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Jackie indicated me. “Beth’s aura is too blue.”
The man seemed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He firmly smiled, taking Sunny by the shoulders and easing her toward the tall chair set before the mirror. “I’m certain you won’t be seeing her again after today. You know how it is. These agencies send anyone who’s available, and there’s so many stylists, it’s hardly the same person twice.”
Should I have interrupted to tell him I wasn’t from an agency? That my best friend’s husband got me this gig because he’s a saint and somehow blessed to be friends with Rhett?
Sunny gave the man an irritated look before stepping around him and coming toward me, her hands outstretched. I didn’t know what to do, so I held my breath and let her take my hands. Maybe if I didn’t breathe, my aura would fade. Was that a thing? I needed to learn more about this.
Sunny closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, releasing the breath like she was prepping for yoga—she definitely looked the part—and then inhaled again. My lungs burned from holding my breath so long, and I slowly inhaled, trying not to disturb whatever was going on.
Though, honestly, if I kept holding my breath, my skin would undoubtedly turn bluer. I needed a plan B.
I glanced at Jackie, and she shot me a look that implied,This was the religion I was telling you about.I could see why she liked it, though. Sunny was so Zen. There was no way she could be a diva. I’d always liked her, even if I was jealous of her on-screen romance with Rhett in the movie they starred in together. I hadn’t actually seen it yet—no commoner had—but the posters told me there would be plenty of kissing. But this oneness with the universe? This only made me like her more.
Sunny blinked her eyes open, holding my gaze. She spoke quietly. “You have a kind and gentle soul.”
I didn’t know whether she was telling me this or reassuring herself. My initial reaction was to thank her, but I held my tongue.
“What turmoil is upsetting your balance?” she continued.
My balance felt perfectly fine. Yes, I’d kicked off my heels today and donned wedges instead, but I’d needed that extra stability because of a sleepless night, not my unbalanced chakra. I didn’t know enough about how all of that worked to give a legitimate answer anyway. And I was only 40 percent positive that I’d thought of the termchakracorrectly.
Sunny nodded. “I expected this.”
Expected what? Silence? I cleared my throat. “I promise my unbalanced aura will not affect your hair or makeup.”
She smiled then, and her eyes sparkled. This must be that “it factor” I’d heard of before, because the effect was stunning. “That doesn’t worry me.”
She didn’t say anything more but took a seat and pulled out her phone. After a brief consultation about the look she was going for—mostly natural, no surprise there—and the products she was comfortable with me using, I got to work.
The man in the thick glasses and understated suit had yet to introduce himself, and he motioned to Jackie to follow him into the hall. When the door shut behind them, I turned my attention to filling in Sunny’s eyebrows. “Who was that?”
“Donovan? He’s my publicist.”
No wonder he looked like he cared a lot about appearances.
“His aura isn’t healthy either. But don’t tell him I said so.” Sunny winked.
It was hard to keep my fingers steady with the concealer when she was winking at me. I wouldn’t peg myself as the type to get starstruck, but I really liked Sunny. I wanted to laugh and flip my hair and ask if she’d read the latestTeen Beat. Wait, did teens even read magazines anymore? I guess they didn’t need to with all the social media pumping news these days.
“I would love to be your friend,” I said, dipping my sponge into an orange-based corrective cream to help with the shadows under her eyes.
“That sounds lovely,” Sunny said, with all the seriousness of the bodyguard standing in the corner of the room.
Of course she would think so. She was the kindest human alive.
Once her face was completed and her curls smoothed and tamed, I set to enhancing them.
“Not too big,” Sunny said, leaning closer to the mirror. “I make Rhett’s face look puny when my hair gets too full.”
“Can anything really make that man look puny?” I thought of him standing close to me in the elevator and how I had to crane my neck back to see his face. And remember, I was no shorty.
Sunny laughed, and the sound was like magic to my heightened nerves. Maybe I needed to call Charlie and let her know that someone else was in the running for spot number one on my friend list. Sunny was more than cool. She was kind. Besides, Charlie was more sister than friend anyway. If you didn’t count the ladies I worked beside and the ever-revolving people in my stylist chair, my list of friends was pretty bleak. It wasn’t my fault, though. No one was really meant to stick around forever.
A brisk knock snapped me to attention, and I stepped back from my masterpiece. Sunny Nash looked incredible. Her natural beauty shone easily, despite her oversized tee and leggings. I’d darkened the arch on her brows and made her high cheekbones glow, and I was satisfied. I’d done my job.
Was no one going to answer the door?
She stood, setting her phone on the counter and turning her head side to side to look at her makeup. Her face was so still, it could have been carved from the marble that made up the Ritz’s fancy lobby, and my heart thudded heavily in my chest. The quiet was lasting too long. I wasn’t sure this was a good thing. “Sunny—”
