Page 93 of Ink Me Three Times
I want to say something. Anything. But the words are tangled somewhere in my throat. So I lean back against the counter, sip my coffee, and pretend I’m not watching her fall away from me.
Penny explodes into the room like a confetti cannon, arms full of toys and wearing two mismatched socks and a tutu over her pajamas. Her hair’s a bird’s nest, and her energy’s nuclear.
“Ivy! Look! I packed your suitcase!” she announces proudly, holding up a sparkly pink backpack that’s half unzipped and trailing crayons. “We’re going to the moon!”
Ivy chuckles, caught off guard, and I swear the sound heals something cracked in my chest. “The moon, huh? Do I need a space suit or just snacks?”
“Both!” Penny says like it’s obvious. “I brought cheese sticks and my sparkle helmet!”
“Then I guess I’m ready for lift off,” Ivy says, letting herself be tugged toward the couch.
Penny keeps talking at warp speed, something about alien dogs and gravity shoes, but Ivy’s eyes flick to me as she moves, and for a second, she looks more like herself again.
That soft focus. That tired amusement. That warmth I’ve missed like hell.
When Penny’s distracted digging through her coloring book pile, I catch Ivy alone again in the hallway. Her face is softer now, but she’s still got that faraway look in her eyes, like she’s in a room I can’t get into.
“I was actually gonna ask if you could watch Penny this weekend,” I say, scratching the back of my neck. “Me and the guys are heading to that tattoo convention in Portland.”
“Oh,” she says, brows lifting like she’s already calculating the logistics. “Yeah, I mean, sure, if you need…”
“Actually…” I interrupt, surprising even myself, “why don’t you just come with us?”
She blinks. “What?”
“You and Penny. Come along. Make a weekend of it.”
She stares at me like I’ve just asked her to go skydiving.
“It’s nothing fancy,” I say quickly. “We’ve got a couple rooms. I’ll pay you as usual to stay with Penny, but we can have some fun too…”
Ivy opens her mouth to respond…
“Wait,what?!” Penny screeches from the living room, already running full speed toward us like she’s been eavesdropping through the walls. “I wanna go to the conveccion.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You even know what that is?”
“Yes.” Penny pouts. “I will see a dragon there. Maybe robots too.”
Ivy looks at her, then at me, clearly thrown.
And then she just… laughs. A real, kind of stunned laugh that makes Penny beam and my heart do a little stupid thing.
“Alright,” she says finally, hands up in surrender. “Let’s go look at robots and dragons.”
Penny lets out a whoop and runs off yelling something about building a “packing fort.” Ivy watches her disappear down the hall, shaking her head with that tired, crooked smile that used to be just for me.
I don’t want to ruin the moment by lingering too long. I check the time and sigh. “Alright, I gotta head to the shop.”
I grab my keys off the counter, draining the last of my coffee. Ivy steps aside to let me pass, brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“I’ll text you the hotel info,” I say. “We leave Friday morning, early. Like, sunrise early.”
“I’ll be ready,” she says, already reaching for her phone like she’s setting a reminder.
My own phone buzzes in my pocket. I fish it out, thumb sliding across the screen as I head for the door.
One new text.
