‘That,’ Taylor declared, licking butter and aioli off her fingers, ‘was delicious.’
‘You can’t get them like that back in New York, can you,’ I teased. At least, I meant it to come out as teasing, but in reality, I sounded sad. Wistful. She gave me a strange look.
‘Probably not,’ she said.
‘Where’s Ray?’
‘Over by the stage. He can see a lot of the live acts and parades over there. I got him a good seat in the shade.’
‘Cool. Well.’ I stood up, screwing up the paper boat in my fist. ‘Guess I better get back to it.’
‘Yeah, me too. I’m sure someone will be along shortly.’ Her smile turned wicked. ‘Unless…’
‘Unless what?’
‘Unlessyouwant to be my next client.’
‘I have thought about it,’ I admitted.
‘Whoa,’ she said, eyes wide. ‘I was only kidding. Are you serious?’
‘Why do you sound so surprised?’
‘Because Iamsurprised.’
‘Why?’
‘You just don’t seem like the kind of guy who wants a lobster tattoo.’
‘Who said I’d get a lobster?’
‘OK, a wave then.’
‘I don’t want a wave.’
‘So what do you want?’
‘That,’ I said, winking, ‘is for me to know, and you to find out.’
‘You don’t have a clue, do you?’
‘Not yet,’ I admitted. ‘But it’ll come to me.’
‘You shouldn’t get a tattoo just for the sake of getting a tattoo.’
‘Have you said that to anyone else you’ve worked on today? Doesn’t sound like advice that would be good for business.’
‘I don’t care about business. I always make sure people understand what they’re getting into.’
‘Admirable.’
‘I’m just saying,’ she said, ‘it’s a permanent thing. You need to be sure about it. It should have some kind of meaning to you. Some significance.’
‘Maybe the significance lies more in who would be doing the tattooing,’ I said quietly. ‘Rather than in the tattoo itself.’
She stared at me with her beautiful brown eyes, and inside my chest my heart sped up.
35
