Page 66 of Just Heartbeats

She looked back at the tattoo. "This is wild."

"Like it?"

Across his lower abdomen in three-inch tatted letters was MY ROMA permanently placed on his skin. He let his shirt fall to cover the new ink.

"I love it." She raked her teeth over her lower lip. "When I heard you ask Hunter, I asked him for a favor, too."

He narrowed his eyes. "What did you do, baby girl?"

She shifted on the picnic table, facing away from him and raised the hem of her jacket and shirt, baring her lower back.

MY KODIAK was written between her back dimples.

He palmed her hip and ran his thumb over the edge of the tattoo. She turned around and grabbed his hands. He could see that she was pleased. They had yet to go to the courthouse and get married. To him, having her name on his skin was better than any piece of paper that could get lost or go up in flames.

"I wanted you to know how I feel," she said softly. "So I had Hunter write it where everyone can see it in the summer, and you can see it when you bend me over in front of you."

"You didn't have to—"

"I wanted to." She leaned closer. "I can never repay you for what you've done for me."

"It was never about that," he said softly.

She cupped his face, lifting his head. "I know."

She moved close enough that she could slip her hand under his elbow and hug his arm.

The sky was dark now. The first stars were starting to appear. Bathed in the flood light coming off the building, he reached for her hand, rough fingers curling around hers. "Love you, baby girl."

"I love you, too." She pressed her cheek against his upper arm.

They sat in silence for a while, the kind that didn't need to be filled. The kind that said everything.

Eventually, the music inside kicked up—someone had cranked the volume, and the bass thumped through the walls. Laughter spilled out through the open windows, followed by a chorus of chants and the unmistakable crash of a bottle hitting the floor.

Roma's laughter drifted in the air. "They've already forgotten that it's my birthday."

Kodiak chuckled. "You'll be lucky if they leave you a piece of the cake."

She stood and tugged at his hand. "Come on. Let's join them."

He let her pull him up and lead him back toward the noise and the light and the people who had become more than a club to them. They were family. Not perfect. A little bit criminal. But real.

And as the door swung open and the warmth of it all wrapped around them, Kodiak knew he'd settled.

He liked to think Chopper would approve.