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She kicks a rock off the trail. “No. I do other work on the side. My job at the office isn’t important. To the town or me. It’s just something I agree to do in order to keep my parents off my back about the tattooing. There are other people who work for the town that do everything from home. I’m just a face for the front desk.”

“Tattooing? You mean you tattoo for a living too?”

Why didn’t I know that? It seems like something a girlfriend should be aware of.

“It’s just a side gig. Something I do to keep myself busy and scratch an itch.”

I know she’s playing it off. If tattooing wasn’t something she truly loved, she wouldn’t be sacrificing her soul working at the town office just to keep your parents from giving her hell about it.

“If you love it the way it seems you do, then you should be tattooing full-time, Bryce. Your work is phenomenal. It’s the best I’ve ever seen,” I tell her, not a trace of a lie in my words.

“It’s not possible in Cherry Peak. The town is too small.”

“It could be. I mean, how many people do you have that are requesting house calls?”

A sound of rushing water becomes audible the further we get down the path, and I swing my head to the right just in time to spot a flash of turquoise blue amongst a forest of deep green.

I spin to face Bryce, excitement leaking from my every pore as I pick up my pace.

“Be careful, Sunshine. I can’t fake date a dead woman,” she warns.

“I’ll be fine. Now, answer my question before I get too distracted by the pretty blue water and forget about it.”

I watch her contemplate allowing me to do exactly that, but when I threaten her with a stiff pointed finger, she rolls her eyes and answers me.

“I have ten clients that are on a steady rotation. But even that isn’t enough. Not when a steady rotation in the tattoo world is having an appointment every few weeks. It’s not a cheap hobby.”

“How many would you need? Eleven?” I ask, waggling my brows.

“You’d let me tattoo you?”

“Is that so surprising?”

Her throat works with a strained swallow. “You don’t have any tattoos.”

It’s my turn to tease. Before we leave the cover of the trees and cross onto the rocky slope surrounding the river, I pause, tipping my lips in a smirk.

“Haveyoubeen checkingmeout, Frosty?”

“I already said you were gorgeous, didn’t I?”

She passes me then, holding my gaze as our shoulders knock. I’m a breath away from reaching for her in an attempt to keep her close when she stares past me, wonder lighting her eyes.

I turn, too curious to learn the reason behind her reaction. My mouth falls open at the magnificent sight in front of us.

“Yeah,” she whispers knowingly. “It makes the hike worth it.”

It’s jaw-dropping. From the crystal clear, bright blue water that nearly matches the exact shade of the sky to the small but fierce white rapids that crash amongst the tallest rocks and the floor of dainty pebbles beneath the surface, it’s a spot that’s impossible to forget.

A sanctuary guarded by lush greenery and endless patches of flowers. White, purple, yellow. They’re everywhere, scattered along the riverbank and threaded through the forest that’s home to the various chirping birds and wildlife that I’d bet are watching us right now.

“That’s an understatement,” I murmur in awe.

Not wasting any time, I toe off my sneaker and remove my sock before moving to the water’s edge. The river is freezing when I dip my toe into the lapping current and grin.

“Mission accomplished,” I announce.

Her next exhale is heavy, a weighted noise that draws my attention. She follows me and stares out at the river, lips parted and the cold nipping at the tip of her nose. I grow entranced at the sight of her fully relaxed, as if that exhale was her way of expelling every one of her troubling thoughts in the safety of this piece of paradise.