Page 104 of Midnight Ink

“She was crying, Jules.”

My gaze whips to him. “Tears or blood?”

Ian’s eyes widen then he whispers, “Tears.”

“Oh shit. We have to fix this.”

He laughs, nodding. We have a lot to unpack. The shop. Us. Everything. For now, I’ll focus on him. I want to ask a million questions, but I need to be gentle.

“Can I tell you something, and please don’t tell her I told you this. I’m not really sure,” he says, and I nod. “I don’t know for sure because Maddox never told me. I mean, there’s best friends and then there’s whatever the fuck they were. I feel like shit for not checking in on her more. She’s doing worse than I thought, but I just didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

“Okay?”

“The thing is. Maddox used to tell me um, a little about her home life, and he never said it but . . . I have a feeling she didn’t handle shit well back then. I’m not sure, but I think she used to hurt herself.”

I stop cooking. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure. Maddox never outright said anything. He was very protective of her. I’m just saying, I think we both need to check in with her more. I feel sick that I’ve been this fucking selfish. If I’m right and that’s how she’s dealt with his death . . . I don’t think it is, but just . . . I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m rambling. I just think that⁠—”

“We need to look out for her the way he did.”

Ian’s face softens, eyes shining as he looks at me, and he nods. “Exactly. The shop is important, but Anna . . . she was his world. We need to watch out for her. Even if she tells us to fuck off.”

“Especially when she tells us to fuck off.” I squeeze his knee.

I go back to cooking, and now that I think about it, I remember when I tattooed the duck on her leg. The jean shorts, and then the bike shorts underneath them. I had thought at the time it was just a fashion thing. Now?

I don’t know, but I do know I will be watching out for her. “What happened yesterday? When you got home.”

“I wanted to run here then,” he admits. “But I wanted to respect your space. Instead I just lay in bed and didn’t move. Then in the morning I thought about the shop, and us. Mainly about what I want our lives to look like when we reopen. Then I thought about how much I regretted freezing back in North Carolina. It wasn’t you, Jules. I want you to know that. It was never about whether I loved you. That was never a question.”

I pour the vegetable and egg mixture into the pan, and Ian twists, reaching into my cabinet and grabbing two plates. “And what does that look like now?”

“Joint ownership.” My head practically snaps to Ian. “Fifty fifty if you want that responsibility.”

The spatula slips from my fingers. “Are you serious?”

“Only if you want it. I know it’s a lot, but I can’t do this without you. I don’t want to do this without you, and it’s your shop too.”

I swallow hard and can’t believe it. “Yeah. . . wow. I want that.”

“And . . .” He adds. “I want to rename the shop.”

That one shocks me. “What?”

“It’s actually something I’ve thought of doing forever, I was just afraid to do it. The thing is, it’s not Madd Ink anymore. It never got the chance to be. I want something that reflects everything, not just Maddox and me,” he admits. “I want to rename it. I’m certain of that.”

“To what?

He shrugs. “I don’t know yet, but I’m all for ideas from my new co-owner.” He gives me a flirty wink.

I smile softly, flipping his food onto his plate. “I’ll think about it.”

I slide mine onto my plate. “And . . .” He takes a bite, chewing while he thinks. “I’m going to move forward, and hire more artists.” I freeze with my fork halfway to my lips. “At least two, and a piercer in time for sure. It will be great. We turn away too many people who assume we also do piercings. It’ll bring in more clients.”

Yeah, he’s probably right. “When do you want to start looking?”

“This week,” he says easily.