She shook her head at me. “I want it to look good for you. Your tattoo isn’t that big, but I’ll make the flowers a bigger piece and do some shading so you won’t be able to see her name anymore.”
I checked my phone. “I have practice today, but what about later this afternoon?”
“I have an opening at four.”
“Does that give you time to do the stencil?”
She pulled out her sketchbook and opened it to a page where she already had three hibiscus flowers sketched out in pencil. I loved her style, and it felt like the right decision to have her cover up my heartache by remembering my mom instead.
She held up the book against my chest and squinted at me. “Yeah, this will work, and then the greenery can bleed into your arm.”
“You’re so talented.”
She blushed. “You’ve only seen my sketches.”
I shook my head. “Nah. I follow the shop on social media, and I looked at your work. It’s good. How did both you and your brother get into it?”
She put her sketchbook into her tote bag, and I got out of bed to put on clothes.
“Family business. Dad had his own shop in the Northeast. I grew up in tattoo shops surrounded by art. I never thought of doing anything else.”
Hmm. That sounded familiar.
“He must be proud of both of you.”
Her face was a neutral mask. “He was.” Then she opened my bedroom door and walked into the hallway.
I quickly caught up behind her. “Stay for breakfast?” I asked.
“Okay.”
We walked into the kitchen together, where my dad and Michael sat drinking their coffee in silence. Dad smiled up at Veronica. “Hey, Veronica.”
She gave him a side hug and sat in the seat beside him.
I walked over to the coffee pot and poured coffee into two mugs for us. “Black, right, sweets?” I asked.
My brother stared at me like I had three heads while I grabbed coffee and brought it over to her. I handed her a yogurt I grabbed from the fridge, and she gave me a small smile in thanks.
“Um…” Michael started.
Veronica squinted at him. “Michael, right?”
He nodded.
“Oh, I got it right. I think I haven’t met Brendan and Maja. Right?” she asked, turning to me for confirmation.
I nodded, but Michael still looked confused. “Oh, this is my girlfriend, Veronica.”
“I like your hair,” he told her.
“Thanks,” she beamed. She checked her watch and finished her yogurt. “I better go. I have to do the books before the shop opens. I’ll see you later?”
She kissed me goodbye, and before I could say anything, she had already taken off.
Dad glared at me as soon as she left.
“What?” I growled.
“You better not hurt that girl. She deserves better,” he said icily.
Is that what his problem was? Was that why he wanted to talk to me at his bar about me dating her? Because he didn’t want me to hurt her? Like I ever would.
“I know, Dad. God, I’m not an asshole. You can’t say a woman’s off-limits. She’s her own person.”
“Dad’s soft on her,” Michael cut in.
“Her ex fucked her up,” Dad seethed.
“Yeah? Well, so did mine.”
Dad conceded, but he didn’t seem convinced.
I nudged my brother. “What are you doing home? Except being a total cock block?”
Michael cringed. “Sorry. Mei was freaking out about a paper, so I came down to help her. Figured I’d check in on you until I had to book it to Ohio for a game tomorrow.”
“How’s the team doing?” I asked.
He shrugged.
Michael might not want to enter the league, but it didn’t stop him from playing for PSU. He still loved playing hockey, but not professionally.
“I didn’t realize you were gonna have a naked chick in your bed this morning,” he said and made a face.
I shrugged.
He eyed me and pointed to my chest. “When are you going to get that shit fixed?”
“V’s gonna do it today.”
“What did you land on?”
“She’s going to do a grouping of red hibiscuses and make it blend into my sleeve.”
“Your mother liked hibiscuses,” Dad mused.
“Yeah, Dad, that’s the point.”
“She would have been proud of you. I am,” he whispered.
“You have a real funny way of showing it,” I muttered and crossed my arms over my chest.
Dad’s brow wrinkled. “What does that mean?”
“Anything I do isn’t good enough for you. I’m not smart enough like Michael or good enough at hockey like Eli and Maja. I definitely don’t have business sense like Ayden or Brendan. I’m the fuckup Holmstrom kid you always have to rein in. I’m your son, and you don’t even think I’m good enough for Veronica!” I seethed at him, anger boiling up inside me.
I was so tired of my dad being harder on me than the rest of my siblings, acting like my accomplishments didn’t matter. Anything I did disappointed him.
Michael put a hand on my arm to stop me from getting even more riled up.
Dad frowned at me. “Son, none of that’s true. I’m so proud of all your achievements. All of you. It took guts when you came out.”
“Then why are you constantly on my ass?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I saw you break apart last season, just like I did when your mother died. I left Eli at thirteen to pick up the pieces when I should have been the parent. I don’t want you to end up like me—a sad and lonely shell of a man.”
“Dad,” Michael breathed.
When I glanced at my dad, really looked at him, I saw the longing in him. Saw the struggle etched across his face. Dad was lonely. And he was right. I was exactly like him. I let my emotions cloud my judgment, and it almost cost me my career.
“Why did you tell Ayden that Veronica was off limits?” Michael asked for me.
Dad rolled his eyes. “That boy needs to settle down, and I knew which son she was meant for.”
His gaze settled on me, and the way he studied me, I wondered if he could tell what Veronica and I were up to. That none of it was real because his gaze pierced me like he was searching for something. I shifted in my chair uncomfortably.
Michael looked giddy. “Wait…did you ‘meet cute’ them?”
Dad gave him a confused look. “Did I what?”
Michael laughed. “Holy shit! You totally did. You told Blaise to drive her home last summer because you were trying to push them together, right?”
Dad shrugged, and a sly smile came across his features.
My baby brother howled with laughter. “Damn, Dad, you’re quite the wingman.”
“Dad?” I asked.
“Hmm?”
“Mom would’ve wanted you to be happy. She’d have wanted you to move on.”
He twisted his wedding band on his finger. “I’m not sure I can. Your mother was the love of my life. Nobody can compare to her.”
“You don’t have to be lonely for the rest of your life,” I insisted.
“Blaise, why did you move back home?” he asked, trying to change the subject off him.