Given that smile, she could sympathize with Michelle’s heartbreak over losing him soon after their trip to Hawaii for Evan’s wedding. The details of their demise were fuzzy, but it didn’t matter. Candace would weep oceans to lose a guy with a smile like that. It was infectious, and she was on her feet and crossing the room toward him almost before she realized it.

Brian folded his arms on the countertop as she approached. “Hey, sunshine. What brings you out?”

Whatever the reason he often called her that, it made her giggly as a teenager. “Guess.”

Brian’s gaze flickered over to Macy, who had somehow mustered the courage to follow her to the counter. His smile intensified. “Bringing your friend in for a tongue ring.”

Candace laughed as Macy blanched and stepped back in horror. She grabbed the other girl’s arm before she could bolt for the door. “God, no. She’s a weenie.” And so am I, truth be known. Why in the world was she acting so tough? One touch of the needle might cause her to dissolve in hysterics.

“And you?” Brian asked, one dark eyebrow raised.

“I was kind of hoping for a tattoo.”

“There’s no ‘kind of’ to it, girl. You get it or you don’t.”

“I know that.” She tried to keep her gaze from straying to his arms resting on the counter. He was wearing a form-fitting black shirt with sleeves so long they almost covered his hands, but she knew that underneath it, the flesh of both his arms was a riot of color from his shoulders to his wrists.

Pity that it was all hidden from her sight now. She thought his sleeves were beautiful, and always struggled not to stare…actually, on second thought, maybe it was best he was covered. After going so long without seeing him, she might have very well embarrassed herself. How often had she fantasized about running her fingertips along all those lines and patterns and hues, deciphering all the meandering shapes, exploring the statements he’d found profound enough to mark on his skin for all time…?

Plenty of times. She’d felt horribly guilty about every single one. But now Michelle was out of the picture, and in a happy relationship. Besides, it didn’t hurt to simply admire the scenery, did it?

Tonight, from head to toe, Brian looked quite subdued. For him, anyway. She was tempted to ask him what was going on. His hair was its natural lustrous black—she’d seen it every vivid color in the rainbow—worn a little long so that it fell into his face. Not shaggy or messy like she so hated to see on guys, but silky and gorgeous and touchable… Okay, down, girl, stop right there.

Even his eyebrow rings were MIA. Normally he had two side-by-side in his right eyebrow. Something was definitely up in his world.

Maybe he had a date later. Some ultra-gorgeous conservative type he desperately wanted to impress. Maybe she wouldn’t appreciate his body art. The very thought, speculative as it was, made Candace seethe. Brian was Brian. If he had to change for someone, anyone, he didn’t need them.

She cleared her throat, trying to chase the images away. “I do want a tattoo. It’s my birthday and I’m feeling rebellious.”

His perfect lips quirked at one corner. “You want me to do it, don’t you?”

She nodded and tried her best not to pout. “But they said you weren’t seeing clients tonight.”

He tugged up one shirtsleeve and checked his watch. She caught a flash of his vibrant skin and felt her heart plummet to her toes. “I have an hour or so.” So he does have some place to be. “I can get it done unless you want something massive.”

Candace laughed and held up her hands. “Oh, no. Nothing like that.” Now, where she wanted it was another matter.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I have an idea, but can I look through some of your designs?” She tilted her head toward the poster displays.

“Yeah. There’s plenty of flash here, too, especially smaller stuff like you’re probably looking for.” He leaned down behind the counter and produced a couple of black, bursting-at-the-seams photo albums, sliding them toward her. “But don’t just settle for anything. If you don’t see something here that grabs you, I can draw up anything you want. You might not be able to get it tonight, since I don’t have a lot of time, but it would be worth it in the end.”

“Now you’re making me feel I’m being way too hasty,” she said, flipping open one of the books. To her amazement, Macy leaned over to study the pictures, as well. Some of them were color drawings, but others were live shots of fresh tattoos, the bearer’s skin still reddened. Candace’s stomach flipped over on itself. Please God, don’t let me faint when this all goes down.

“Some people are too hasty about it,” Brian said, and she could practically feel the warmth of his scrutiny on the top of her head, like some freakish kind of osmosis. Or maybe she was imagining it. Her thoughts tended to run rampant when she was near him, all sorts of crazy images flashing through her head.

“I can’t see wanting something that bad,” Macy interjected. “On my body. Forever.” Candace fought the urge to elbow her in the ribs.

“No?” Brian asked.

“Absolutely not.”

Candace glanced up as he moved away from them and pushed open the half-door at the end of the counter. “Come here and let me show you what I’ve been working on. It’ll just take a second.”

He led them through the door he’d exited earlier, down a short hallway and into a sparse room with ample lighting and little else except a slanted drawing board. She found it hard to pull her gaze away from his dark-clad figure in front of her, the way the breadth of his shoulders stretched the fabric of his shirt, the way his black cargo pants hugged the curves of his butt. It was one she could imagine sinking her fingernails into. No question about it, he was magnificent eye candy. Why was she surprised to be so vividly reminded of that fact?

“Check this out,” he said, and her gaze followed his to the drawing he’d been laboring over. Next to it was tacked a picture of a beautiful little girl, dark-haired and smiling with her chin resting on her small fists. He’d transferred it to paper perfectly, only he’d managed to make her look somehow ethereal, like an angel. On a banner beneath her likeness, in beautiful, flowing script, were the words “Too Beautiful for Earth”.

“Oh,” Candace breathed. There was nothing else to say—and she feared she would burst into tears if she tried to conjure words.

“Doing this on a guy’s back next week. Starting it, anyway. It’ll take several sessions. She’s his five-year-old daughter who died in a car accident.” Brian’s eyes were intense as he scrutinized his work. “I think it’s coming along pretty well. I hope he likes how I’ve done it.”

“It’s…amazing,” Macy said softly. Candace cut a glance at her and saw her friend was transfixed by the graceful lines and angelic beauty of the drawing. She couldn’t suppress a grin. Brian’s talent could astound the most hardened critic.

“Thanks.” He actually looked sheepish, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I just wanted to show you how it’s possible to want something on your body forever. How could he ever regret this, even when he’s eighty years old?”