Page 230 of Things We Hide from the Light
Stef snorted. “That’s the opposite of grand. That’s a petite gesture. You busting in to Duncan Hugo’s warehouse to save the damsels in distress was a grand gesture.”
My brother nodded smugly. “That was pretty epic.”
“Me surprising Mandy with a three-week cruise was a grand gesture,” Lou said.
“That’s a good one. Take her on vacation,” Nolan suggested. “My wife loved it when we got away just the two of us.”
“Didn’t your wife divorce you?” Lucian pointed out.
“A, fuck you. And B, maybe she wouldn’t have if I’d taken her on more vacations instead of working all the fucking time.”
“That’s good, but I need something I can do now. Even before we settle this thing with Hugo.”
“Get the oil changed in her car?” Jeremiah suggested.
“Too small,” I said.
“Fly her family in to surprise her?”
“Overstepping.”
“Buy her one of those purses that cost a fucking fortune,” Knox suggested.
“Not everyone has lottery winnings to throw around.”
“You would have if you kept what I gave you instead of putting my fucking name on a goddamn police station, dumbass.”
“Point taken.”
“Why not just get a tattoo of her name on your ass?” Lucian said dryly.
Knox and I shared a look.
“Well, it is a family tradition,” my brother mused.
And that washow I ended up pantsless and ass up in the chair at Spark Plug Tattoo. Knox was in the chair next to me shirtless, getting his wedding date tattooed over his heart.
“You do realize I was being sarcastic,” Lucian muttered from the corner where he lurked like a pissed-off vampire.
“That was not lost on me. But it was still a damn good idea.”
“You’re going to feel like a fool when she leaves and you’ve got a permanent reminder on your ass.”
But even Lucian’s pessimism couldn’t dampen my spirits.
Nolan was paging through a design album with Lou at the counter while Stef and Jeremiah cracked open another round of beers for everyone.
“I’ve been waiting years to get my hands on this ass,” the tattoo artist said gleefully. Her name was Sally. She was inked from neck to knees and had been a nationally ranked equestrian champion in her early twenties.
“Oh, honey, you and every other woman in this town,” Stef said.
“Be gentle with me. It’s my first time,” I said.
She had just started when I heard the click of a camera shutter and turned to glare at Nolan. “What? I’m just documenting the evening.”
“Maybe you should trade the trash ’stache for a tat,” Knox suggested.
“You think?” Nolan asked. I could practically hear him stroking his mustache like it was a pet cat.
