HisMarriageBargain (28 page)

“Wow.” He twisted his arm a little to see how far the ink
went on either side.

Instead of being outlined and filled in, the tattoo was a
negative design. A blacked-out sky was dotted with stars, which were either
flesh-toned or shaded with a slight color. Below the sky, a field dotted with
bushes and a few trees was the backdrop for two cartoon-like people with their
heads tipped back, gazing up at a Star of David done in multicolored glory.

There was a sense of wonder to it. Autumn had captured his
preference for black and gray and melded it with her color work. It was infused
with her spirit and his foundation. A conjoining of who they were.

“Do you like it?” Autumn asked.

Sammi turned and gathered her against his chest.

“I love it.” Not only had she taken the challenge for a
color tattoo to a creative place, she’d given a nod to his spirituality as
well. It tugged at something deep within him.

She grinned and lifted up on her toes. He met her halfway,
taking her mouth in a kiss, stealing her breath.

If only they could have many more nights together.

* * * * *

Autumn turned the stereo down and listened to the sounds in
the house. She’d grown accustomed to the way it shifted and settled depending
on the time of day, but there was no mistaking the closing and opening of a
door.

“Sammi?” she called out.

Footsteps creaked coming toward her newly christened studio
accompanied by a whirling sound that was out of place in the house.

“Not quite,” Pandora called out.

Autumn backed up until she could see out the doorway,
through the laundry room and into the kitchen where Carly and Pandora were
headed toward her, bags of fast food and drinks in hand.

“Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?” Autumn met them
halfway, hugging Carly’s shoulders followed by Pandora.

“Hey, Sunshine, I’m headed into the office.” Sammi exited
their bedroom and grabbed his keys from the table next to his recliner.

“How did you guys—” Autumn glanced from her two friends to
Sammi’s grinning face. She pointed at the guilty man. “You!”

Sammi circled the bar, enveloped her in a hug and kissed her
temple. “I just answered your phone while you were in the shower. Thought you
might like to see your friends.”

“Thank you,” she whispered for his ears alone.

“You girls have fun. I’ll be back a little later tonight.”
He buzzed her lips with a quick kiss and patted her ass.

“Go, you’re late.” Autumn shooed him out of the kitchen,
laughing at his antics.

How had he known? God, the man didn’t even mean to be
wonderful and he still hit the mark.

Autumn pivoted to her two friends, quietly watching her with
Cheshire grins of their own.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re here.” Autumn bounced on
her toes.

“Come here already.” Pandora snapped her fingers.

Autumn didn’t have to be asked twice. She took a single
bound and jumped on her friend, wrapping her legs around Pandora’s waist and
squealing. Pandora laughed and spun her in a circle.

“You’re here,” Autumn chanted.

She’d always been a social creature and the self-imposed
hermitage followed by not having anyplace to be or anyone to see had slowly
stolen a bit of her joy.

“Not for very long,” Pandora muttered into Autumn’s hair.

Autumn uncoiled herself from around Pandora and stood on her
own feet.

“Yeah, we’re really only here on a long lunch,” Carly added,
pushing her hair behind her ear.

“I don’t care.” Autumn plopped down on Carly’s lap and
hugged the other girl tight. “You’re here!”

“And we brought food. Why don’t you give us a quick tour and
we can eat?” Pandora suggested.

“I’m starving.” Carly grinned and wheeled them into the den
with its comfortable furnishings.

Autumn was a happy passenger, even surprised by how much she
wanted to show off the house. “Okay, den-slash-living-room-we-actually-use.”

She got to her feet and went to the windows that spanned the
back of the room. “This still needs work, but it’s Sammi’s baby, so I just
pretend I get to use it.” With a flick of a switch the curtain whisked aside,
albeit on a slow track, to reveal the patio, which would be a man-haven come
fall, with a spot for a built-in grill that had to be installed, and a large
river stone area for entertaining.

“Wow,” the girls said in unison.

