Page 85 of Ink Me Three Times
She grins like she just won a small victory and heads to her bag to grab her arsenal of hair products. Meanwhile, I slump further into the couch, my brain still tangled in the mess of things I need to sort out.
But when Olivia’s around, it’s like the world can wait.
She walks back in, looking like she’s about to perform some kind of wizardry, her bag full of products in hand. “I swear, you’re lucky I know how to work withthis,” she says, dramatically pulling my hair into a loose ponytail and making a show of inspecting it. “It’s been through some things, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s been through a lot,” I reply, half heartedly. “And it’s probably just as confused as I am.”
“Pfft,” she says with a dismissive wave. “I’ve seen it worse. This hair just needs a little love.” She pops open a bottle of dryshampoo like it’s some kind of magic potion. “Your hair just looks like you’re finally having fun.”
I know what she means.
Fun since Luca.
Already, I barely recognize the person I was when I left him behind. I was so miserable, and I couldn’t even see it.
I laugh. “Well you know all about my fun. Tell me all about yours. I know work is rough right now, but what about outside of it?”
Olivia shoots me a sideways grin. “Oh Ihaveto have all the fun I can outside of work right now, which is why I let a date take me to a karaoke bar last month.”
I can’t help but giggle. “Wait, you? Karaoke?”
She winks at me. “Oh, you better believe it. I’ve got pipes, babe. Maybe not good ones, but it allowed me to blow off some steam.”
“Is work really that bad?”
She shrugs, massaging dry shampoo into my scalp. “Yeah, sometimes I think about maybe giving it all up. Getting out of the rat race. Coming to live in a place like this.”
My heart skips a beat. “Oh yes! I know it isn’t likely, but I wouldlovethat. If you came to Coyote Glen, I would never leave.”
She rolls her eyes. “You have three gorgeous men after you. I wouldn’t be surprised if you ever leave.”
I laugh, the sound a little lighter than before. “I’m still not sure I deserve them. Honestly, I can’t even figure out which one is the right one to focus on.”
Olivia’s hands pause for a moment, her fingers stilling in my hair as she studies my reflection in the mirror across the room. “Ivy… just listen to your gut. It’s been telling you something for a while, but maybe you’re not ready to hear it. Youdeservesomeone who makes you feel alive.”
My gut? That’s the problem. It doesn’t whisper one name. It echoes with all of them.
Freddie, with his steady presence and the way he looks at me like I’m worth staying for.
Timothy, whose chaos somehow quiets mine, who sees every messy piece of me and never flinches.
And Mitchell, who shouldn’t matter the way he does, who pushes me, challenges me, and still manages to make me feel like I can finally breathe.
I don’t know if my gut is confused or if it’s just honest about how tangled this all is. Because the truth?
I don’t want to choose.
Not yet.
Not when each of them offers something I didn’t know I needed.
But deep down, I know this isn’t sustainable. I can’t keep holding all three of their hearts like they won’t eventually shatter in my hands.
Liv’s not judging me, she never does, but her words settle into my chest like a weight. Not cruel, just real. I will have to choose. Eventually.
I just don’t know how.
But before I can respond, Olivia moves on, her fingers working the flat iron through my hair with surprising precision.
