By late afternoon, the buzz of the shop had settled into a steady rhythm. Machines hummed like a heartbeat. Conversations faded in and out from the backrooms. The familiar chaos of Ink Haven wrapped around Dani like a protective haze.
She kept her head down. Focused. Controlled.
But even with her gloves on and pencil smudges on her fingers, she could feel him.
Jax.
He was still there.
He hadn’t said a word since he walked in hours ago—hadn’t even come close—but his presence sat like a shadow in her peripheral vision. Solid. Still. Watching.
Cass eventually gave up the act of pretending she wasn’t curious. She wandered over during a lull between appointments, plopped down beside Dani’s sketchpad, and gave a pointed look toward the counter.
“He’s been here all day.”
Dani didn’t look