“You guys don’t know the half of it. This place is crazy
cool and over the top.” She showed them each room, from their bedroom to the
walk-in closet and the bathroom with the shower big enough for all three of
them plus elbow room, to the yet-to-be-furnished bedrooms and more formal
receiving areas of the house. They ended in Autumn’s under-construction tattoo
studio.

“I’m just setting up the necessities today because I have a
tattoo to do tomorrow and Sammi wants me to do one on him before that one.
Sammi said he was cool with me painting and doing whatever in here, so I was
thinking full murals on this wall and mirrors on that.” She stood back and
imagined how cool it would be, all in bright colors, new-school style and
uniquely hers.

“Do you think you’re going to set up to work here
permanently?” Pandora asked, hands on her hips, surveying the room.

Autumn chewed her lip.

“What is it?” Carly asked, studying her.

Autumn sighed and sat on the tattoo table. “Truth?”

“Well, yeah.” Pandora leaned against the folding table that
held Autumn’s tattoo equipment for the time being.

“Okay.” Autumn rubbed her face. “Sammi’s pretty sick. He
doesn’t want people to know, but it looks like he’s going to get worse and
after thinking it through, being able to be with him and still work is the best
choice.”

Carly and Pandora stared at her.

“It makes sense now,” Pandora said after a moment. “The
rushed wedding, all of this. He knew he was sick, didn’t he?”

Autumn nodded, feeling wretched for letting part of the
secret out and for lying about the truth of his condition.

“What does he have?” Carly asked.

Autumn shook her head. “I’m not even supposed to tell anyone
he’s sick.”

It was clear both women wanted to ask her more questions,
but with the ambiguous line in the sand, none of them, Autumn included, knew
what they could talk about.

“So, food?” Autumn asked with a grin.

They retreated to the kitchen and took the food into the
den, where Pandora and Autumn sat on the floor around the coffee table with
Carly.

“How’s the shop?” Autumn asked after they’d all had a little
to eat.

“About the same,” Carly replied. “I’ve called most of your
appointments for the next few weeks and told them the deal. Gave them your
phone number.”

Autumn nodded but couldn’t find it in herself to be too
concerned about work. She’d texted with a few, but wouldn’t be able to nail
down plans until the space was ready.

“Mary’s been a little more together the last few days. I
guess whatever drama there was with Sam, excuse me, Jesus, has blown over.”
Pandora rolled her eyes. “What about you? How are you? All I get are a few
texts every now and then. How do you like being married?”

Autumn sipped her drink and rolled the question around in
her head. “I don’t know. I guess I thought we’d get married and it would be
this fun, exciting adventure we did together. It’s pretty mundane, a lot of
compromising and figuring stuff out. Guess it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Do you regret it?” Carly asked.

Autumn shook her head. “No. Not at all. I’d do it
differently if I could go back and change how it happened, but I’d still get
married.”

Pandora smiled, a happy sigh escaping her lips. “You guys
are so cute together. I still can’t believe we never saw it coming.”

“Yeah, you two are total jerks for keeping all this a
secret.” Carly threw a crumpled-up napkin at her.

Pandora’s phone started flashing and vibrating on the coffee
table. She picked it up and groaned. “We have to get going.”

“Already?” Carly whined.

Pandora glanced up from her phone. “Yeah, I have a one
thirty, remember?”

“Oh, that wanker.” Carly rolled her eyes.

“Who?” Autumn asked. How was she already out of the loop? It
felt so wrong not being part of the So Inked team anymore.

“Remember that really creepy guy that wants eyeballs on the
backs of his shoulders?” Pandora wrinkled her nose.

Autumn shuddered. “Oh god, I could have done without
remembering that guy. Should I take your keys and hold you hostage?”

“Nah, I have a wedding to pay for, remember?” Pandora
gathered her trash.

“Man, we didn’t even talk about that! We’ve got to catch up
and you need to tell me all about your wedding plans. Here, I’ll pick up the
trash. You two get going and promise me I’ll see you soon?” Autumn crumpled the
bags together into a ball.

“You bet your ass we will.” Carly grinned.

“Awesome.” Autumn rose up on her knees and hugged Carly.
“Thank you guys for coming to see me. I needed this.”

