Page 22 of Her Defiant Warrior

“See, she agrees.” Jase gifted Shannon with a toothpaste commercial worthy smile.

“How about I start cutting your hair and you try to convince me, hmm?” Bonnie asked Jase’s reflection in the mirror.

“Seems fair.”

“Now, what do you want me to do with your hair?”

“It tends to curl when it gets too long. If you could chop enough off so it doesn’t curl for the next five weeks, I’d be a happy man.”

Bonnie ran her fingers through his hair, just like she did with all her clients with short hair, trying to get an idea of the texture, thickness and where the part was. But as she again speared her fingers through his strands of hair, she felt her heart speed up as she enjoyed the coarse texture of his hair and the way the waves melted through her fingertips.

“Well?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s the diagnosis? Will I live?”

Bonnie looked at Jase in the mirror and she could see herself blushing.

Dammit.

“I think you’ll survive.” Her smile was forced. “You really only need about an inch off the sides and back, and maybe a half inch off the top.”

“But Doc, what about in the front? It’s important that I can see. If I run into something that requires a second or third look, I’d hate for my vision to be impaired.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Does this kind of drivel work with women?”

Jase winked at her. “Ninety-five percent of the time. Are you telling me you’re the five percent it doesn’t work with?”

“Yep.”

“Well, that just means I’m going to have to up my game. What’s more, I have Farah rooting for me, so I can always ask her for advice.”

“A thirty-seven-year-old man has to go ask his sister-in-law for advice on how to get a woman to go out to dinner with him? What has the world come to?” she teased.

“I caught that, you know?” he said, lifting his left eyebrow.

“Caught what?”

“You know how old I am. You must have asked a couple of questions about me. What else did you ask?”

Bonnie closed her eyes for a moment, knowing she had been caught and needing strength.

“I might have asked how many girlfriends you’ve brought to these family and friends’ barbecues. She said that the only one you ever brought was your fiancée, and you broke up four or five years ago.”

“Why’d you ask that question? Were you interested if I belonged to the babe of the month club?”

“Something like that,” Bonnie ruefully admitted. Bonnie blew her bangs up out of her face, then looked him dead in the eye. “And if I were totally truthful, I really appreciated your help that afternoon when you got the steamer. I was so frazzled all I could think of was getting a carpet cleaner in as soon as possible. You were a lifesaver.”

“I saw the way you were handling things. You would have figured it out,” he assured her.

“I’m not sure, and I would have hated for Maryanne to have a stinky bedroom overnight.” She placed her hand on his broad shoulder. “Okay, time to get up and go to the shampoo station.”

Jase frowned. “I had a shower before I came. I washed my hair then.”

“This is all part of the service. Also, I have to cut your hair when it’s wet.”

“Damn, this sure isn’t like when I go to the place next to the liquor store.”