Page 1 of All I Feel

PROLOGUE

TESSA

“Alright.You’re all set, Janine. I’ll see you in a month.”

Janine, who’d been my client for the better part of a year now, smiled and said, “I’ll be looking forward to it. For now, I’m just excited to run to the mall to grab that handbag I was telling you about.”

My eyes rounded, and the corners of my mouth tipped up in a smile. “You better be carrying it with you when you return. I want to see it.”

“Will do,” she said with a wave of her hand as she moved toward the exit. “Have a good time tonight, Tessa.”

“Thanks, Janine.”

After saying goodbye, she left. And once she was gone, I didn’t dally like usual. Instead, I did my best to be diligent about cleaning everything up so I could leave in a reasonable amount of timeandnot come in to work on Monday morning to a disaster.

Before I knew it, I’d accomplished that task, shuteverything down, and walked through the space to the opposite side to find Lark. Walking down the hall, I found her in one of the treatment rooms, changing the linens on the table. “Hey,” I said as I stepped inside and leaned my back against the wall. “All finished?”

My best friend nodded. “Yep. I just want to finish up these last few tasks before we head out. You?”

“I just did the same. Want some help?”

Lark balled up the dirty linen, tossed it aside, and grabbed a clean one. Jerking her head toward the end of the table, she said, “Grab the other end of this for me.”

I stepped forward, grabbed the other end, and helped her make up the table. It didn’t matter to me that this wasn’t part of my job description. Lark was my best friend. We’d been inseparable for as long as I could remember. Even with a sister of my own—one I was undeniably close with—there was no question Lark Townsend felt like one as well.

Maybe that was part of the reason we’d ended up here together. There wasn’t a time I could recall when the two of us hadn’t felt like we’d been cut from the same cloth. Of course, it was possible it’d been that way since our parents were best friends. Even one of my older brothers was best friends with Lark’s older brother.

Years ago, long before we’d even graduated from high school, Lark and I had decided what our plans were for our futures. We’d both been interested in beauty, so it came as no surprise that Lark became an esthetician while I became a makeup artist and nail technician. The only natural thing to do after the two of us had gone through the training we’d needed and gotten our licenses was to open a salon together from which to operate our two separate businesses. It had been about five years since weopened, and it was safe to say our businesses were thriving.

“I’m so glad things didn’t run over today,” Lark said after we’d gotten the linen on the table. “I’ve been looking forward to tonight for a while.”

“Me, too. I know we’ve got to run home to get ready, but do you want to ride there together tonight?”

Lark blinked in surprise. “Isn’t Ryan going?”

“He is,” I assured her with a nod. “But he’s got a few things keeping him tied up at the office today, so he’s going to miss dinner. He’ll meet us at Lou’s afterward.”

It was Harper’s twenty-seventh birthday, and everybody in our friend group was getting together to celebrate my sister. I would’ve loved nothing more than for Ryan to be able to arrive along with me, but the timing was inconvenient with a case he’d been working on recently.

Ryan and I met and started dating one another at the beginning of this year. We’d been together about eight months now, and things were getting serious in a way I believed this might be the real deal.

From the start, Ryan had always been attentive and compassionate. He spoiled me often and frequently surprised me with gifts. Though I genuinely liked him for who he was and how he treated me, I could admit that I was a girl who liked nice things and had expensive taste.

Ryan seemed to enjoy gift giving, too. As a lawyer, he did well for himself, and while he took steps to be responsible with his money, he didn’t hesitate to spend freely as well. Although unexpected and unnecessary, it was appreciated.

The only downside came in instances like this. Work could be demanding for him, and recently, he’d been working long hours on a case of his. It sucked, but I couldn’tbe mad about it. When I’d spoken with him earlier, he promised to work diligently all day so that he’d be able to get to Harper’s party as soon as possible.

With the news that Ryan would be meeting me there, Lark shrugged indifferently. “Okay. So, I’ll drive. I’ll swing by your place on the way and pick you up. This way, you can leave with Ryan, and I don’t have to bum a ride off anyone when I’m ready to leave.”

“That works. Are you set to head out of here, so we can at least attempt to make it there on time?”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s unlikely, but yes. Let me just grab my things.”

I laughed. It had been an ongoing joke among our friends. No matter what the occasion, Lark and I never showed up to anything on time. Sometimes, we were just a few minutes late, and other times, it was far worse. It wasn’t intentional, and we tried our best to improve, but it never seemed to happen. In the end, we both decided that we had reasonable time management skills when it came to maintaining our schedules at work. Beyond that, it was a toss-up.

Arriving home, I went about my business of getting a shower and getting ready for a night of fun. And though I didn’t want to be too late to the festivities, I just couldn’t cut corners when it came to going out. I loved getting myself all dolled up, no matter the occasion.

And since Ryan had such a challenging week at work, I could admit I wanted to make a lasting impression when he saw me tonight. It would be the first time since things had taken a serious turn in our relationship.