Page 154 of Dark Night of the Soul

For half a second, I considered walking out there wrapped only in a towel. Then I decided that wasn’t the best idea. In case he decided to entertain visitors again. So, I dressed in clean clothes. And when the ensemble was complete, I took one last look at myself, gave myself a nod of approval…

…and opened the door.

I don’t know why I was nervous about this. It wasn’t a big deal. It was just hair.

The faint chemical scent of hair color followed me as I stepped into the hall.

He sat at the table sharpening one of his knives. He looked up. Froze.

And for the first time in the history of ever, his expression was unguarded.

Not desire or want or relief.

Recognition.

Like something in him had reached backward and forward at the same time and found the same point in both.

His gaze moved over my face. My hair. The familiar lines of me that hadn’t existed for months.

He didn’t smile.

He stilled.

He remembered me this way. Before the white hair. Before the rewiring. Before the constant vigilance etched into my bones.

Before everything broke.

“Well?” I asked, impatient. “Is it bad?”

His throat worked once. “It’s you.”

That’s all he said. Like he’d known I was still in there.

Then he rose from the table and crossed the room toward me. I don’t know why, but my heart skipped a beat. I stood there, watching him, waiting, holding my breath.

He took the strands in his hand and let them fall through his fingers like black ink. Like he had to check to make sure it was me.

“I forgot,” he said.

“Me, too,” I whispered.

The way he was looking at me was doing things to me. I had to diffuse the situation.

“Good thing I didn’t pick red,” I said.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “It would’ve complicated things.”

I smiled.

His hand was still in my hair. Still touching me, like he couldn’t believe it.

Yeah. Red would’ve complicated everything.

Chapter 42 | Kincade

She stood there a moment longer, as if trying to decide what to do next.

“Okay, well,” she said, “the bathroom looks like a disaster zone, so I better clean it up.”