Rocky snorts into his beer. “Yeah. Sure you are.”
Luna glances between them. “What’s that supposed to mean? Why wouldn’t Beckett be fine?”
The guys exchange looks—Simon with Noah, Rocky with Simon. Beckett just looking out to sea.
And then it clicks.
This is about that tattoo.
Simon lifts his beer toward Beckett. “Better you than me, man. Just—take care of it, okay? You really—I meanreally—don’t want an infection.”
Beckett adjusts his sunglasses. “I’m aware.”
“No swimming,” Noah adds mildly. “Or other… recreational activities involving submersion.”
Rocky’s eyes are dancing. “That’s advice from two doctors. Better take it.”
Beckett has shrugged out of his shirt, and to anyone else, it looks like he’s smirking.
I, however, see the muscle ticking in his jaw and a faint flush to his skin.
Down the line, Courtney perks up. “What are you guys talking about?”
Luna looks between Noah and Beckett. “Yeah. What can’t Bex submerge?”
And just like that, all eyes swing to me.
“Oh, for the love of—” I sit up, forcing a smile. “My husband got intimately acquainted with a needle last night.”
Luna’s brows lift. “A tattoo?”
“Yes. He got a tattoo.”
Rocky kind of chokes on his drink. Noah and Simon are shaking their heads, and Beckett remains silent.
Luna glances at me. “He got a tattoo and you didn’t tell me?” And then over to Beckett. “Can we see it?”
“No!” This, incidentally, from Noah.
Courtney bursts out laughing. “Where is this tattoo?”
Everyone is looking him over, but the tattoo… is not visible.
“You didn’t!” Luna claps a hand over her mouth, her laugh somewhere between horrified and delighted. “Like—oh, my God!”
Beckett’s face is even more pink than it had been a few minutes ago.
There’s a long beat—then she’s looking back at me. “And you approved of this?”
“He’s a grown man. He makes his own decisions.” And yet again, being in the dark about this… stings.
Luna swivels between me and Beckett. “Okay, so you won’t show it to us. But… What is it, the tattoo? Oooh, is it Ashley’s name?”
Pretty sure it isn’t my name.
I lift my coconut drink and take a long sip of what is definitely not strong enough for this conversation. “It’s a… snake.” It’s the first thing I think of.
Rocky’s brows shoot up, and Simon and Noah exchange glances.
