Chapter Nineteen
Showing Her My World
Damien
Two Weeks Later
There’s a moment in every relationship where things stop feeling theoretical. Where it shifts from maybe to this is actually happening. For me, that moment happens the first time Quinn walks into House of Ink holding my hand.
I probably should have warned her what that would look like. Not because the crew is mean but because they’re the opposite.
They’re loud and curious and absolutely, utterly incapable of subtlety.
“You ready?” I ask as we stand outside the shop.
Quinn glances up at the familiar sign hanging above the door and the painted mural across the brick wall. The buzz of tattoo machines is faintly audible through the glass.
“I’ve been here before,” she says.
“Not like this.”
She raises an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’re walking in as my girl.” The words hang in the air between us. My girl.
Quinn’s lips curve slightly. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.”
I hesitate for half a second before opening the door because I know exactly what’s waiting on the other side. Chaos. Sure enough, the moment we step inside Skye spots us.
Her eyes drop immediately to our hands and then her face lights up like someone just handed her the greatest gossip of her life.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaims clapping her hands.
I sigh. “Here we go.”
Skye practically launches herself across the shop floor. “Fucking finally!”
Quinn laughs. “What?”
“You two!” Skye gestures wildly between us. “Finally!”
Luke looks up from his booth. “What?”
Skye points dramatically. “They’re holding hands.”
Luke squints. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Alistair leans back in his chair. “Took you long enough.”
Quinn glances at me. “You didn’t warn me about this.”
“I tried.” I’m trying to hold in my laugh and hide my smile, but I am failing miserably.
Laine steps out of the back room just in time to hear the commotion. “What’s going on?”
Skye throws her hands in the air. “Damien and Quinn are dating!”
The shop goes quiet for half a second before Laine grins. “Knew it.”
I groan. “You all are enjoying this way too much.”
“Absolutely,” Luke says.
Quinn squeezes my hand lightly. “I think it’s sweet.”
“That’s because they’re not your brothers.”
Laine walks over and pulls Quinn into a quick hug. “Welcome to the family,” he says.
“Thank you.”
“About time Damien figured it out.”
“I figured it out,” I protest.
“You waited six months.” Laine points out.
“Respectfully.”
“Still slow.”
Quinn laughs again and the sound fills the shop like sunlight. I notice something important. She’s not nervous. She’s comfortable. Completely at ease surrounded by my chaotic group of friends and family. Which somehow makes me like her even more.
Skye grabs Quinn’s arm. “Come here.”
“Why?”
“Girl talk.”
Quinn glances back at me. “Am I being kidnapped?”
“Yes,” Skye says before I can reply. “For extremely important questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“First kiss details.”
My face heats instantly. “Absolutely not.”
Too late. Skye is already dragging Quinn toward the couch in the corner.
Luke snorts. “You’re doomed.”
“I know.”
Laine claps a hand on my shoulder. “Relax. They’re just excited.”
“I regret everything. I should have stayed home this morning.”
“You shouldn’t. We would have found out sooner or later.”
I glance toward the couch where Quinn and Skye are now whispering animatedly. Quinn’s cheeks turn slightly pink. Great. I know exactly what they’re talking about.
“See?” Laine says quietly. “She fits here.”
I follow his gaze and Quinn laughs at something Skye says and lightly nudges her shoulder. The moment looks natural and easy. Like she’s been part of this place forever.
“Yeah,” I admit. “She does.”
Laine studies me for a second. “Are you happy?”
The question surprises me. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Then he adds quietly, “You deserve that.”
The words land deeper than he probably realizes. Because for a long time I didn’t think I did. Not after high school. Not after years of feeling like the awkward kid nobody noticed unless they were shoving him into a locker.
But standing here now, watching Quinn laugh with the people who matter most to me, it feels different. Like maybe life worked out exactly the way it was supposed to.
Across the shop Skye finally releases Quinn. She walks back toward me with a small smile.
“Well?” I ask.
“Well what?”
“Did you survive the interrogation?”
“Barely.”
“What did she ask?”
“Everything.”
I groan. “I’m never going to hear the end of this.”
“Probably not.” She chuckles knowing Skye well enough. “But I told her something important.”
My curiosity spikes. “What?”
Quinn slips her hand back into mine. “That you make it easy to be me.”
My chest tightens slightly. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Alistair walks past us carrying a tray of supplies. “So when’s the wedding?” he asks casually.
“Alistair,” I warn.
“What? Too soon.”
Quinn laughs again. “I like him.”
“Don’t encourage him.”
The shop settles back into its usual rhythm after a few minutes. Tattoo machines buzz. Music plays softly from the speakers. People work.
Quinn leans against the counter beside me watching everything with interest. “This place really does feel like home,” she says.
“That’s the idea.”
“You built something special here.”
“My brothers did most of it.”
“You’re part of it.”
I glance at her. “You’re part of it, too.”
She smiles. “I like that.”
“So do I.”
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.