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“What on earth did you say to her?”
“Sorry, bro, not gonna share. She remembered me from back in high school and I made the mistake of reminding her of our last encounter.”
For a moment Leo looked confused and then his eyes went a little wide before whispering, “Why would you remind her of that? I thought she was going to strangle you and anyone who knew you back then! We all breathed a small sigh of relief when you moved just so she’d calm down.”
He shrugged. “It just sort of…slipped out.” Another shrug. “So…the lint brush?”
“Oh, right. Hang on.”
And as Leo walked away, Reid caught a glimpse of Ashlynn and the pure delight on her face. She raised her glass of champagne at him and he couldn’t help but smile back.
That’s when he realized that moving back to Sweetbriar Ridge was not only going to be good for his career, but he was sure he was going to have a great time getting reacquainted with some old friends.
And maybe getting the chance to get to know Ashlynn Jane a little better as an adult.
Chapter Three
A week later, Ashlynn found herself standing outside of Lavish Locks and frowning.
Becky had texted to let her know she had her final paycheck and a few of her belongings that she must have missed when she packed her things. It had been tempting to ask Billie or Chloe to run this errand for her, but she prided herself on not being a chicken. She could fight her own battles and, with any luck, she’d be in and out in less than five minutes.
When she stepped into the salon, something seemed off. It was virtually empty, and that was never the case on a Friday afternoon. Becky was standing behind the front desk and she looked up with a sour expression when she spotted Ashlynn.
“I got your text,” she said as she walked over. “I didn’t think I left anything behind.”
Becky bent down and picked up a box and handed it to her. “Just a cape and some of the hair color and shampoos you ordered, and a couple of catalogs and magazines. You paid for it, so it’s yours.”
She looked in the box and pulled half of it out. Everything felt dirty and sticky. “Most of this isn’t mine.” She put three bottles of hair color, two bottles of shampoo, and a bottle of conditioner on the desk. “And these catalogs are all old and outdated, so you can toss them.”
“Oh, well…whatever.” Then she opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out an envelope. “Here. Your last check.”
“Thanks.” She tucked the envelope in her purse and shifted the box to rest against her hip. “It’s quiet in here today, huh?”
“That’s no longer any of your business.”
Okay, so much for at least trying to be civil.
“Oh my God. What are you doing here? Begging for your job back?” Sandy, the booth stealing ho, said when she spotted Ashlynn.
“Just here to pick up a few things. That’s all.”
“Mm-hmm…have you applied at The Pampered Pup? I hear they’re looking for dog groomers. Maybe they’ll hire you?”
“Excuse me?” she said, taking a menacing step forward, but Sandy just stood there looking smug.
“You should go,” Sandy said firmly. “No one wants you here making any more scenes. We’ve lost business because of you. People are still talking about how awful you were that day to everyone.”
Everyone? Seriously?
“Don’t worry. I’m going,” she muttered and turned and walked right out the door. After placing the box on her back seat, she got behind the wheel and hated how much she wanted to cry.
She hadn’t found a job yet—at least, not one as a stylist. She was currently working for Jade at Books & Beans, and while the money was fine, it made her feel pathetic. Billie was convinced she could open her own salon and they were going to talk about it tonight because Patrick’s wife wanted to video chat with them about what she felt they could do.
But Ashlynn was a realist and she felt like she was wasting poor Marissa’s time. Still, she’d hear her out and then have to tell her how she couldn’t afford to do it anyway.
“Yeah, I’m like a little ray of sunshine.”
Her phone beeped with an incoming text and she sighed when she saw Billie’s name appear.
