Midnight Ink

Name: Midnight Ink
Author: Sophie Quinn

122 pages

Ian
Seven years ago I lost the love of my life in a tragic accident, and I’ve been drowning in the aftermath ever since. Keeping Maddox’s tattoo shop alive was supposed to honor him. Instead I’m exhausted and barely holding my life together. Every day feels like I’m failing him and the dream he worked so hard to build. The only people still standing beside me are Anna, our residential chaos gremlin and really bad secretary, and Julian my best friend.
Julian has seen me at my absolute worst but still he stays through the late nights, and non stop pace we work at. The way I throw myself into this shop is slowly killing me.
Then my life finally implodes and Julian gives me an ultimatum: take a break, or lose him for good. I can’t lose him, no matter what.
So I agree, we take a vacation to scatter Maddox’s ashes in the place he always wanted to visit.
When a storm grounds our flight and strands us at a run down bed and breakfast I’m trapped with nowhere to run from my grief, the memories, or the feelings for Julian I’ve tried so hard to ignore.

For the first time in seven years I’m starting to wonder again what it would be like to let someone love me again.
For the first time in years I don’t want to run.

Julian

I’ve been in love with Ian for years. Long enough to realize it’s probably never going to happen with us. After his boyfriend died in a tragic accident nearly seven years ago Ian has stopped living and started surviving. He’s buried himself in the tattoo shop and convinced himself in order to keep Maddox’s memory alive he must work himself into the ground. I’ve spent seven years watching the man I love work himself to his limit while pretending he’s fine.

Something has to change.
So I give him an ultimatum, we take a vacation or I walk away from the shop for good.
Surprisingly Ian agrees. Our plan is simple. Scatter Maddox’s ashes, and help Ian find some peace. Instead a storm leaves us stranded in a decaying bed and breakfast with one room, one bed, and too many unresolved feelings between us. With us stuck there’s no way to avoid the tension building between us.

The closer we get, the harder it becomes to pretend this is only friendship.
Ian thinks loving someone new means letting Maddox go for good, but I’m starting to hope there’s room in his heart for us both.

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