Tempting (Inked Hearts 1)

Her nails dig into the back of my hand as she squeezes back. "But only if it's okay with you."

Mary looks us over slowly. "How about some tea first?"

"That sounds great, thank you." I pull a seat out for Violet.

"Thank you." She sits then crosses and uncrosses her legs a dozen times.

Mary goes into the kitchen to make another pot of tea. Dan asks Violet about the job Mal offered her. She's careful to stick to the facts, just the facts.

When Mary returns with the tea, Violet nearly jumps to get it. She buries her face behind her mug.

"You could have done this earlier, sweetie," Mary says. "If you'd wanted."

"Yeah. Uh, I just, I wasn't thinking about it." Violet chews on her lower lip. "Does that mean you're okay with it?"

Mary and Dan exchange the kind of look that only couples who have been married for thirty years can exchange. The two of them communicate everything with their eyes and no one else is privy to it.

Mary looks back to us. "Yes, Violet, I think it's a nice idea. We have our stones."

Huh?

"They had stones made from the ashes," Violet says. "It's a thing."

Mary places her hand over the small gem pendant hanging around her neck. "It wasn't cheap, but it… it's nice to know I always have him close." She turns to me. "You know, Asher told me that he wanted to play keyboard in a band. At first, I discouraged him. He was already stressed all the time from his piano performances but that was a mistake. It would have been good for him. I thought I was helping but… thank you for giving him that chance."

I shove my hand in my pocket. "He was great. Didn't fit our sound but it would have been fun."

She smiles. "Yes, but if he wanted to do it, he wouldn't have listened to me."

That is true. Asher wasn't as strong as Violet was and he certainly didn't have her propensity for telling people to fuck off, but he was just as stubborn as she was.

Mary nods to Violet. "Let me help you with the urn, sweetie." Her expression screams and we'll also talk about your deception.

Violet swallows hard. "Okay. Did you, um, did you want to come? Because that would be fine. No, it would be great. But we can also do it alone."

"No, I don't think I have the stomach for that." She leads Violet into the kitchen.

Then it's just me and Dan.

He looks at me the way Mal looks at everybody. I get it—he wants to protect his daughter.

I'd look at me the same way if I were him.

"We haven't had many chances to talk," he says.

I nod. Violet fights with her parents—who doesn't?—but she cares about them and she respects their feelings.

She doesn't always take their advice, but she does listen to it.

"Violet never talked about what happened between the two of you," he says. "I know Mary used to give you a hard time. It wasn't personal, son. She was worried about how much time Violet spent with you and your band. Violet had always kept to work and books until she met you. She dated other guys—she thought she kept that a secret but kids are never as good at keeping secrets as they think they are."

"She was a supportive girlfriend." I run my hand through my hair. "I care about her a lot. I want the best for her." Not that I can defend myself with my past actions. I forced her to choose between me and school. I was hurt, yeah, but that doesn't make it right.

I was an asshole.

I deserved her leaving.

Not going to make that mistake again.