Hating You, Loving You (Inked Hearts 4)

The door rings and Ryan steps into the shop. He holds his hand over his eyes, blocking the glare of the fluorescent lights.

Which is overkill, because he's bathed in sunlight.

Like an angel in all black.

Fuck, the sight of black jeans is a knife in my heart. That's all it takes. Black jeans.

There's no way I'm going to survive the next week.

Or the next month.

Or year.

"What did you do to him?" Ryan shoots Emma a curious look.

"Chloe ended things," she said.

"Fucking snitch." I pull out my cell. Open my address book. Scroll to Brendon. "Two can play that game."

"You think I'm scared you'll tell my brother I have a crush on a guy? And I don’t… I don’t even like him." Emma folds her arms, holding strong.

But the fear in her dark eyes gives her away.

"Yeah." I nod. Go to press dial.

She lunges for my phone.

I hold it over my head, but Emma is tall and she's wearing wedges. It's within reach.

I step backward.

Ryan moves between us. "Somebody explain."

"Emma has a crush on—" Damn, I can’t rat her out. It’s too low. "A client. He's coming in next week."

She flips me off.

Ryan looks to me with a get real expression. "You think I'm concerned about Emma's sex life?"

"If I was considering sleeping with a client, you'd crucify me," I say.

He rolls his eyes. Turns to Emma. "What happened with Chloe?"

"Yesterday, she came out here to answer a call. Then when Dean came out, she started crying. Really crying. And she stomped out of here. Dean looked miserable. And not even miserable for Dean. Straight-up heartbroken. He's been a shell of himself all day." Her eyes fill with concern.

I'm actively trying to piss her off and she's still concerned.

It's that bad.

"You got in a fight?" he asks.

"No. She ended things." Emma stares at the cell in my hand. "Are you going to put that away?"

"Not planning on it," I say.

Ryan shoots me a serious look.

Fine. I slide my cell into my pocket. It's not like I'm actually going to snitch. I need the damn thing gone. It reeks of Chloe and her cordial, all business text.