He raises his eyebrows. “Why not?”
“Uh, because I dated your brother.”
"So?" He shrugs. "I have eyes, and you're no longer jailbait. What's the problem? Are you taken, too?"
I pull my lower lip between my teeth. “Um...it’s complicated.”
Ainsley’s phone pings with a text alert, and she laughs. “Speaking of the complication...his ears must've been burning. Or, more likely, he just saw my post." She runs her thumbs over the screen, presumably replying to her brother's message. "Ooh, somebody's cranky."
Kai’s full lips quirk as he works on shading in the leaves. “Damn, that sounds like a story I need to hear.”
“Maybe another ti—”
The bell over the front door rings, causing the three of us to look up.
Shit.
“Whose sweet ride is that out front?” the man asks.
Ainsley’s eyes widen, obviously knowing who the newcomer is based on his resemblance to his brother. It takes him a moment, but as soon as Shawn’s eyes land on me, his jaw drops.
“Jazz. What are you doing here?”
I gesture to my arm. “What people come here to do.”
Shawn eats up the distance between us in a few strides and checks out my ink in progress. “Nice. It suits you.”
“Thanks,” I mumble.
“Isn’t that the same design Kai sketched out a while back?”
I nod. “Yeah, it is.”
Neither one of us says a word for a good minute. Jesus, this is awkward. What’s the protocol here? This is the guy I lost my virginity to. Is this what it always feels like when you run into an ex? Am I supposed to pretend like the boy’s never been inside me? Oddly, I can’t even recall what sex with Shawn felt like, which helps, but I can’t deny that it happened. Many times.
He makes eye contact with Ainsley. “I’m Shawn. You a friend of Jazz’s?”
“The bestest,” she replies. “And you’re the ex.”
Shawn gets a shit-eating grin on his face. “She’s mentioned me, huh? All good things, I’m sure.”
Ainsley lifts her eyebrows. “Something like that.”
“What are you doing here?” Kai asks his brother.
“I just got off work,” Shawn replies. “Came to see if you wanted to grab a bite.”
“As you can see, I’m with a client.”
Shawn pulls up a chair and takes a seat next to Malakai. “It’s all good. I don’t mind waiting.” His eyes roam my face and venture south, lingering on my chest. “Can’t beat the view. Damn, Jazz, you’re a sight for sore eyes. I almost forgot how fine you are.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“How’ve you been, baby?”
I glare. “I’m not your baby.”
Shawn holds his hands up, his whiskey eyes twinkling in amusement. “So, it’s like that, huh? It’s nice to see you still got that sexy attitude. You know it just gets me hot when you’re like this.”