“Do you want to take the next walk-in?” Brandon asked as he went back to his station and picked up a sketchbook. “I just finished a small ankle piece while you were in the back, and Derek here is working, as you can see.”
Derek looked up from his piece and blinked. “Yeah, Blake, take the next one. And while you’re at it, why don’t you tell Brandon here about the hockey game.”
Blake stiffened before she realized it and forced herself to relax. No, she would not think about Graham’s lips or the forceful way he’d taken control of the kiss, of her. Damn it, she hadn’t wanted that, hadn’t wanted him. And if she kept telling herself that, then one day she might just believe it.
“Oooh,” Brandon crooned with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Oh, really? A hockey game? And what happened at the hockey game?” He put his fingers to his temple. “Oh, wait! I know. Did you make out with Mr. Tall, Bearded, and Broody on the Kiss Cam? Because, darling, if I wasn’t already seeing a woman, I’d jump him. Just saying. I’m an equal opportunist.”
Putting aside the fact that now she had very, very dirty images of Graham and Brandon in her head, she rubbed a hand down her face. “I didn’t make out with him. And how the hell did you find out?”
“You’re viral, baby.” He held out his phone, and Blake could actually feel the blood leaving her face.
“What? No. That can’t be true.” She scrambled up and snatched the cell from him. He’d opened Facebook to a saved link that showed a Kiss Me Beardy video. “They named it?”
“Of course, they did,” Derek said dryly. “They make everything viral now. Like that alligator that’s the size of a truck down in Florida walking on a golf course that they put to the Jurassic Park theme. That sucker was huge. And yeah, you and Graham making out like that all sweaty and panting on the Kiss Cam made the news. Don’t worry, since you don’t have social media, it won’t bother you, but the shop already has a few hits on Twitter, and I bet Graham’s company page does, too.”
She shook her head, her hands shaking. “I know we can’t take it down, but damn it. I didn’t want this to happen. That freaking Kiss Cam can go straight to hell.”
“You looked like you liked the kiss, Blake,” Brandon said softly. “Didn’t you? Do I need to kick Graham’s ass for you? He’s bigger than me, but I can probably get him if I take him out at the knees.”
“I’d help you, bro,” Derek added.
“Me, too,” the client said from the chair.
She looked at him and blinked, her eyes burning. “Uh…thank you?”
“Name’s Brody,” the man said, a slight drawl to his voice. “And don’t mention it.”
She swallowed hard and tried to catch her breath. Just because a little kiss had gone viral, didn’t mean it would affect any issues she had already. It was just a kiss. A kiss that had apparently gone around the world. But that was fine. She didn’t do anything wrong.
No one could take Rowan from her because a man had kissed her.
She kept repeating that to herself until her heart finally stopped racing. When she looked up, all three men had worried expressions on their faces and their hands out as if they wanted to touch her but were afraid to spook her.
Great, she’d acted like a freak once again because she couldn’t control everything…anything.
“He didn’t hurt me or anything,” Blake said lamely. “Everyone was chanting at us to kiss, so we did. No harm, no foul. And soon, someone else will be the next shareable video, and no one will remember this.”
Brandon studied her face. “Okay, then. If that’s what you’re saying. And as for Graham, if you need anything, you come to us, okay? We’re here for you.”
She nodded silently and tried to catch her breath. When the bell above the door rang, she jumped and looked over. “I’ll go take care of this person.”
“Sounds good,” Brandon said calmly. She was intently aware that all three men had their eyes on her back as she went up to the two young women at the front of the store. She hated that the three of them were so worried about her, and she’d made a mess of herself seeing that viral video, but she knew there was nothing she could do.
She’d just stay away from Graham, and everything would be okay. Soon, she’d forget the feel of his lips against hers, the feel of his hand in her hair, and his beard along her skin. The damn thing had been surprisingly soft.
And that was enough of that.
“How can I help you, ladies?” she said once she’d reached the front. She’d worry about ink and piercings and nothing else. She could control this, could work with this. And that would have to be enough.
By the time her shift was over, she was a bundle of nerves. She’d Facetimed Rowan when she was locked in the back room and had said her goodbyes since her daughter was going to stay over at a friend’s house that night for a slumber party. She hated that she wouldn’t be sleeping under the same roof as her baby, but there was nothing she could do about it. Rowan was growing up, and sleepovers were just a part of it.