Permanent Ink (Something to Celebrate #1) by Laura Simcox Page B

walked over to the counter and sat on the stool. “I’ll watch from here,” she announced.
    Hiding a smirk, Ben nodded and motioned to Grizz, who placed the rolling chair a few feet away from the tattoo area.
    “You don’t mind, darlin’, do you?” Grizz winked at Crystal.
    “No prob,” she mumbled, tensing up as Ben applied another sweep of color.
    “Relax. You’re doing great,” he whispered and squeezed her arm lightly. “So tell me about these big plans of yours,” he said, nodding at Grizz. “Blair needs to hear it, too.”
    “Who said they were big?” Grizz laughed.
    “Oh come on, man. I know you.”
    “Okay, okay.” Grizz leaned back in the chair, rolling it backward. “You know Starling?”
    “Never met her.” Ben dipped into the red, and began work on the last section of leaves. “She’s on the cover of Tattoo World this month.” He stopped the machine and looked up. “Don’t tell me you were able to get her to make an appearance.”
    Grizz laughed again, the sound rusty and full of mischief. “Nope.”
    “Well, why bring her up then?” Ben stared at him.
    “Because Starling’s not only gonna make an appearance. She’s going to headline for us.” Grizz laced his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, a grin splitting his round face.
    “Holy shit,” Ben blurted out. “I thought she only did the top national festivals.”
    Grizz popped open an eye. “It’s true that she hasn’t done a smaller festival in a few years.” He coughed. “But she was the one to approach me. And when I told her that I’d turned Ink Fest over to you, I showed her some photos of your work. She’s interested in meeting you. Very interested.”
    Crystal let out a short laugh. “Did Ben happen to be in any of those photos?”
    “Yeah, why?” Grizz asked.
    “I’m pretty sure I know why she’s interested. Ben’s totally hot.” She turned her head and looked at him. “Not that your work isn’t great.”
    He gave her a small smile. “Thanks, I think.” He couldn’t resist a glance at Blair, but she appeared to be engrossed in his designs—she stared at the pictures of flash on the wall.
    He wiped Crystal’s arm. Then he reached to grab a mirror from the top of a storage cabinet. “There’s a full-length mirror on the wall, but take a peek. You be the judge.” He held the mirror up and her eyes went wide, quickly followed by a crumpling of her heart-shaped face. “Oh, God,” she said. “It’s perfect. All my nerve endings are on fire, but it’s perfect. Thank you.”
    He gave her a wink. “So I’m hot, huh?”
    “You know you are,” she snapped out, reaching up to wipe tears away from her cheeks. “But I’m only paying for the tattoo, not the view.”
    Grizz let out a loud laugh. “I like this one,” he said and then swiveled around in his chair. “Speaking of a view, Starling oughta be here by now.”
    Ben froze in the middle of pulling off his gloves. “What?”
    “Yeah, she went over to that diner to grab a snack. But she can’t wait to meet you.” Grizz stood up and walked to the door. “There she is. Crossing the street.”
    Numbly, Ben took the roll of cash Crystal handed him and stuffed it in his pocket.
    Starling…now? He wasn’t prepared for this. Starling was basically the reigning queen of the tattoo world. She was a pinup model and an artist. An amazing artist. He’d only seen pictures of her, but she was absolutely stunning, and she was about to walk into his studio. Not that he was interested in her in that way, especially not with Blair sitting ten feet away, but still…he was starstruck.
    “Ben, are you listening to me?” Crystal asked.
    “Huh?”
    “I said, it’s beautiful.” She stood in front of the mirror on the wall, examining her arm. With a quick smile, she grabbed her purse from a side table, and took a step forward. “See ya later, Ben.”
    “Wait.” He touched her shoulder. “Sit back down, Crys. I need to cover your