“Hey, we needed to see you. You’re like a happy drug or
something.” Carly squeezed her back.

They said their goodbyes, with several hugs interspersed
before Autumn finally closed the front door, only to be left in the silent
house on her own again. She rubbed her hands on her thighs, clinging mentally
to the joy her friends brought her.

Autumn took a deep breath and headed back into the living
room to finish picking up the trash. She didn’t have time to mope about being
home alone. There was a tattoo station to set up, sketches to finish and dinner
to make later. It was a full afternoon ahead of her.

She turned on the stereo, picked a playlist of songs and got
to work in the studio. The rest of the furniture was easy to set up, mostly
plastic storage pieces that were quick and easy to get for the time being. If
Sammi had his way she would be redoing the whole room in a few weeks with
custom cabinetry and metal fixtures. For now she was happy to stow all her
machines, ink and necessary stuff in designated bins.

Cleanliness had never been one of her strong points, but she
was growing fond of the idea of everything in its place. Maybe it was a little
piece of Sammi rubbing off on her finally.

The music paused and a phone rang over the loudspeaker.

Autumn jumped and listened for the ring again.

“What the heck?” she muttered.

She walked through the kitchen, looking for a phone. Nothing
in the den. She didn’t need to look in the bedroom. Finally she poked her head
in the office as the phone went to voice mail. A cordless phone sat on the edge
of the desk. She couldn’t remember it having been there before, but it made
sense to have a landline, though she’d have to talk to Sammi about it ringing
over the speakers. Talk about freaky.

The machine beeped and Sammi’s voice rattled off a message.

Autumn turned to head back to the studio when a voice from
her nightmares froze her in place.

“Samuel, you forgot your cell phone here during lunch. I’ll
be out tonight, but if you want to pick it up I’ll leave it in the study.
Otherwise, I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow.”

Autumn turned to face the office doors.

Sammi was at his doctor’s office.

He had a twelve thirty appointment.

He wouldn’t lie to her, would he?

Autumn crept closer to the desk, and even though she knew
better, she pressed Play.

The message was the same as before.

Sammi had lied to her. Had he?

She paced through the house, ending up in the studio with
her phone in hand, pressing Dial on Sammi’s office.

The line rang twice before a cheerful female voice answered.

“Sammi, please. It’s his wife,” she said before the woman
had finished.

“One moment please.”

A recording about the best customer satisfaction, yadda
yadda yadda, all said in Sammi’s voice only stoked her ire higher.

“Hey, Sunshine—”

“What did the doctor say today?”

“Uh, nothing really. Why?”

Autumn bit the inside of her cheek.

“Autumn?”

“Your mother called and wanted you to know you left your
cell phone at her place, and if you don’t have time to pick it up, that’s okay,
you can get it tomorrow at lunch.” Her vision slowly hazed red. He’d lied to
her, probably more than once.

“Shit. Autumn, I can explain.”

“I don’t want an explanation. I want to know how many times
you’ve lied to me. How many times, Sammi?”

“Look, Mom and I have always had lunch a couple times a week
since Dad died. She’s all alone—”

“I don’t care if you spend time with her. I don’t like her
and she doesn’t like me. What I can’t stand is you lying to me. Lying to my
face. I can’t even talk to you right now. Fuck you.” She hung up the phone,
shaking her fists she was so angry.

Autumn paced back and forth. Her phone rang but she didn’t
even look at it. There was nothing Sammi could say right now that would change
the truth.

He’d lied to her.

She couldn’t stay in the house another minute. She grabbed
her things and headed outside, no plan in mind except to get out.

The old Buick rumbled to life. She headed out of the
subdivision and began driving aimlessly.

What did she do now?

Watercolor—Tattoos that emulate the style of watercolor
paintings on flesh.

Autumn flopped on the secondhand couch. “Thanks for having
me over.”

Carly stopped next to a table with the remnants of dinner on
it. “Hey, that’s what friends are for. What’s up?”

She blew out a breath, not sure where to start. “Being
married sucks sometimes.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.”

