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“Smart ass.”
“That’s soon-to-be tight ass to you, thank you very much.”
“Too bad. I like the ass you have now, it is very grabbable.” At her shocked look, I wiggled my eyebrows and she laughed.
“Thank you. I think.” Her puzzled expression was so damned adorable that I leaned in and kissed her and I only meant for it to be a quick peck on the lips, just enough to remind her of just how hot things could be between us, but then her tongue touched mine and things spun a little out of control.
Her tongue danced with mine, her taste intoxicating and slightly salty. Her lips plump and pliable under mine until I was so hard I ached to have more of her. My fingers tangled in her hair that now fell around her shoulders, holding her right where I wanted her.
Shannon gasped and pulled back, breathless and wide-eyed as she slowly backed away. “Wow.” That was all she said before she practically jumped from the car and jogged up to her place, not looking back once.
I didn’t need to her because I knew she was wearing the same goofy smile I was, because that was one hell of a kiss. And because I knew if I played my cards right, this would all end up with Shannon right where I wanted her, in my bed. Again.
Shannon
“Oh, Darlin, I just love getting’ my hands on this beautiful hair of yours.” Brenna Tomlinson was the owner and head stylist at the only beauty salon in Pilgrim and she was a spitfire with bleach blond hair and the thickest Texas accent I ever heard. “You sure this color isn’t professionally done?”
I laughed and shook my head, staring up at her through the mirror at her station. “I’m certain, Brenna. If I dyed my hair, I’d go blond. I hear they have more fun.”
Brenna’s blue gaze narrowed and then widened before a loud laugh spilled out of her. “I see what you did there, Shannon. Funny girl.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Brenna’s strong fingers sifting through my hair felt so wonderful, I groaned in pleasure.
“I’ll charge you for a head massage, no problem, but I assume you came in here for more than that?”
Oh right. Of course. “Yeah, sorry. I need a trim and I was thinking highlights and lowlights. What do you think?”
“I think you need a trim and a deep conditioning only, but I’ll give you what you asked for, if you tell me what, or who put that hangdog expression on your pretty face.” Brenna couldn’t be more than a year or two older than me, but she seemed much wiser and more maternal.
I didn’t really have anyone to talk to about these kinds of things and hairstylists were a lot like bartenders in that way, weren’t they? “Have you ever given someone a second chance?”
“Second chances?” She threw her head back and laughed, long and loud and so hard her shoulders shook. “Oh honey, that is my absolute specialty. I’m a sucker for a good apology, apparently, and especially when it’s coming from a ruggedly handsome face.”
“Really?” Her answer gave me hope. At first.
“Oh yeah. It started with my high school boyfriend, Jimmy Earl who got a second chance after cheating on me with the homecoming queen and taking her to prom instead of me. Took the fool back and he did it again. I forgave my ex-husband for emptying our bank account on a failed business venture, took him back and the next time he told me he took the money, but only after it was already gone. I am a forgiveness queen, honey. But so far, it hasn’t worked out. For me, anyway.”
“Do you still believe in them anyway?”
She scoffed and shook her head while she worked on my hair. “Hell no. Well, not without some kind of grand reckoning to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Mostly it’s just my hopeful heart trying to convince me that he’ll change for me, because I’m worth changing for. Still waitin’.”
“Thanks,” I told her absently, her words confirmed what I already knew. Miles and I had a chance of becoming friends and nothing else. “You are worth it, by the way. Totally worth it.”
“If only you were a six-foot-three cowboy with dimples and tight jeans, I’d be in heaven now. But thank you for saying so, honey.”
So, yeah, I guess my outing with Miles tonight would be strictly platonic and I put myself in that mindset, or I tried to while Brenna was off reluctantly mixing up the highlight and lowlight chemicals. But she returned and all of a sudden, my stomach rebelled like it was my twenty-first shot on my twenty-first birthday. First came the lurch and then the flip, and finally moisture flooded my mouth. I clapped both hands over my mouth and slammed my eyes shut, hoping and praying that the instant nausea would pass.
