“I suppose not.” Josie was definitely trying not to laugh as Sonali returned to set some condiments on the table. “I wonder where the nearest place to get a tattoo is.”
Sonali cleared her throat. “I hope you don’t mind me eavesdropping, but I have a friend who does really great tattoos.”
“Yeah? Are they local?” Evan asked.
“She is at the moment. Kashvi normally lives in L.A., but she’s waiting for her new studio to open and she’s come to stay with me and Dev right across the street.” Sonali smiled. “She has all her kit with her so I’m sure she’d be happy to work on you, Josie.”
“It’s not for me,” Josie said.
“You want a tattoo?” Sonali stared at Evan.
“Yeah.” Evan met her skeptical gaze. “To go with the other dozen hiding under my clothes.”
“Okay.” Sonali nodded. “I have your number. I’ll check in with Kashvi and let you know if she’s good to go.”
“Great.”
Evan sat back and noticed that Josie was still smiling at him. He didn’t think he’d met anyone who appeared to be so in tune with him.
“Do you have a tattoo?” Evan asked.
“Yup.”
“Where?”
“None of your business.” Josie drank some beer.
“Does Rio?”
“Yes, he has a massive one all over his back and shoulder. It’s some kind of poem or script.”
“I think I should probably start small,” Evan said thoughtfully.
“I would,” Josie said. “If this Kashvi is any good, she’ll talk you through the options and the recovery period in some detail.”
“If she says yes, will you come with me?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
* * *
Two days later, Josie ascended the steps to the apartment Sonali shared with her brother, Dev. Evan was right behind her. It was late afternoon, and according to Evan he was supposed to be out on the ranch somewhere counting cattle. After picking Josie up they’d driven into town and he’d hidden his truck behind the gas station before walking along the back street to Sonali’s place.
Josie knocked on the door and it opened to reveal a diminutive woman dressed all in black. Her arms were bare, and Josie was transfixed by the vibrant tattoos of birds, vines, and flowers that encircled her flesh.
“Hey, you must be Josie and Evan. I’m Kashvi. Thanks for offering to let me keep my hand in while I’m here.”
She gestured toward the pristine kitchen where she’d set up a chair swathed in plastic. “I’ve done everything I can to keep the place sterile and my tools are always kept like that.”
“Looks good,” Josie said as Evan had suddenly gone very quiet. She nudged his elbow. “You okay, mano?”
He nodded, his solemn gaze fixed on the chair like he was visiting the dentist for an extraction. Where had her wisecracking cowboy gone?
As Kashvi went to scrub her hands, Josie lowered her voice. “You still want to do this? You don’t have to.”
“If I can’t do this, how the hell am I going to move on to anything significant on my list?” Evan whispered. “I have to cowboy up and get through it.”
“You’ve got this.” Josie went up on tiptoe and kissed both of his cheeks. Even as his hand reached to encircle her waist, Kashvi called out to him.
“Why don’t you sit down, and we can talk about what you want to do? Sonali didn’t seem to think you wanted anything too complicated.”
Evan set his Stetson down on the table and moved off like a condemned man approaching the gallows. Josie fought a smile. When she’d decided to visit her brother’s ranch, she hadn’t envisaged holding a cowboy’s hand while he got a tattoo. She hadn’t expected to kiss him either, but that was another conversation entirely.
The instant attraction she felt for Evan had come out of nowhere. After growing up on a ranch, she usually avoided cowboys like the plague. Sure, they were amazing with horses, but they tended to lack some social skills and often preferred animals to people. They’d also treated her like their kid brother so the thought of having any romantic feelings for any of them had been zero.
“So, what are you thinking of having done, and where?”
Kashvi pulled up her stool and smiled at Evan who was gripping the arms of the chair so hard, Josie could see the white of his knuckles from across the room.
“Something to celebrate my heritage.”
“Okay.” Kashvi nodded. “Like what exactly?”
Evan looked appealingly at Josie who came to sit on his other side.
“It needs to be somewhere he can deal with the aftercare himself and not too visible,” Josie said. “Obviously, he has a very physical, outside job, so it needs to be somewhere it won’t tear.”
“Good to know.” Kashvi looked at Evan. “How big?”
“That depends on how much you’re going to charge me.” Evan finally spoke up.
“Don’t worry about that.” Kashvi leaned forward and patted his hand. “You’re doing me a favor. I’ll be charging you the family rate.”
After doing some research, Josie had also spoken with Kashvi on the phone and confirmed she’d help pay for the tattoo so Evan wouldn’t get sticker shock.
“Are you left or right-handed?” Kashvi asked.
“Right.”
“Then we’ll do it on your left side,” Kashvi said. “Easier for you to care for and you use that side less. If I were you, I’d go for your left bicep. Tattooing over muscle is a lot easier than being close to the bone.”
“If he’s anything like all the other cowboys I’ve known, he’ll have great biceps,” Josie added helpfully.
“Would you mind taking off your shirt, Evan?”
“Sure.”
Evan undid the top three buttons of his denim shirt and pulled it over his head, ruffling his auburn hair in the process. Both Josie and Kashvi stared at his forearms and the muscular bulge of his biceps.
“Well . . .” Kashvi cleared her throat. “You’re definitely in good shape.” She winked at Josie. “Could you take your T-shirt off, too?”
Being on Evan’s right side meant that at least Josie could drool quietly over his awesome physique without him noticing as his entire attention was fixed on Kashvi who was still talking.
“So, any idea what you actually want on that arm of yours?”
“Joker’s head,” Evan said.
“And Joker is . . . ?”
“My horse.”
“Ah! That makes sense.” Kashvi picked up her tablet and swiped through some kind of picture gallery. She handed the tablet to Evan. “Something like this?”
Josie craned closer to look. “You did all those?” she asked.
“Most of them.” Kashvi pointed at the second picture. “That’s one of my favorites. I love the clean, black lines.”
It was Evan’s turn to nod. “I like that one, too. It even looks a bit like him.” He glanced over at the door as if already planning his escape. “How long do you think it’ll take to get it done?”