Page 80 of Inked Heart
For a moment we stand there quietly before Quinn tilts her head slightly.“You know what I realized?”
“What?”
“This is the first relationship I’ve ever been in where I feel completely safe.”
The words hit me square in the chest.“Good.That’s important.”
“It is.”She squeezes my hand lightly.“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For waiting.”
I shake my head slightly.“You were worth it.”
And standing there in the middle of the shop with her hand in mine, I realize something.All those years of feeling like the awkward kid who got pushed around?They led here.To this moment.To this woman.And honestly?
I wouldn’t change a single thing.
Chapter Twenty
Where I Belong
Quinn
There’s a strange kind of peace that comes when your life finally starts making sense.Not perfect sense.Life rarely works that neatly.But the kind of sense where your heart stops feeling like it’s fighting itself.
That’s where I am tonight.Standing in the middle of House of Ink while the shop buzzes with the familiar sounds I’ve grown to love.Tattoo machines humming.Music playing softly through the speakers.Alistair arguing with Skye about whether pineapple belongs on pizza.(It absolutely does, for the record.) And Damien standing beside me like this is the most natural thing in the world.Like we didn’t just start dating a few weeks ago, like we’ve always been this way.
“Careful,” he murmurs quietly.
“What?”
“You’re staring again.”
I blink.“At you?That’s not staring.”
