His Tattooed Virgin(Divine Creek Ranch 12)(67)
He hoped that, although Jayne hadn’t struggled with breast cancer, that at some point in the years during which she’d battled with Hodgkin’s lymphoma that she’d encountered technicians and medical professionals that had done what they could to help her preserve her dignity and help her feel like she’d been more than just another appointment to them.
Bernice’s cheeks were rosy, and she seemed happier and more relaxed when he returned five minutes later. Hugh appeared more relaxed, too, and not as uncomfortable with Seth in the room with her topless. His smile for his wife was loving and genuine. After a minor adjustment to the placement, he got her comfortable on the table and began the work as the rock music played in the background.
Two hours later, Bernice and Hugh Collins walked out of Seth’s workroom, paid the bill, and stepped out into the August sunshine. It might have seemed like a minor thing, two small tattoos, but as he glanced up and witnessed Hugh gently embracing and kissing his wife right there on a downtown Divine sidewalk, Seth knew it was momentous to them.
“You’re a pretty great guy.”
Gazing out the window, he replied, “Why do you say that?”
“Because that hardly looks like the same woman who walked through that door just a few hours ago. You’re like…hero material or something.”
Scoffing and rolling his eyes, Seth peered over her shoulder at all the circles on the classified section of the newspaper. “You find a place to live yet?”
“Ready to get rid of your roommate?”
“No, but she enjoys beating on walls in the middle of the night,” he replied, poking her ribs and making her jump from the stool to avoid more tickling.
“Keep it up, moron. I’m telling Mom.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jayne could hear her phone ringing from inside her purse on Seth’s kitchen counter. She hurriedly dried her hands and reached for it.
“Hello?”
Lucy’s voice came over the line. Judging from the background noise, she must’ve been driving. “Hey, just checking to see if you got in the house okay.”
“Thanks for leaving the key under the potted plant for me. Are you sure you don’t want to join us for supper? I’m making more than enough.” She’d planned to surprise Seth and Lucy with supper that evening and had called Seth’s sister to find out what he liked and if she’d leave the house key where she could find it.
“Nah, I have rentals to check out this evening, so I can—you know—sleep at night.”
A gleefully wicked giggle bubbled up inside Jayne. Seth had been right. Lucy hadn’t given her a hard time about the previous night’s pyrotechnics, but she’d overheard Lucy teasing the hell out of Seth when she’d turned off the shower that morning. “I’m glad you like Divine enough to move here. Sorry for your disrupted sleep.”
“Don’t worry about it. I love giving Seth a hard time about it. I’m glad to see him so happy and…settled. He’s smiled more since he’s met you than he has in the last three years combined. You’ve been good for him.”
“Thanks. I could say the same thing about him. Good luck apartment hunting.”
“Seth just left the studio so you should see him in less than five minutes.”
After ending the call, Jayne went back to washing the green leaf lettuce for a salad to go with the lasagna she’d made. She was removing the pan and turning off the oven when the doorbell rang. She ran for the door, ready to jump Seth the moment she saw him, wondering what he’d done with his house key.
She yanked open the door. “Did you—”
The words stuck in her throat and turned to ash as she came face-to-face with one of the most ethereally beautiful women she’d ever seen. She was every catwalk model’s ideal. At least six feet tall, long, board-straight black hair, and darkly lined gray-blue eyes. Her lips were full and pouty, her coloring and facial structure dramatic, probably from Nordic roots. Her skin tone was a light olive, the kind of skin Jayne had always envied because it tanned so easily. She was clad casually, but had on extremely high and probably very expensive heels, which may have accounted for her height. The brunette eyed her up and down, and then her face relaxed into the barest hint of a scowl, her lip almost curling.
On her hip sat a baby, who was twisting around, looking behind the woman and making cooing sounds. At that point, Jayne noticed the woman’s arms, which were sleeved in tattoos nearly identical to Seth’s. A painfully cold chill swept over her skin and tightened the muscles in her shoulders and neck until she was sure she’d have a headache later. If this woman had stood side by side with Seth, they would’ve been bookends.