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It was different with AJ When she’d cooked hiht, he’d actually thanked her And when she’d canceled their plans yesterday because she had to work on a design for a client, he hadn’t tried coercing her into blowing off work for him He’d just accepted that she was busy and wished her luck on finishing the sketch, which was so Troy never would have done in a million years

She didn’t knohy she’d found a balance with AJ that she hadn’t found with anyone else, but she sure as hell wasn’t co

"Anyway," her dad said, "I need to take off now Gotta pop over to Mikey’s shop and help him out One of his artists called in sick" He tweaked a strand of her hair "I’ll see you tomorrow Nine o’clock sharp"

"I’ll be there"

The second her father was gone, Brett let out a whoop and broke out in a happy dance If anyone had peeked behind her curtain, they would have laughed their asses off, but she didn’t care how silly she looked She was going to run her own tattoo parlor She’d done it, darabbed her phone, needing to share her excitement with someone "The shop’s mine!" she blurted out the moment AJ answered the phone

"Well, daht a rush of warreat news, baby See, I told you there was nothing to worry about"

Brett rested her hip against the counter "I’m so relieved," she confessed "But I’ artists tomorrow I have no clue how to interview people!"

"It’s easy," he assured her "I do it all the tiive you some tips if you want Questions you should ask, that sorta thing"

A wave of gratitude swelled in her stomach "You’d really do that?"

"Absolutely But first, I have to take you out to celebrate" Hesitation rippled over the line "I knoere planning to go for dinner later, but can youdrinks with ht, just a private friend hangout If you want to couys for a bit, and then have dinner and celebrate so out with his friends? Whoa He really was serious about this dating thing

The invitation was slightly unnerving, though AJ’s friends were used to seeing hiirls, and Brett wasn’t sure what they’d think of her What if they hated her?

At the same time, she was curious to e all the tili--their fling in one corner, the rest of his life in the other And she’d been cool with that No point in getting attached when things were just te for real, all bets were off

"Sure, that sounds like fun," she answered "I’m actually done at six today I only have two clients, and Rob’s new apprentice is handling the walk-ins so I don’t have to stick around What time should I come?"