Pretty in Ink (Voretti Family Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

billow as she walked, like an ocean wave, and—
    “You gonna take a look?” Ocean On Fire gestured toward her arm.
    “Of course.” She was strangely reluctant to turn. She couldn’t remember which design she’d chosen; things had been fuzzy for a while. What if she’d accidentally pointed to something purple and yellow? She didn’t want to live her whole life with an acid-trip butterfly on her arm.
    No. She was being ridiculous. She might have been out of it, but she wouldn’t have chosen anything truly terrible. Her brain could pick flattering colors even in the throes of a full-blown panic attack.
    She swiveled her head to the left, bringing the area into her peripheral vision.
    All black. That was good. No acid-trip colors to worry about. Except…
    Her stomach plunged toward the polished concrete floor, leaving the rest of her body behind. The black ink didn’t trace out the delicate wings of a butterfly or the petals of a flower.
    There was a name printed across her bicep in bold cursive letters.
    Caleb .

CHAPTER 3

    L IV STARED AT her arm, waiting for the letters to rearrange themselves into a hummingbird or a flower. She’d even settle for some obscure Sanskrit symbol that meant peace. But the ink remained stubbornly immobile.
    How on earth had she ended up with Caleb’s name on her arm? She was sure she’d pointed to a butterfly.
    Seventy percent sure.
    Heart thudding with panic, she searched the room for the one person who might be able to explain, but CJ was nowhere to be seen. “The guy who was with me. Where is he?”
    “He took off.”
    “Took off? As in, he left ?”
    Ocean On Fire nodded.
    Liv sprang out of her chair. “I’m going to kill him!”
    “Hey!” Ocean On Fire looked alarmed. “I still gotta wash that and wrap it for you.”
    Think, Liv. Think. What happened?
    A couple of hours in, CJ had started complaining that she was squeezing his hand too hard. She’d let go, and he’d taken off, muttering something. He must’ve gone outside for a cigarette. Or maybe he’d needed coffee. He’d probably told her, but she hadn’t had room in her head for anything other than the mechanized hum of the tattoo machine. “How long has he been gone?”
    “You should really let me finish. If you don’t keep the area clean and damp, you can lose color, and—”
    “Where did he go?”
    “He didn’t tell you?”
    “I was kind of busy getting poked with needles.”  
    Ocean On Fire just stood there, not volunteering any information—yet another guy who was frustrating her.  
    Fine. She’d find CJ herself.
    She rummaged in her hemp bag for her cell phone, working with only her right hand because she was afraid to move the side with the tattoo. Why was there so much crap in her bag? She was going to clean it out as soon as she got home. For real this time.
    Finally, she made contact. She dialed CJ’s number and pressed the phone to her ear, clenching the case and wishing it was his neck. If he thought he was getting laid tonight, he was sadly mistaken.
    It rang four times before he finally picked up.  
    “Hey, babe.” CJ sounded cautious, like she was some crazy ex he’d run into at the grocery store, and he was afraid she was going to shove him into the pyramid of Spam. “What’s up?”
    “What’s up ? What’s up is that you ditched me while I was being repeatedly stabbed in the arm!”
    “Yeah. I guess we need to talk.”
    “No kidding. You can start with where the hell you are and why you’re not here.”
    “C’mon, babe. You know I can’t deal with that kind of pressure.”
    “I wasn’t squeezing your hand that hard.”
    He sighed. “Look, babe. We’ve had fun together. You’re wild in bed. But I’m not ready to commit. I mean, at first it was kinda cool. Flattering, you know? But then I started to think about it. Like, what if you expected me to propose or some shit?”
    She clenched the phone hard enough that it was probably cutting a permanent impression into