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* * *
Huh.I didn’t look bad as a brunette. Haylee’s hairdresser had to do some serious coloring with a darker brown than I’d originally intended in order to cover the debacle. She’d then lightened it with highlights, breaking up the flat brown with blond streaks. I loved it. I wasn’t the only one, either, judging by Haylee’s reaction when I walked through her door to pick up Tristan.
“Wow, Juliette. Your hair looks awesome.”
“Thanks to you hooking me up with Molly. She was fantastic and probably charged only half of what a salon would’ve, to boot.”
“I’m glad it worked out. So, I’m heading down to New York on Thursday after school since I happen to have no classes this Friday. Natalie said she could still be available on Friday if you need her. But if you don’t, she planned to take a three-day weekend.”
As if I’d be the reason Natalie didn’t get a long weekend. “No, no. My schedule is flexible. And pretty empty. In fact, I have to beg Brian almost daily to send me work. Other than putting Mark’s files in the computer, I don’t have a lot happening.” I wasn’t ready to tell anyone I’d started online classes, especially since math had been brutal thus far.
* * *
The next morningI let myself into Mark’s office and started with the digital filing of his folders. It was smooth sailing now that I had everything organized, made even easier by the bar scanner I’d had them ship up from the Charlotte office.
“You have an actual scanner gun?” Mark’s voice came from the doorway.
This time I hadn’t been wearing headphones and could hear him. “Sure do. They let me borrow it from the office down in Charlotte. Makes it quicker.”
“Great. So, you got your hair fixed. It, uh, looks browner.”
An involuntary eye roll told him how I felt about his compliment. “Yeah, that’s cuz it is.”
But instead of turning red like he normally would’ve, he grinned. “Sorry, my compliments are kind of rusty. It looks nice.”
I returned his grin, trying not to read anything into his lingering gaze. “Better. Now then, why did you get weird when you realized Haylee was in my apartment the other day?”
This produced his trademark blush. I suppose part of me might feel bad, but it had been bothering me. “If you don’t want her to know we’ve become friends—at least I thought that’s what we were becoming—then I guess I get it.”
His eyes got big. “That’s not it. What kind of asshole would I be? I just—It’s that—”
I waited him out.
“I don’t want her to think anything romantic is going on. And before you get an idea my aversion to having Haylee know we hang out is about you, it isn’t. Whenever I get around any female, they all want to set me up. I realize Haylee’s intentions come from a good place, but I don’t want her getting any ideas.”
“I don’t think she has any considering when I asked what your deal was, she said you didn’t date.”
“You were asking about me?”
“Um, maybe.”
“But you’re still married.”
Now it was my turn to have my entire face heat in a rare display. “Separated, actually. Anyhow, if you need to use your office, I can come back tomorrow. Or if I’m not disturbing you, then I’ll carry on.” I couldn’t get back to scanning fast enough.
“Juliette, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. You’re not wrong. I am technically still married.”
He winced. “It wasn’t a judgment on your marital status, only a surprised reaction that you might be ready to move on. I know this entire thing can’t be easy on you. To be honest, if anything, I admire you’d be able to think about getting out there again.”
Implying, with a big neon sign, that he was not. Since I believed he was sincere, I immediately lost my irritation.
He went on. “And you’re right: we were becoming friends before I might’ve blown it twenty seconds ago. I really do apologize with the way that came out.”
“I’d be pretty hypocritical to hold regrettable blurted words against anyone. So apology accepted.”
He smiled slightly. “Any chance I could bring dinner by tonight? After all your cooking, I’d like to return the favor. Plus, no apology would be complete without an ‘I’m sorry’ pizza and brownies.”
