Cassidy Greene didn’t return home looking for romance with a tattooed bad boy. She came back to disappear from a stalled art career, a cheating ex, and the creeping fear that she’s nothing more than a failure in progress. But a spur-of-the-moment stop at a tattoo shop changes everything. An unexpected job offer puts her in the path of Zane Carter inked, guarded, and far too tempting.
Zane doesn’t believe in commitment. His past is etched into his skin, buried under silence and shadows. Yet Cassidy’s art stirs something he thought was gone a pull toward more than just survival. As the two work side by side on a mural that forces them to confront old scars, the air between them thickens with tension neither can ignore.
But trust is fragile. And when old mistakes resurface and new chances threaten to split them apart, they’re left with a choice: risk everything for something real, or walk away before it shatters.
Can a woman running from her dreams and a man hiding from his pain find a reason to stay?
