Sally shakes her head. “Yeah, but it’s off center. And too low for his uniform pants level. I mean people normally plan these things out in advance to work with their wardrobe. And what is it, anyway?” she squints at the screen. “Butterfly? Flower?”
“Dragonfly,” I answer without thinking.
Their heads all spin to me for an explanation as to why I know about the tattoo. I don’t, actually. He didn’t have that particular tattoo when he left for college. I know it for a fact. A fact I’m not going to share.
“No shit,” Mia says.
“Blow up the image,” Gwen squeals excitedly.
There’s a flurry of furious tapping and then the three of them scream in unison.
“It is a dragonfly,” Mia says accusingly, “how did you know?”
“It was a guess.” I’m being honest, but then I decide to show off. Just a little. “It’s off center because he has a birthmark there that he hates.”
Without another word, I turn to head back to my office so I can catch up on some paperwork. And also, to try to think about something other than Jake Mann.
Chapter 6
Angie
A few hours later, I park the car and begin making the trek across the sand to one of my favorite places in the world.
The Beaky Tiki stands in the distance, a beacon of hope and friends and best of all chips and salsa.
Even with the fresh hell that has been my life for the past twenty-four hours, it brings a smile to my face.
The adorable, outdoor beach bar and grill has an authentic thatch roof with a tiny picket fence boundary. It’s lined by tiki torches standing dramatically like sentinels around the perimeter.
I squint into the sun toward the general area of our usual table and spot Kaylee an Fi. They’re already there. Thank goodness.
After my conversation with Cara Carrera this morning I texted them. This is, after all, the truest definition of an emergency.
DEFCON Jake. They may have saved me from him last night, but Puppy-thon was a disaster. And now, Project Marketing Blitz is a disaster too. It’s like he’s purposefully trying to ruin my life.
When I get to the table, Fi and Kaylee stand and attack me with a group hug. It helps.
Then we all sit. There's tension in the air because of my emergency text. I only have fifty-two minutes left in my lunch hour, so I'm not about to keep them waiting.
Kaylee smiles reassuringly and wipes a stray hair out of her face. "What's up? We got your emergency text, so we ordered you lunch and a large soda. Whatever this thing is I'm sure you're going to need more caffeine."
"Thank you. That's a reasonable assumption." I have their attention now. "Um, so the emergency is this. Cara called and said she had somebody big on the hook for the last-ditch effort to save my vet practice from going under."
"Hey, that's great," Fi says, exhaling. "I was sure it was going to be bad news. And I don’t think we can take any more bad news for you after last night."
I smile through gritted teeth. "Not finished with the news yet. It's Jake."
Kaylee blinks at me. "What's Jake?"
"He's the celebrity."
Fi gasps. "Oh hell no."
"That's what I said. I told her to tell him no. There has to be another way."
"And?"
"And that’s when she told me the contract was already signed."
"Alright," Kaylee says, "what's the plan? Maybe there's still a way to get out of it?"
I take a long sip of soda. "Nope. And I have a photo shoot with him. Today."
Fi coughs out her soda and then starts pounding on her chest. "Warn a girl, would you?"
Kaylee puts down her chip. "Seriously? The photo shoot you just found out about is today?"
"Today."
"I can sneak in before it starts," Kaylee volunteers, "to pull the fire alarm or something."
"We can kidnap you," Fi blurts out.
I consider these options. But I know deep down I'll put up with anything, literally, for a shot at not letting my clinic go under. Even put up with Jake. How long can a photo shoot take, anyway?
"I don't know, I guess I should go."
"That's a bad idea," Kaylee says. "He literally killed Puppy-Thon, what the hell is he going to do next?"
I ruminate on the question while nibbling on one of the delicious veggie spring rolls that Kaylee ordered for the table. They're amazing. And the nachos are good too. Maybe Jake’s already done his worst. “Maybe I can do this.”
Fi frowns. "Wait, Angie, what part of this do you have a handle on, exactly? No offense, but you seem even more distracted than usual."
"None taken," I answer in between bites. "I'm just saying," chew, swallow, "and it could be the caffeine talking here. But how hard is it to take a few pictures?"
Fi shrugs. "I have no idea. I've never done an official photo shoot before. You?"
Kaylee shakes her head.
"I guess it's settled then." My phone chimes a text. Speak of the publicity devil. "It's Cara. Gotta go."
"Good luck," Kaylee says. "We're only a text away if you need us. Especially me, I'll be lurking nearby. If it gets weird, just say the word and I'll do the fire alarm thing. Where did you say the photo shoot is going to be?"
I get up and look around for a waitress. A pointless gesture since I'm broke.
"I've got this," Kaylee says, "just tell me where the photo shoot is going to be."
"Thanks! Oh, yeah. The text says it's in the studio off of Main and Field."
And with that, I'm off again, crossing the sand to my car. Soon I’ll be in some kind of weird alternate universe where my ex best friend slash ex-boyfriend for like ten minutes has breezed into town to alternately ruin and then help my life. Only now there will be a billboard to show for it.
Chapter 7
Angie
The inside of the photography studio looks pretty normal to me. There’s a front desk, posture killing chairs to sit in, and of
