Opposites Ignite by Sadira Stone (simple ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Eddie trailed her to the bar floor, stammering apologies.

She spun and glared. “Let’s just drop it.”

“I don’t want to fight with you, Rosie.” He looked positively nauseated.

“We’re fine.” She bit that last word extra hard.

“Clearly, we’re not. Can we talk about this after work?”

Her better angel whispered to cut him some slack. He couldn’t read her mind, couldn’t know the kind of enthusiastic reaction she’d craved.

She smacked that little pest like a mosquito. “Think I’ll head straight home. I have a headache.”

“Ro, I swear I didn’t mean to shit on your good news. Please don’t be mad.”

“Well, I am. I can’t snap my fingers and make my feelings stop.”

She just needed to get over this sour mood—and nothing did the trick like a blast of external validation. If Eddie wouldn’t give it to her, her customers would. She picked up her tray, checked her cashbox, then strutted to her first table.

“Hi, boys. What’ll you have?”

“Yo, tattoo mama.” Her customer grinned. “Give us a platter of onion Swiss tots with extra bacon, and a pitcher of Rainier.”

His friend added, “Love your rose tattoo. My girlfriend wants one like that.”

“Yeah?” She shot a glance over her shoulder. Behind the bar, Eddie stared, bug-eyed. “I just started working at Inky Dreams Tattoo, down by the Tacoma Dome. All female artists. She should check it out.”

She circled her section, collecting orders and flirting with customers. Okay, maybe she was laying it on a little thick tonight, but damn it, the more she replayed Eddie’s comments, the more they stung. A guy who really loved her would’ve been over the moon to hear her dream was finally coming true. What a painful wake-up call.

Maybe she’d got it wrong. Maybe all she and Eddie shared was a hot sexual connection and their love for Bangers. How stupid to blurt out the L word before thinking it through. She should’ve kept things casual. All the sex, none of the messy feelings.

At shift’s end, she counted out her tips, a good haul tonight. Must be all the phony smiling. Avoiding Eddie’s gaze, she stuffed his share into his tip mug. Her emotions still churned in a vortex of anger and self-blame. Better cool off before talking to him. She needed time to figure this out on her own.

As she turned toward the locker room, a soft hand fell on her shoulder. “Hang on there, kiddo.”

Shit, shit, shit. She molded her face into what she hoped passed for a relaxed expression. “What’s up, boss?”

“Eddie tells me you have news.” Dawn raised an eyebrow. For a woman who never had kids of her own, she had that omniscient Mom stare down pat.

“Yeah, actually. I got a tattoo apprenticeship. I start tomorrow.”

Dawn beamed and threw her arms around Rosie, squishing her against her chest. “That’s awesome! Hey, guys, meet Tacoma’s newest tattoo artist.” She clasped Rosie’s hand and raised it high.

Lana sprinted over to join the group hug, followed by Charlie, Kiara, and all the others, chanting her name and bouncing up and down in a big, squealing love scrum.

“Get in here, Eddie.” Dawn drew him into the center. “Aren’t you proud of your girl?”

“I couldn’t be prouder.” He cupped her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers. “Truly.”

Really, Eddie? No way to know, since Dawn put him on the spot. Tears blurred her vision. Let them think they were tears of happiness.

“Sign me up,” Jojo said with a pat on her back. “Been thinking about getting a vampire on my arm. Get it? Phlebotomist? Vampire?”

River groaned. “We get it, weirdo.”

Rosie swiped her leaky eyes and wiggled out of Eddie’s grip. “It’ll be a while before I’m allowed to tattoo people.”

Jojo shrugged. “I can wait. I’ll save you this spot right here.” He flexed his massive biceps.

With some careful sidestepping, she avoided Eddie’s attempts to pull her aside, slipping out the back while his attention was diverted. A cowardly move, but she was too emotionally wrung out to face him.

As she pulled into her driveway, her phone lit up with a text from Eddie.

—I’m so sorry, Ro. I love you—

She powered her phone off and thunked her head against the steering wheel.

A guy who loved her would’ve smooched her silly and shouted her good news for all to hear. Sure, he told the others later, but only after she blasted him with her disappointment. Too little, too late.

Chapter Fifteen

“That’s time, gentlemen.” Jojo set his kettlebell at his feet. “Hit your mat.”

Thank God. Eddie dropped his much smaller kettlebell and collapsed to the floor. Despite the frigid temperature in Jojo’s garage, sweat streamed down his face and stung his eyes. Lifting a noodle arm, he wiped his face on his sleeve and awaited their next round of torture.

“Next up, in Eddie’s honor, Russian twists. Feet up. Two minutes. Go.”

Balanced on his rear, Eddie lifted his feet, clasped his hands over his chest, and twisted from side to side until his whole torso burned. Normally, the pain was a welcome distraction from his everyday worries, but today, it wasn’t working. Rosie was still avoiding him. Did anyone else notice how phony and brittle her smile turned whenever he approached? And who could blame her? Distracted by his new work responsibilities, he’d really stepped in a big, steaming pile of verbal doo-doo.

Rosie went home alone again on Friday night, claiming a headache. Saturday night, she was expecting a phone call from her cousin in Hong Kong. Each time, she shrugged off his apologies with “We’re fine.” He might not be an ace with women, but he knew enough about the feminine mind to recognize “fine” for the landmine it was.

Huffing and grunting, he powered through until Jojo blew his goddamn whistle. “Gimme an up-dog. Stretch out those sexy abs.”

River muttered a string of curses.

“Why are you even here, Riv?” Eddie asked. “Shouldn’t you be packing?”

River huffed a dry chuckle. “And miss this torture? Besides, I wanna talk to you.”

“Down dog,” Jojo called.