Page 15 of Ink Me Three Times
I try not to let either show.
"Flexible nanny hours," I say, raising a brow. "You realize that’s a single dad’s fantasy, right?"
Her lips twitch. "You realize you shouldn’t say that in an interview, right?"
I shrug, grinning. "I said it was a fantasy, not a proposition."
She gives me a look… flat, dry, but not entirely unfriendly. And I know that look. It’s the one women give me when they’re amused but not sure if I’m a decent guy yet. The jury’s out, and I’ve got five minutes to prove myself before I’m sentenced to jackass.
Penny climbs off the couch and starts lining up crayons on the coffee table like she’s about to host a preschool summit. Ivy glances down, then back at me, brushing hair out of her face as she tucks one leg underneath her.
Her knee bumps mine.
Not intentional. Not overtly.
But I feel it.
And I definitely don’t move.
Ivy doesn’t seem to notice. Or maybe she does and just doesn’t care. Either way, I watch her watching Penny… reallywatching her. Not just checking a box or putting on a show, but tuned in. Engaged. Present in a way that’s rare as hell.
It shouldn’t hit me in the gut. But it does.
Because I’ve done this solo for three years. And no matter how good you get at being both parents, it still feels like you’re treading water with a kid on your shoulders. Watching someone else step in without fumbling? It feels like a damn miracle.
I’m just starting to think maybe Jesse wasn’t exaggerating when he said his sister could handle anything.
But of course, I have to mentally remind myself that this is Jesse’slittlesister, and therefore off limits,especiallyif she’s gonna work for me, when the doorbell rings.
Penny freezes mid crayon organization. Ivy glances at me, curious.
I scrub a hand down my face and mutter, "That’ll be my ride."
I push off the couch and cross the living room, pulse ticking up again, not because of the door, but because the second I walk through it, I’m leaving Ivy Fletcher alone in my house. With my kid.
And for some reason, that doesn’t terrify me.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ivy
I’m still tryingto get used to Freddie’s infuriatingly charming smirk when the doorbell rings.
He mutters something about his ride and pushes off the couch. Penny doesn’t look up from her crayon lineup, but I do. My stomach flips for no good reason… just nerves, maybe. New town, new job, new set of expectations I didn’t realize I was walking into.
What I don’t expect is for the door to open and for my entire damn soul to evacuate my body.
Becausehewalks in.
Him.
My one night stand.
Tall, cocky, unfairly hot tattoo artist with hands like sin and a mouth I still dream about even though I swore I’d never think about that night again. The man who ruined me, beautifully, recklessly, against cold leather and heat thick silence.
He was a moment of madness. A gorgeous, anonymous mistake I never intended to repeat.
And yet here he is.
