“True.” She curled another piece of hair. “But you wouldn’t make your best friend wait that long, now would you?”
She batted her eyelashes at me, and I laughed.
“I make no promises.”
“So…how are you feeling?” She set the curling iron down and picked up the hair spray. I closed my eyes and held my breath as she spritzed it over my hair.
“Nervous. Excited. Like I might throw up.” I held a hand to my stomach.
“You’re not going to throw up.” She nudged my hand aside. “That’s just the butterflies.”
She stood back, admiring her work in the mirror. “There.”
I moved my head from side to side, watching the curls as they bounced. And trying to ignore those pesky butterflies, as she called them. Because right now, they felt like they were trying to make a break for it. “Gorgeous. Thank you.”
“Wow.” She leaned her hip against the bathroom counter. “You’re actually admitting that you like how you look? This is big.”
I rolled my eyes, even though I knew she was right. “I’m working on it.”
She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m glad. You’re beautiful, and it’s time you realized that. It doesn’t hurt to have a hot guy interested either.” She winked.
“Yeah, well…I’m not sure if he’s hot or interested.”
Though, his friendship had certainly boosted my confidence. Connor was… He’d never seen me, yet he was still interested in talking to me. He always made time for me. I didn’t need to see him to know I was attracted to him.
“He’s definitely interested.” She crossed her arms over his chest. “He referred to this as a date, didn’t he?”
“He said he was taking me out. So, not technically a date. Besides, he invited me to get coffee.”
She blew out a breath, brushing some of her hair aside. “It’s a date, Olivia. He probably just picked a coffee shop so that it would be less pressure. Besides, it’s notjustany coffee shop—it’s the coolest bookstore on the planet. And your favorite.”
“True.” I leaned forward, fluffing some of my hair. I did love The Last Bookshop. It was my happy place.
“Are you listening to me?” She grabbed an eye shadow palette.
“I am. But…well, what do you think he’s expecting?” I toyed with the hem of my shirt while she dug in her makeup bag for supplies. “We haven’t talked about where he’s staying. Do you think he’s hoping to stay with me?”
“Hell yeah!” She grinned. “But no.” She sobered when she saw my panicked expression. “I’m sure he’s staying at a hotel. Didn’t you say that Igloo is putting up some of the guys?”
“For a night or two, not a week. He had some leave saved up.”
“Which means there’s time to figure it out. Why don’t you just go meet him and see what happens?” She dabbed at the eye shadow palette. “Close.”
I breathed through my nose, relaxing slightly as she gently brushed on my makeup. I trusted Alyssa to make me look good. She’d already done wonders with my hair.
“Do you think he’s expecting to have sex?” I finally asked.
“Expecting?I hope not. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s thinking about it. Aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I breathed, my heart racing.
Ever since we’d started talking on the phone, I’d thought about it. I’d even touched myself thinking of his voice, of the words he said to me. And at night—alone in my bed—I’d often wondered if he was doing the same.
“But—I mean, this is crazy, right? Meeting someone from the internet. Inviting him into my home.”
“First of all, you don’t have to invite him to your house. And you shouldn’t unless you feel safe with him.”
I heard the click of the palette closing, and I opened one eye to watch her. She picked up a different palette and brush, her tongue sticking out from between her teeth. I closed my eyes again as she resumed her application.