Autumn didn’t want to think about Sammi right now. How he’d
lied to her. Blatantly. “How are you? Let’s talk about you.”

Carly shrugged. “I’m going to give up tattooing.”

“What?” Autumn sat up straight and gaped at the young woman,
her short hair pointing in every direction, making her look like an errant
pixie.

Carly shrugged. “I suck. What else is there to say?”

“But that’s all you’ve been talking about for the last
year,” Autumn blurted. Ever since her accident and getting back on her feet—or
wheels as it were—Carly had wanted to learn to tattoo to have a chance to be
self-sufficient, not just to live on disability.

“Yeah, but no one is going to let me tattoo them. I’m really
not any good.”

“No, you are.”

Carly’s eyes grew large and she drew out her words, as if
the extra emphasis would win her over. “Autumn, I’m bad. Really, really bad.”

“Prove it to me. Tattoo me.”

“What?” Carly gaped at her.

“Seriously, you never really know if you aren’t any good
unless you try.” Some people were good artists but couldn’t tattoo to save
their lives. The canvas of skin had to speak to you like any other medium. Carly
had been tracing and sketching for months, but when pushed to tattoo a real
live person, she’d balked.

“No way.”

“Yes. Do you have a machine here?” Autumn glanced around the
sparse furnishings.

“One of Mary’s old ones, but I’m not tattooing you.”

Autumn pushed to her feet and strode into the bedroom nook.
Everything was neatly organized, which made the tattoo kit sitting on the top
of one of the two dressers stick out like a sore thumb. She grabbed the tray it
was sitting on and brought it back to the living room where Carly looked as if she
was about to be sick.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Carly insisted.

“Sure it is.” Autumn cleared off Carly’s dinner and set the
machine up on the small table.

“But there’s no way it’ll be as good as your other ink,”
Carly continued to protest.

“Everyone has to do a shitty tattoo. Once, I gave a pin-up
six fingers and crossed eyes. If it’s bad, I’m your friend and I won’t kill
you.” Autumn plugged the power source in and plopped back down on the couch.

Carly stared at the worn machine, her lip pinched between
her teeth. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” It was just ink. The memories, what they shared
together would be more important than one crappy tattoo, and because Carly did
it, Autumn would love it.

“Okay.” Carly blew out a breath, her brows drawn down into a
line. “What do you want me to do?”

Autumn considered her available real estate. When it came to
bare skin, she didn’t have a lot to work with. Her arms were covered, she
didn’t want anything on her chest or stomach and she couldn’t decide on what
she wanted below her knees. What she needed was a little spot.

“What if you do a little cherry or something right here?”
Autumn tapped her uppermost, inner left arm, almost in the armpit area.

“That’s going to hurt.” Carly’s eyes had grown even larger.

“Yeah, but what’s a little pain? Come on, girl.”

“How am I supposed to do this? I don’t have a printer.”

“You’ll draw it on me.” Autumn handed her a neon-green
marker. “Come on, ink to it.”

Carly began laying out the materials, plastic over the
table, ink reservoirs, paper towels, all of it needed to be set up. It took
less than five minutes, but Carly kept wiping her hands on her pants and taking
deep breaths.

Focusing on Carly helped Autumn ignore her cell phone buzzing
away in her purse and the unfolding drama.

“How should you position me to tattoo there?” Autumn asked,
sliding into teaching mode. She liked mentoring, but could rarely follow
through with it. She forgot the tasks set to her students, checking in on them
flew out of her mind.

“Uh…lie down?”

“Yup.” Autumn lay down on the sofa. “Now what?”

“I guess lift your arm.” Carly edged closer to the sofa so
her wheel ran parallel to the cushions. She unlocked the table with a flip of a
switch and rolled it around in front of her. Everything positioned, she
squirted a drop of hand sanitizer into her palms, rubbed it in and pulled on a
pair of gloves. She glanced at Autumn and blew out a breath.

Autumn laid her left arm straight up and folded her right
under her head. “Now what?”

“I’m going to draw—no, I’m going to clean you up.” Carly
grabbed the small bottle of green soap and squirted some onto a folded paper
towel. She then ran it over Autumn’s arm. “I’m going to fuck your sleeve up.”

