Chapter Ten #2
After setting up the banner with Bee’s business name on it, I step back to survey the booth.
All sexy images and rich romantic draping, the space is stunning.
Caine’s prepared a professional-looking tattooing station, and he’s bent over his tablet now.
I’ve been so focused on this booth, that I haven’t been paying attention to the rest of the hall.
Turning to see what all has been set up since I last looked at the booths nearby, I come face-to-face with the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen in my life.
Even though she’s wearing a zipped-up track jacket and yoga pants, her makeup is flawless, with a deep purple cat eye sharp enough to slit a throat.
The purposefully disheveled brunette bun on top of her head gives her an extra inch or so, but she still only comes up to my shoulder.
I step to the side—she’s clearly trying to get a better look at the booth—feeling a bit like a troll guarding a bridge.
A troll who is dying to know what brand that eyeliner is.
“Hi.” I smile at her. “Can I help you?” I bite my tongue to keep from immediately gushing over her makeup and asking the shade name. Scaring away the first potential customer would not be a great move.
“Hey. I’m good.” She gives me a small, polite smile, her glance landing on me for only a second before her gaze travels beyond me. Her face breaks into a real smile that somehow makes her even more stunning.
“Caine.” Her voice is warm as she sidesteps me to move farther into the booth. “Ready for this?”
Oh.
“Hey, Hunter.” Caine sounds slightly distracted, and I don’t have to look back to know he’s still fiddling with his tablet.
While I understand her dismissal isn’t personal, I still feel awkward. Being invisible isn’t new to me—usually it’s my preference—but right now I hope Caine didn’t witness it.
Avoid the awkward.
Casually, I move to the other side of the booth. Rearranging the promo cards on one of Bee’s tables gives me a sense of purpose, so that’s what I do, shifting them so that the colors of the designs make a sort of rainbow.
Bee pops up at my elbow. “You’re in for a long day if you’re already bored.”
I sigh. “Need anything cleaned? Organized? Want a drink?”
“I’m good, but thanks.”
She’s seeing right through me, I can feel it. Sure enough, the next words out of her mouth are, “Don’t let Hunter make you feel any kind of way. She takes a minute to warm up.”
I dart a glance across the booth and see the gorgeous woman chatting animatedly with Caine as he preps her upper back to be tattooed.
“Well, to most of us,” Bee amends. The wryness in her voice makes me snort. “People get funny about Love & Ink winners.”
“Were you on the show?”
She shakes her head. “Not as a competitor, but I was crew for a few seasons. That’s how I met Caine and ended up working at the Abattoir.” Gesturing to the space around us, she adds, “Until I got my legs under me in photography.”
“Your work is stunning.”
Waving away the compliment, she sidesteps until our shoulders brush, leaning in conspiratorially. “Okay, so you can absolutely tell me to fuck off if you want, but I’m dying to know. Did you and Caine hook up the year we did Frightful Fairytales?”
I didn’t know an inhale could go down wrong, but mine does. The choking, sputtering sound must serve as confirmation, because Bee exclaims, “I knew it!”
Lowering her voice, she continues, “One of the security guys saw you coming down the hall from the dead zone together. And someone had turned off the cameras in the closed rooms—they’re supposed to be on for safety reasons in case a patron wanders off.”
The dead zone is what rooms that aren’t in use during a particular season are called, and while it makes sense that they would have cameras, I’d been too caught up in the thrill of the haunt to consider the risk of accidentally making a sex tape.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try to be grateful that Caine had the presence of mind to turn off the cameras instead of being mortified that our tryst wasn’t as stealthy as I’d thought. “Well, that’s embarrassing.”
Her scoffing sound makes me drop my hand. “No, it isn’t.”
A man stops to peruse the art, pausing our conversation. After he’s selected and purchased one of the canvases, Bee turns back to me.
“Caine and I aren’t swapping secrets or anything, but we talk pretty often, and I’m nosy.” Her grin is mischievous. “So I happen to know that he hasn’t dated anyone since before that Halloween, and I’ve even tried to set him up a few times since, but he said no.”
It’s completely irrational for me to feel annoyed by the attempted setups, but I do. My face must give me away, because Bee lets out a pleased laugh.
“Don’t give me a dirty look. I had no idea this pining situation went both ways.” She eyes me. “You two going to get it together this time?”
A new customer comes up with a question, saving me from answering Bee’s. As she turns to help them, I watch Caine. Why did I have to play possum last night? I wouldn’t be sifting through what-ifs right now.
As he works, Caine’s face is intent, fully focused. Hunter has headphones in and is resting her face on a small purple travel pillow. There’s a red-haired woman sitting in a folding chair on Hunter’s other side.