.”

I could try to pretend I hadn’t been thinking about Eden since the second I’d walked back into the room. “It’s up to you.”

He lifted his arm. “Just wrap me up, and I’ll give you my money and get out of your way.”

“Sounds good. Let me make sure I’ve got you down for the second session and see if I need to block out more time.”

I taped the wrap around the partially completed tattoo and snapped off my gloves again before tossing them in the trash.

After taking care of shit at the counter, I locked up the shop after he left and hustled back to my room to clean everything up faster than I’d ever done before.

My client was right that I’d never had quite the incentive like I did now.

Eden was upstairs, and I was still figuring out how I was going to let this play out. I’d never wanted a woman the way I wanted her, but I wasn’t rushing things. Now that I’d let myself start considering the possibility of something that lasted beyond a night, everything had changed.

I flipped off the lights and opened the door to upstairs. I paused at the bottom of the stairs, listening for the sound of water, but heard nothing. Taking them two at a time, I reached the top and opened the door. Steam wafted from the open bathroom door, but I didn’t see Eden when I looked inside.

I froze on the threshold of my bedroom. She faced away from me as she pulled a T-shirt over her head, covering her naked skin inch by inch.

Fuck.

When it dropped to cover her rounded ass, I wanted nothing more than to stride forward and lift it up again.

I wasn’t sure if I’d breathed too loud or what, but Eden spun around.

“Uh . . . I borrowed a shirt.” And she did. White, with the Voodoo Ink logo on the front. The water from her skin and hair was already making it see-through in spots.

I had to clear my throat to find my voice. “I see that. You hungry?”

“Yes.” The glint in her dark eyes betrayed the fact that she wasn’t just hungry for food, but something still held me back. I could stride across the threshold and have her under me in that bed, but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t want her to think that was the only reason I asked her to come up here. I’d never been in this situation, so I had to play it by ear.

“Then you’re in luck because tonight you’re gonna have killer shrimp stir-fry. You like seafood, right?”

Eden nodded, keeping the smile pinned to her face, but it didn’t quite cover her disappointment.