Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Frustrated that we were interrupted, I nod. “I can do that.”
“Daniel!” the tattoo artist calls out his name. “You’re up.”
Daniel glances down at his phone. “I’ll email you the rough draft of my speech. After you give it a read through, give me your honest thoughts.”
“You want me to do that now?”
“How long will this take, Angel?” Daniel asks.
Tucking a wayward curl of her blonde hair into the messy bun on the top of her head, she smiles. “You can’t rush perfection. You’re my last client of the night, though, so the sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll be…”
“Done,” Daniel interrupts as he slides his suit jacket off.
Angel looks at me. “You can wait out here or come with us to the back if you want.”
I weigh the options, but before I can choose, Daniel makes the decision for me. “I don’t want Gina to see the masterpiece before it’s done, so she’ll wait here.”
Glancing at a row of gray chairs lined up against a wall, I nod. “I’ll do that.”
Angel steps around me to lock the shop’s door. “There’s a pot of coffee behind the counter, but be forewarned, it’s hours old, and the restroom is in the back of the shop. If you need to use it, come on back.”
“But cover your eyes if you do.” Daniel demonstrates by placing a hand over his eyes. “No peeking at my tattoo.”
Bowing my head to hide my smile, I nod. “Understood.”
“Read the speech,” he says as he sets off with Angel by his side. “I’ll be back to show you my first tattoo before you know it.”
I raise a hand in the air and mime making a check mark. “First ever tattoo. Mission almost accomplished on that wish.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Gina
Tears well in the corners of my eyes as I read the last line of the rough draft of Daniel’s best man speech. Overcome with emotion, I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
I witnessed a slice of his sentimentality last night at dinner when he made that speech honoring my brother and his fiancée, but this speech – this best man speech – puts that one to shame.
I’ve rarely seen Dominick cry, but I know he will on his wedding day when he sees Arietta in her breathtaking gown and also when he hears his best friend read this.
I drop my phone on my lap and stare at the wall opposite where I’m sitting.
When Daniel and Angel disappeared down the corridor toward what I assume is her studio, I lost track of time. I answered a few emails from potential sponsors before I finally opened the email from Daniel and downloaded the speech.
Pushing to stand, I tuck my phone back in my purse.
Since a few of the tears ran down my cheeks, I want to fix my makeup. I doubt that Daniel will care what I look like, but unfortunately, I’m a recognizable face in our social media ready world, so I need to tidy myself up before we leave this place.
I look into my clutch purse but don’t spot the small mirror I almost always have with me. I must have left it back in my hotel room on the bathroom counter. I was in a rush when I headed down to the casino to touch base with Bella before my ill-fated meeting with Carl.
Even though Daniel told me he didn’t want me to sneak a peek at his tattoo before the grand reveal, I make my way to the corridor, thinking that I can bypass the room he’s in, and head straight for the washroom.
I slow as I near an open doorway because the sound that greets me takes my breath away.
“My boy, listen carefully to me,” says a voice that I haven’t heard in years.
Tears form again, but I can’t stop the flow this time.
The deep but frail voice filters out of the doorway toward where I’m leaning against the wall of the corridor. “Make enough money when you’re young, so you don’t have to work forever. Learn how to swim for once and for all. You kept quitting the lessons when you were a kid, and my son is not a quitter. Sell the bar to someone who will give it the love it needs, get a goddamn tattoo, and for the last time, Daniel, marry Gina Calvetti. I’ve seen the way you look at her. Grab hold of her before she slips away. Don’t waste another day because you never know when it will be your last one.”
Shaking, I press my hand against my chest in a failed effort to slow my racing heart.
“I wish all of these things for you, Daniel,” Marlin continues. “I wish I were going to be around to witness it all, but most of all, I would have given anything to see you marry Gina. You belong together. A father knows these things. I love you, my son. Never forget.”