"And he made coffee for you?" Angel quirked a brow, looking up from last month's issue of Inked.

"Yeah." Jack was running over this month's numbers, typing them into a calculator and jotting them down with a pencil. It might have been Saturday, but the rain was making business exceptionally slow. They'd only had three or so people come in, and none of them had bought a thing.

"Wow, he has got it bad." She giggled, setting her magazine down before fishing her sketchbook from her backpack.

"Angel—"

"No, it's cute." She started doodling, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth. "He sounds like a real gentleman, Dad."

"I mean…yeah…" Jack smiled. "He is."

"So do I get to meet him ever? Or is he like all of mom's boyfriends?"

"We've only been on two dates, Kiddo."

"But you haven't had sex yet, so he's got to be important."

"Can we not talk about my sex life?"

Angel giggled, tucking her pencil into her ponytail before pulling out one of her pens and uncapping it with her teeth. "Do you have another date planned?"

"Not yet. We were interrupted before we could."

She laughed again. "I can't control exploding faucets, Dad."

"I know. Just picked a hell of a time." He shook his head before setting his pencil down, craning his neck to see what she was up to. "What're you working on?"

She held up the drawing. Flowers and leaves swooping in an elegant curve. She'd written "shoulder/upper arm" in her neat but crooked print at the top of the page. "Flowers never seem to go out of style."

"That looks really good." He took the book delicately to study it closer. "The linework is sharp."

"Okay, sure." She rolled her eyes and took the book back. "It's not quite neat enough."

"It looks great, Angel."

"But not perfect." Her tongue poked back out.

Jack shook his head and tapped his fingers against the counter. There was no other way to put it, he was fucking bored. He wished someone would come in.

And like that his prayers were answered.

"I thought you might want a second cup, midday crash and all."

Well, almost.

Rhys smiled, holding two cups in hand.

Angel looked up smiled then put the cap back on her pen.

"Oh, Rhys, that's um—"

"You don't have to say anything." He sat the cup on the counter, turning to look at Angel returning her smile.

"You must be Angel."

"You must be Rhys."

"Do you want me to grab another cup from next door?"

"Nah." She picked up her can of Peace Tea and shook it lightly. "I'm all covered."

Jack swallowed. This isn't how he expected this to go, but it seemed to be going well. Except for the fact that he hadn't said anything. Rhys looked up at him over the rim of his mug before taking a sip.

Angel elbowed him in the ribs. "Dad, say something."

"Um, business sure is slow today, isn't it?"

Nice.

Angel rolled her eyes, picking up her pencil to shade her drawing.

"I think it's the rain." Rhys shook his head. "And on a Saturday, too. It's just the worst."

"Haven't made a sale today."

"I've only made two."

Jack took a sip from his coffee and Rhys turned his attention back to Angel, still smiling.

"Jack didn't mention that you were an artist."

"Not yet." She shook her head.

"Well, artist in progress then." Rhys took another sip before setting his mug down. "May I see?"

She stopped her pencil, thinking about it for a moment. Jack was certain she'd say no, but then she held out the book and Rhys took in gingerly, studying the image.

"Wisteria." He smiled. "They're beautiful."

"Thanks." She held her hand out and took the book back.

His eyes flitted to the magazine and her print at the top of the page. "You want to be a tattoo artist?"

"I think so." Her tongue was poking out again as she shaded her drawing. "Everyone at school thinks it's stupid."

"It's not stupid, kiddo." Jack set his hand on her back.

She rolled her eyes. "You have to say that, you're my dad."

"I don't think it's stupid at all, Angel." Rhys smiled, leaning forward on the counter. "And I'm not saying that because I just met you, either."

"Okay." Angel sounded like she didn't believe him, but she still smiled.

Rhys turned back to Jack. "Do you have plans tonight?"

"Um, go to Home Depot for a replacement sink, get pizza and watch…." He turned to Angel. "What movies did you say, kiddo?"

"Juno and Jennifer's Body. It's Diablo Cody night."

"Right, Diablo Cody night." Whatever that means, Jack thought.

"Oh, that sounds like fun. I'm sure you'll have a good time with that."

"You can come if you want." Angel looks up. "Do you like homemade popcorn?"

"Who doesn't?"

Angel grinned. "Good Answer."

Jack looked between Angel and Rhys a little awestruck.

"We also wear pajamas on movie nights."

"Sounds like a plan." Rhys smiled at Jack. "Do you want me to just come over to your place at…"

"Eight." Angel nodded.

"Eight works." Jack nodded, agreeing with her.

"Eight sounds perfect." Rhys smiled, reaching to squeeze Jack's hand.

Rhys stayed until their coffee mugs were empty, then returned to his own shop next door.

"And that's how you do it." Angel held up her drawing, looking extremely pleased with herself.

"I didn't need help."

"Okay." She rolled her eyes and turned to a new page. "But you can say thank you, now."

He shook his head.

"He is cute, though. I can see why you like him." Angel started sketching.

Jack smiled, looking back over his numbers before tucking his hands into his pockets. "Yeah."