Page 31 of Secrets at Seaside
“Okay. Got it.” Amy squeezed in a little closer. “But if I do any of those things—gush or kiss you too much—can you please just go with it? Because I don’t handle rejection very well.”
“Deal.”
Amy pulled Tony into the tattoo shop.
“Oh no, really?” Tony didn’t have any tattoos. Amy didn’t either, but he knew how much Amy liked the way they looked.
“Hey, you guys.” Much to Pete’s chagrin, Sky put her art degree to use working as a tattoo artist part-time. She sat behind the counter wearing a long black cotton skirt and an army-green tank top. The silver bangles on her wrist clinked as she got up to hug them. “Are you here to get tats?”
“No needles for me.” Amy crinkled her nose, but her eyes were filled with mischief. “But I thought it would be fun to try to convince Tony to get one.” Amy pushed him toward Sky, who was sizing the two of them up.
“There isn’t much you can’t convince me of, but a tattoo? I don’t know about that.”
“Wait a second. Are you twotogetheror here as friends?” Sky crossed her arms and smiled at Amy, who turned a cute shade of pink.
“We’re on our first date, but apparentlyfirst dateto Amy means needles and permanent ink.” Tony pulled Amy against him again.
Sky drew in a breath, eyes wide. “Aw. That’s great. I’ve got just the thing for you two.” She went behind the counter and tugged out a stool. “Sit.”
Tony eyed Amy and nodded to the stool. “Go ahead.”
Amy pushed him forward. “Come on. You’re the man.”
With a feigned sigh, he sat on the stool, legs wide, and pulled Amy between them. “If I have to be tortured, you’re staying right here with me.”
“I won’t ink against your will.” Sky smiled at them. “Lucky for you, I do henna tats, too.”
“A henna tattoo? On me?” Tony shook his head. “What am I, twelve?”
“No, you’re thirtysomething and manly enough to pull it off.” Amy kissed him, and he knew he’d do whatever she asked. A henna tattoo? Done.
“You might even like it so much that one day you’ll get a permanent one,” Sky added.
“I doubt that. It’ll come off in a day with how much I’m in the water.” He settled his hands on Amy’s hips. “What am I getting?Property of Amyacross my chest?”
“That usually goes across the hips,” Sky teased.
“How about justTplusA?” Amy suggested with a sweet smile.
“You want me to have a tattoo that saysTandA? You know whatTandAmeans, right?” He glanced at Sky, who was chuckling.
Amy smacked his thigh. “You’re a pig. I meant likeTonyandAmy.”
“Then how about I just get your name? Because I don’t want my own name on my body.”
“I guess thatwouldlook funny.”
Tony brought his lips closer to hers and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I have a better idea. How about if I getkittenin a discreet place?”
Amy buried her face in his neck.
Kitten was a nickname he’d given her the summer of their affair because of the adorable way she cuddled up to him and how she purred with pleasure after they made love. Her affinity for kittens had begun after he’d given her the nickname.
He kissed her cheek and whispered, “You’ll always bekittento me.”
Twenty minutes and onekittentattoo located just below the waist of his pants later, they headed back toward the pier.
“I can’t believe you remembered.” Amy attached herself to Tony’s side like Velcro, and he couldn’t be happier.
