Page 39 of The Broken Heart Playlist
Aaron pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s bad enough you write your passwords down, but please tell me you haven’t actually written outpasswordin front of any of them.”
Tess looks indignant. “Of course not!”
“Good,” Aaron responds on a relieved sigh, his frown fading.
I gesture to the nearly empty bottle of wine on the table. “Looks like we need more wine, Aaron.”
The moment he leaves the dining room, I turn to Tess. “The truth.”
“I promise I didn’t write downpassword.” She flicks a glance toward the kitchen, then she mumbles, “I wrotep—winstead.”
“Tess,” I admonish, while Gideon winces.
“Don’t tell him,” she begs us. “I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“I won’t say anything,” Gideon promises, “but you should really find a better system.”
“It works for me.”
I hold back a snort. “It’ll work for a lot of criminals too.”
Aaron returns with the wine and Tess rapidly changes the subject. It’s warm in the dining room, and my spicy potatoes are turning up the heat level even further. Gideon peels off his long-sleeved black sweater. I stare at the defined curve of musclerunning down his forearm before my eyes seek out the dark edge of his mysterious tattoo teasing me under his T-shirt.
Lisset notices it too. And with the guileless candor that only the children and elderly can get away with, she asks, “What are your tattoos, Gideon?”
I hold my breath, wanting to high-five my daughter. Finally, I’ll be able to satisfy my curiosity.
After the briefest hesitation, Gideon pulls up his shirt sleeve. I make out the ink of a paw print. He tells Lisset he has four paw print tattoos, one on his upper arm, three on his shoulder blade.
“They represent the rescue dogs I’ve loved and who have passed away,” he explains. “Their names were Flash, Kushla, Bonnie, and Clyde.”
No.
Oh, no.
I’m not even particularly fond of dogs. So why does that hit me right in the solar plexus? Deep in the back of my brain, an alarm bell is going off. Actually, it sounds more like the warning wail of a tsunami siren.Danger! Danger!
I’m not the only one affected. Tess has her hand clasped over her heart, her eyes shiny, like she’s about to recite a pledge to the Tattoo Temple.
Then she looks over at Aaron.
“No,” he says before she has a chance to speak.
“But a tattoo will look spectacular on you.”
“Forget it.”
I can see all sorts of scheming taking place in that chaotic brain of hers. “Not even a tattoo of my name?” she asks after a moment.
Aaron reaches across the table to grasp her hand and press a kiss to the inside of her wrist. “Your name is tattooed on my heart,” he says simply. “I don’t need it on my skin.”
Predictably, Tess is a puddle on the floor, along with all her arguments.
I watch them and ache a little, a restless longing taking up residence in my chest. Their love is searing and beautiful. Two complete opposites who found each other and fought their way to feeling whole together.
I look up to find Gideon’s eyes on me. All sorts of emotions are stirring behind his eyes, like certain puzzle pieces are slotting into place, but also like he can’t fully make out the entire picture.
Lisset’s voice breaks the spell. “When Uno dies, will you get a paw print tattoo for him?”
