Page 10 of Things I Read About

I laugh. “True.”

“That dress is the best ridiculously overpriced purchase we made today, and we made a few.”

I look down at myself. It’s a tight, black, faux leather dress with a short skirt, long sleeves and a cinched waist. My hourglass figure is more hourglass than usual, but with an edge. I smile wide as Janie ushers us out of the suite.

We make our way down to the restaurant, which has a couple small tables left near the kitchen. It’s loud and busy but we’re all too hungry to mind at this point. Plus, I have a great view of the bar from here. We laugh, and eat, and drink champagne, gushing over how delicious everything is. We also make a plan for tomorrow, black slopes included. Kat grows louder as Janie starts to fade, and my hopes of seeing tattoo guy again start to fizzle.

Then I hear them.

A loud group of men who whirl into the bar. Again, I see suits, expensive watches, designer shoes, and a ton of muscle. I notice there seems to be a younger set of guys together and an older group. Coworkers, maybe? Maybe even cousins or…

Wait.

There he is.There he is!

“Which one are you staring at?” Janie whispers.

“Doesn’t matter,” Kat says, “They’re all trouble.” She takes another swig of champagne and gives me a sheepish grin. “And what do main characters do, doc?”

I grin. “They get into trouble.”

4

“Okay, I’m going for it then,” I say as I stand.

“Wait! Wait.” Janie reaches out a hand. “What are you going to say? And to whom?”

“Tattoo guy. Third one down at the bar.”

“Tattoo?” Kat follows my line of sight.

“Tattoos—plural—on the back of his neck. They go up into his hair line.”

“The wall of muscle pretending to be a human in combat clothes?That’syour guy?” Kat is almost laughing.

Janie chuckles too. “Would not have guessed that in a thousand years.”

“Just look at him,” I mumble.

“Maybe you do read too many of Lori’s mafia books.” Janie shakes her head at me. “That guy is scary.”

She might be right. Lorelai, Sadie’s best friend who writes as Lori Kent, always sucks me into her dark romances. I can’t get enough of them. But that’s fantasy, not reality.

“In this place, with this crowd? Nah.” Kat waves a hand. “If anything, heusedto be scary and now he’s reformed.”

“My, what a high bar we’re setting here.” Janie scoffs into her drink.

“I’m going to—”

“Wait, what are you going to say? What does Peak Sally want to say?” Kat asks me.

I blurt the first thought I have. “Can I lick your tattoos?”

Janie spits her drink.

Kat laughs and stands. “Okay, so we’re going to go withHi, I’m Sally.” She takes a step around her chair so she’s next to me. “I’ll be your wing woman.”

“Kat, I love you, but your rock star rebel aura is very much main character energy. I will just end up letting you do all the talking.”