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"You? Out of the box? I never would have guessed," he said, swiping a soapy fingertip down the ink on n there," I warned, flicking a bubble at him from the sink

"You’re a tattoo artist too?"

"No, but Itobit ned ht not being very strong

He exa my arm to see horapped around "You drew this?"

"Mm-hmm" I drew in a breath at the feel of his hands on ood hands

"You’re very talented"

"Once,tih"

"Why not?"

I chewed the inside of my cheek, not ready to answer that question I never went back to it because I just fell into so new I’d always assuo back tolater That I could balance the practical with the artistic But fa

It wasn’t a bad life, just a life without a lot ofpassion Adventure Purpose Intrigue WonderAnd paint "Here," I said, handing hi anything else

We stood in the darkened kitchen, quietly cleaning up It was nice, the not talking When I finished washing up I leaned back against the counter, sing the last of the wine in , a tune I alnized but not quite His voice was even and pleasant, even hu hirinned a little

I was struck by how easy this was, how comfortable it was There was no onion to peel here; Clark was an open book Easy to read, easy to predict, he’d tell a for it, no running after, no stoo ot a thrill froot a thrill when Clark was draped across you, breathing on your thighs

Well, I’ in her own romance novel, remember? The house, the ocean, the cowboy? There’s your passion Adventure Purpose Intrigue Wonder

"Paint?"

"What’s that?" I asked, brought out ofthat if you wanted, I could help you paint the kitchen When you’re ready, of course"

The librarian finished drying the dish, still hu and hard about paint I was still thinking about it after he went home

Chapter ten

The next teeks passed by quickly I spent s of clothing, kitchen supplies, and ever-loving tube socks to a local shelter that was happy to take them off my hands I found stack after stack of old plates, cups, and saucers; nothing too fancy but not cheap either I pored over the a few pieces I wanted here and there butthose down to the shelter as well