“No, you aren’t. Just stay away from that lollipop and
you’ll be fine. What are you doing now?”

“You just shaved, so I’m going to draw a cherry on you.” She
picked up the marker and studied the few square inches she had to work with.

Carly’s brows drew down into a line and she bit one side of
her lip, which she seemed to do whenever she was really focused. She bent and
began drawing a pair of cherries with short strokes.

“Why do you have a sleeve of candy and sweet stuff? I’ve
never asked,” Carly muttered as she drew.

Usually Autumn just laughed and told people candy made her
happy, but Carly was her friend and deserved a real answer.

“When I was a kid I only got treats at Halloween and
cupcakes or anything at school. Candy was this super-special thing other kids
got. I know it’s kind of weird, but the candy symbolizes owning my own life. I
can provide for myself. Each piece of candy represents a milestone in becoming
more independent.”

Carly stared at her, marker in her lap. “Wow, that’s pretty
deep for candy.”

“Yeah, it’s odd, but it’s me.” Autumn smiled. “This one’s
going to symbolize how badass of a teacher I am.”

Carly shook her head and traded the marker for the tattoo
machine. “Ready?”

“How’s it look?” Autumn peered at her arm. The design was a
green dot from her perspective.

Carly bit her lip again. “This isn’t a good idea. I don’t
think we should do it.”

“No, I want you to tattoo me.” Even if it was bad, it was
small, and it was a friend doing it.

Carly took a deep, hopefully calming breath. “Okay, let’s do
this.”

She dipped the needle in the pot of paint and squeezed the
handheld pedal tucked in the side of her chair to start the motor.

It had taken some creativity on their part to adjust the
normal foot pedal into something Carly could use without her feet. Engineering
the design was all Brian and Quin in the end. Brian designed it and together
the men had fabricated it. They’d kicked around the idea of selling some, but
it hadn’t taken off yet.

“God, I hate that machine. It sounds like a lawn mower.”
Autumn grinned. Mary had upgraded a long time ago, but had kept the machine
around as a backup until Carly needed it.

“I know. Okay, here goes.” Carly rested her left hand with
the pedal against Autumn’s shoulder and gently brushed the needle over her
skin.

Pain blossomed, sharp and intense. Autumn gritted her teeth
and screwed her face up. The underarm was one of the most painful places to get
tattooed.

“Oh my god, that hurts.” Autumn gasped as her eyes began to
water. “Holy fucking shit on candy canes.”

Carly sat up abruptly, laughing. “Shit on candy canes?”

“You get a tattoo needle shoved in your armpit and see how
you feel.” Autumn blew out a breath. “Keep going.”

Carly bent to it again. The strokes were shorter than Autumn
would have done and Carly pulled the skin a little more than Autumn liked. The
outline took roughly fifteen minutes with Carly going slowly and even retracing
her lines. Autumn corrected her pressure but held off on any other critique.

“Okay, ready for color. Do you want to look at it?” Carly
asked.

“Nope.”

Carly changed out her liner needle to a shader and began
with green for the leaves. Autumn had thought for sure the shading would go
faster, but thirty minutes later Carly wiped her off.

“Done,” Carly said, her voice trembling. “Please don’t hate
me.”

“Oh, whatever.” Autumn got off the couch and went into the
bathroom to examine her newest ink. “Lord,” she muttered.

The cherries were oblong instead of round or vaguely
heart-shaped. Neither of the cherries had the same shading, so light was
hitting the fruit from two different ways, and the leaves were entirely too
small.

It was not, in fact, a good tattoo.

“Okay, maybe you need some more work,” Autumn admitted.

“I suck.” Carly paused in cleaning up the makeshift tattoo
station to stare at her over her shoulder. “Be honest with me, it’s not good,
is it?”

“You can get better.”

“But I’ll never be good. It’s just not my bag.” She stripped
off her gloves and wheeled over to the garbage can.

Autumn bandaged up the tiny tattoo to keep it from getting
lint or deodorant in it.

