Stephen seemed as though he was mulling that over with a half-smirk on his face. Then he laughed. His laughter had a deep and almost melodic quality to it. It didn't happen often. It probably needed to happen more.
He shrugged a shoulder and didn't pull away from the scratch at all. He missed Christine and her decidedly hands on approach to everything. Stephen's approach to caring used to begin and end with the medical bill for his services being mailed out.
"Like I said, it wouldn't be the same if you didn't say it. Which is probably egotistical of me, because it proves that I'm right. And highly skilled."
Once he stopped laughing, he kept a straight face. He also made sure Christine was looking right at him, so she didn't miss that covert wink before he finished his martini. There was the sudden inkling dread of a magical warning, creeping in through the back of his mind. Stephen tipped his head back to sigh up at the ceiling, clearly exasperated.
"Speaking of highly skilled, I have to go." He handed her his empty glass. "I have to go stop some mind leeches from taking over the Philippines."