Flavors of lime, cilantro, avocado, and onion exploded on her tongue. There was more there—a hint of garlic, tomato, and maybe a little jalapeno. Delicious.
It was even better chased by a sip of her margarita.
“I am,” he agreed. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” she answered. Her voice was quiet and her expression pensive.
Torin couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking.
She knew that because, in his typical fashion, he just said, “I can’t tell what you’re thinking.”
Since she couldn’t just blurt out that she was thinking about how much she loved him, Nova shrugged. “I’m thinking a lot of things.”
“Care to share any of them with me?”
She managed a small smile. “Maybe later. Right now, I’m going to eat my snack, drink my yummy, and what I suspect, is a quite strong margarita. Then, we can talk about what I’m thinking.” She took another bite of her chip and guac. Once she chewed and swallowed, she asked, “Do you want to talk about what you’re thinking?”
“I’m thinking I’m glad you’re not hurt and you’re here with me tonight. Especially when I think about the fact that you might not be.”
Her heart stuttered in her chest. Addie was right, he was falling for her, too. This wasn’t a fling. It wasn’t something that was going to be short-lived.
And, if it didn’t work out, it would be because they screwed it up together.
“I’m glad, too,” she said. She reached out and ran a hand down his arm, her fingers tracing the lines of his tattoos. “Why don’t you tell me about these? You have so many and I still haven’t had a chance to study them the way I want to.”
“You want to study them?” he asked, incredulous.
“Yes.” Her thumb drifted over the back of his wrist where the sleeve of tats ended. “Starting with this one. Once I’ve seen them all, I want to touch them and then maybe taste.”
Torin drained his margarita glass, setting it aside before he said, “Sounds like a study I’d be happy to volunteer for.”
She smiled up at him. “So, start with what they mean.”
He gestured to the wrist she held and then up his entire arm. “These are all places I’ve been and oceans I’ve swum in. That shell on my wrist is one that I picked up in the Caribbean. The reef is one I found in Australia. It was incredible.” As he spoke, his finger moved up his arm to each picture. “On my upper arm and shoulder are all the cold-water places I’ve been like Alaska and Maine. I’m running out of room, so I’ll have to start extending out on my chest because I’d really like to see Iceland and maybe Scandinavian countries like Sweden or Norway. I haven’t decided yet, but they’re on my list.”
“You have a list?” she asked.
He nodded. “Oh, yeah.”
“Is Japan on it?”
He nodded again, which made Nova smile.
“I think I’d be interested in hearing more about this list,” she said.
“That’s for another night. Tonight, you wanted to know about my tattoos.”
Torin took a bite of chips and guacamole, thinking it needed a touch more jalapeno next time.
“I know about your grandmother’s portrait, what about your others?”
Torin pointed to his other bicep, which held an anchor. “This was my first and it wasn’t my most creative, but I still love it because, to me, it reminds me that I’m anchored when I’m at sea. Or in any body of water. That’s my touchstone.”
Nova ran her hand over it and nodded. “That makes sense.”
“I’ll add to it eventually,” he said. “But, for right now, I like it just the way it is.”
“I do, too.”