“Okay,” Autumn exited the bathroom, “you and me, we need to
get drunk. I don’t have any answers but I can mix drinks.”

* * * * *

Sammi pounded on the front door of 401 and prayed someone
answered. The lights were all off but he was out of options. His stomach
knotted and he knocked again.

The blue door swung inward. Isaac rubbed his face, shirtless
and in only his boxers. “What now?”

“Is Autumn here?” Sammi peered behind his friend, praying
for some glimpse of his wife.

Isaac shook his head and seemed to wake up a little more.
“No, man. I haven’t heard from her since she went home with you. Ester’s
worried. Come in.” He stepped back and let Sammi enter the foyer. “What
happened?”

“Who is it?” Ester’s voice called out faintly from above.

“It’s Sammi.”

“Autumn’s gone and it’s my fault. I thought she might be
here.” Sammi paced the length of the foyer, all the way to the stairs and back
to the door.

“Why did she leave?” Isaac leaned in the arch that led to
the formal dining room.

“I fucked up.” Sammi glanced at the stairs, where Ester
slowly descended, wearing a large, fluffy robe. “Sorry.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m acquainted with the word fuck, Sammi.”
Ester sat on the stairs, somehow appearing regal despite bed hair and her
pajamas. Her gaze narrowed. “What did you do that would make Autumn leave you?”

Ester would make the perfect Jewish mother. She made him
feel miserable with just a look.

Sammi admitted his intentional deception of his wife, but
left out that she believed him at the doctor’s. There was no need to create
another lie to back up when he was already tripping over the ones he’d made
consciously.

“I don’t blame her for leaving. It’s probably saving you
from getting knocked into next week.” Ester’s frown deepened. “You can’t play
with her like this, Sammi. You asked her to marry you for fun and she has
feelings for you. Real feelings.”

“I know.” Sammi stopped his pacing, all the energy gone, and
sank onto the stairs next to Ester. “She told me she loves me.”

Ester turned to study him. “Do you love her?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you care for her?”

“Yes.” He rubbed his chest where his heart beat
uncomfortably off-kilter without Autumn.

“Then you need to wait for her to come back to you. Forcing
her to come home won’t solve this. She has to accept her feelings and your
actions. Autumn’s a smart girl. Passionate, a bit impulsive, but she’s smart.”

Ester continued to talk, but Sammi didn’t hear half of what
she said.

He loved Autumn.

Thinking it felt right. It wasn’t what he’d planned, none of
this was, but he’d fallen into his own trap. Falling for his wife. And now she
might leave him over something stupid.

He had to find her.

* * * * *

Autumn stepped over the threshold into So Inked following
Carly. The music, the sound, even the smell was the same, but the right corner
of the shop where her station had been was empty. Bare of art, clutter,
anything.

Pandora and Brian sat across the shop at her station,
magazines spread out over the padded table. Kellie was laying out stencils,
probably for a later appointment, and even Mary was busy at the front desk
shuffling through papers.

“Hey!” Pandora saw her first, jumping up and striding across
the shop with a huge smile on her face.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Kellie called out.

“Sorry I didn’t text you back last night.” Autumn hugged
Pandora, squeezing her tight and taking comfort in her friend.

“It’s okay. What did you decide to do?” Pandora asked,
stepping back.

“Went by the house but Sammi wasn’t there. I couldn’t stick
around and just hope he’d show up. I went back to Carly’s and we drank. Thus, I
made her late today.”

Carly mock glared at her, still looking a little glassy-eyed.

“I’m pretty sure she’s still buzzed,” Autumn whispered.

Pandora sputtered and giggled.

“I am not drunk,” Carly yelled and threw a pen at them.

“I didn’t say you were drunk, just buzzed.” Autumn snatched
the pen off the ground and threw it back. She amped up her smile and flicked
her gaze to her former boss. “Hi, Mary.”

The hard line of her mouth eased. “Hello.”

“Do you have a minute?” Autumn fought the urge to toe the
damn ground. How was it Mary always made her feel like a misbehaving kid?

“Sure. Office?”

“Please.”