By Bina Nayak

An excerpt from Starfish Pickle reproduced with permission. Another tormenting night stretch ahead of Tara. The nagging pain caused by her tattoo bothers hers. Trying not to focus on it, she wishes, Balgo had stayed a bit longer to massage it away. Whatever he did for those few seconds seemed to work. She wonders if he’s sitting on a beach somewhere, laughing at the stars.