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“Incoming?”
“I could be mistaken, but I’m not. Nathan Donovan is heading our direction.”
“What the hell?” She swung her head to see Nathan devouring the distance with long, purposeful strides. Andi wasn’t wrong. Kelsey was his intended target.
He was still dressed as he had been at the office, dark-gray suit and power tie. His shirt looked as crisp as it had this morning.
She’d been planning to freshen up before calling him, but he’d caught her off guard.
He was totally devastating.
“Ladies,” he said by way of greeting when he stopped at their table. “Kelsey.”
There was something mesmerizing about his eyes. Even though the restaurant wasn’t brightly lit and nighttime had fallen, his eyes were fiery, and he was focused entirely on her. Her throat went dry. “Is there a problem, Mr. Donovan?”
“Not at all. If you’d like to scoot over, I’ll join you.”
Andi busied herself scooping the last of the hummus onto a chip.
Reluctantly, Kelsey made room for him.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” he asked as soon as he was seated.
Instead of replying, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t answer my phone calls or text messages.”
“My phone’s in my bag. Under the table.” She gripped the base of her glass. “I told you I’d call when I was done.”
“You did. And when we spoke earlier, you said you’d be an hour, hour and a half at the most.”
“And?”
“It’s been closer to two. You’re always welcome to spend as much time with your friends as you want. I was simply concerned your phone wasn’t working, so I figured I would make sure you weren’t waiting on me, wondering where I was.” With a smile that devastated, he said, “Am I intruding?”
“Of course you are.” Kelsey was annoyed.
“It’s fine,” Andi said. “I’m the friend who’s the bad influence, Andi Malloy.”
“I’ve heard of you.”
“You have?”
“The party. Where Kelsey won the paddle.”
Of course he’d remember everything she’d told him.
“Well, now that we have that out of the way…” Andi laughed. “When I’m not corrupting my friends, I own From Hair to Eternity. It’s a salon not far from here.”
“Delighted to meet you. Nathan Donovan.” They shook hands. “Your hair is your advertisement, I take it.”
“Getting it to look like this takes magical unicorn powder, a master artist, two glasses of wine and four hours.”
“I’m willing to bet my sister would be interested in that.”
“Are you kidding me? I’ve been begging Kelse to get me a referral.”
“Consider it done,” he replied. “Do you have a business card?”
Andi dug in her oversize black tote emblazoned with a vibrant sugar skull and pulled out a purple card.
“Good marketing,” he told her. “No one has cards like this.”
“I’ll give your sister her first service free.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “What happened to half-price?”
“My kingdom to have Erin Donovan at my color bar.”
“Is that what it’s called?” Nathan frowned.
“At From Hair to Eternity, we have a separate area where we do color. We have magazines and some interactive tablets where we take the customer’s image and show them various colors, highlights, lowlights, balayage. Sort of a ‘try it before you wear it’ kind of thing. And we want to keep them entertained while they process, so we have complimentary wine and mimosas.”
“I’m sure that’s a good idea.”
Kelsey was sure he had no idea whether or not it was.
“I keep trying to get my hands on Kelsey.”
He turned and looked at her. “Me too.”
“Hair, Mr. Donovan. She wants to get her hands on my hair.” But his softly spoken words had sent an illicit ripple through her.
“It’s perfect as it is,” he said.
“Copper,” Andi went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “Forget burgundy. We could add some copper. Highlights, maybe. Brighten it up.”
“Up to Kelsey.” He shrugged. “Personally, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Andi glared.
He held up his hands in mock defeat. “No one asked my opinion, though.”
The server walked over and asked if he could bring anything else.
Nathan ordered a Texas single malt, neat.
“Anything else? Maybe some sliders? Chicken wings? Happy hour ends in about twenty minutes.”
Instead of answering for them, Nathan looked at each woman in turn. “Ladies?”
