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“You really want to know what I think?”

Her eyes looked up to the ceiling and back. “No, I’d rather you told me a pack of lies.” Her breath came out in a sharp rush of frustration. “Of course I want to know. That’s why I asked your frigging opinion.”

After a whole morning of coming up with ideas and then discounting them, it was clear his calm, even tempered (when she wasn’t yelling at him) companion had reached the end of her patience.

“I think you should draw your own tattoo,” he told her bluntly. “You’re a damn good artist and that painting you did of you and Colin holding hands would make a perfect start. Also.” He shoved the book onto the coffee table. “While you’re at it, you can draw mine.”

She stared back at him like he was speaking a different language from her. “You think I should draw the designs for our tattoos?”

“That’s what I said.”

“But I’m a nurse.”

He’d never seen her so flummoxed. “Have you seen a better design for your tattoo than the girl and boy you drew?” Slowly she shook her head. “I thought not.” He jumped to his feet and walked up to the woman on the reception desk. “Can we have a pen and paper? Anna is going to draw our designs for the tattoo artist to copy.”

His talkative roommate was silent as he handed her the paper and pen. Silent as he pulled up a book for her to rest on. Silent as he waited for her to start drawing.

“The guy is going to come and get us in five minutes.” Luke peered into her eyes. “Get drawing, Anna.”

“I paint watercolors. I don’t know if I can do this with a felt pen.”

“Try. The tattoo artist can tweak it if needed.” Still, she didn’t start drawing. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“This design will be on our skin for the rest of our lives.”

“There’s always the dig, laser or sand it out option,” he countered dryly. When she let out a frustrated exhale, he covered her hand with his. “Anna, look at me.” A pair of worried blue eyes met his. “You know your brother better than the tattoo artist. You know how we feel about Colin better than the tattoo artist. And I bet you’re at least as good an artist as he is. I know you can draw us two designs we’ll be proud to wear. That we can look at every day and feel that Colin is still with us.”

“You really want something I’ve drawn, to be on your skin for the rest of your life?”

Now he knew why she was hesitating. It wasn’t for herself, it was for him. “Anna, I’d be honored to have your art on my skin.” Her eyes widened and she blinked, then looked away. But not before he saw the sheen in her eyes. “An Anna Blake original, in memory of her brother, a true original in every sense.” He waited for her to meet his eyes again. “What could be more fitting?”

She laughed softly. “Okay. Now we just have to decide where the tattoo is going to go.”

He smiled into her eyes. “We do have cute butts.”

This time her laugh was louder, longer. “Oh no, I’m not having a tattoo on my butt. We won’t be able to sit down for a week.”

In the end they both went for the upper arm, having been advised it was the least painful.

By the time they were told their tattooist was ready, Anna had drawn their two designs. “Are you sure this is what you wanted?” She asked, for the tenth time, as they walked towards the suite.

“You think I’m the sort of guy who’d meekly let someone tattoo something onto my skin I didn’t like?”

A smile teased her bottom lip. “You make a good point.”

Their tattooist, a big guy who sported two sleeves of colorful tattoos, waved them in. “Who’s going first?”

Anna stepped forward. “Me.” She gave Luke an apologetic look. “Sorry but if I sit there and watch you cry like a baby while you’re getting yours done, I’ll lose my nerve.”

“You think I won’t if I see you cry?”

She gave him a cocky smile. “I’m a woman. Our pain threshold is way higher than yours.”

Their tattooist, Simon, chuckled. “She’s got a point, dude.”

While Anna got settled in the chair, Luke found somewhere to sit and watch. He was chill about the whole process, right up to the point where the guy aimed the tattoo gun towards Anna’s softly toned arm.

“Wait.” His heart started to thump as they both turned to stare at him. “How much on a scale of one to ten is this going to hurt her?”