My mouth quirks at the memory, and when I look up, his eyes are gleaming. “You certainly had a different sort of tattoo experience than the norm,” I tell him.
“I’d better have done.”
The flare of jealousy is humorous, but there’s a truth under it. Reuben is possessive. He doesn’t mind me flirting, but he hates any man getting too close. I love it. It makes me feel like I belong to him.
I stroke my finger down his sharp blade of a nose. “What do you think?”
He considers me. “How would it work?”
“I’m not sure. Rhys said it would be handling the management side as well as tattooing. I don’t want to give up splitting our time between Ibiza and Mull. I like it that way.”
He smiles. “Tell him that, then. He wants you for it. Name your terms.”
“Have I even got those? Surely, I haven’t been doing it long enough.”
“Xavi, the shop is so full of models it’s like a Durand outpost. You bring in a lot of bodies.”
“Makes me sound like Burke and Hare.”
“You’re glamorous and not bad on the eye.”
“Notbad?” I say, trying for outraged but spoiling it with a snort.
He grins, his eyes wicked. “Well, you’re quite homely, but you scrub up well with a bit of time and effort.”
“Thank you.” I lower my head to his chest, and we sway for a while. “I’ll tell him tonight,” I decide.
“Ah, yes, tonight. Tell me—how many people have you invited for dinner?”
“Erm.” I bite my lip to hide a smile. “A few.”
“And are you going to cater for this event yourself?”
“Probably best not to. Most of them don’t want food poisoning.”
“I’m tempted to divert the conversation to whowouldwant it, but I’m avoiding asking.”
“Probably best.” I poke him. “You can cook. Earn your keep, pretty baby.”
He laughs. “I like being a kept man. I think we should continue it.”
“I might trade you in for a more amenable man.”
He rolls his eyes. “They won’t stay amenable for long.” Bernard brings his ball over. “Well?” Reuben prompts the dog, but he just pants around the ball.
I laugh. “He wants you to throw it for him.”
“But first, I have to wrestle him to get it off him? How have I ended up with such a ridiculous creature? He’s your soul mate.”
“You lucky man.”
He manages to get the ball out of Bernard’s jaws and throws it into the pool. The dog looks faintly betrayed by this manoeuvre, but then belly flops into the water and paddles happily around.
“I am,” he says.
“You are what?”
“Lucky.”
