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Leah’s eyes bugged. After her hair being pulled taut and trimmed, the cold slickness of water and suds washing away extra hair color, and lying uncomfortably against the ceramic curve of the washing station, Gemma set the curling iron down.
Her friend ran her fingers through Leah’s loose curls. Honey blonde was her choice for highlights against her chocolate brown hair. Happiness flowed through her. She grabbed the arm of her chair to keep herself from bouncing in her seat. She didn’t want to embarrass Gemma in her beauty salon.
Gemma rubbed her hands together. “Well? What do you think?”
Leah drew her bottom lip in between her teeth. “I love it!” She rose to her feet and embraced her friend. “What do I owe you?”
Gemma held up her hand. “This one’s on me.”
Leah blinked. “What?”
A smile danced on her friend’s lips. “This is a gift from me to my best friend. Based on our last conversation, I know you’re making some life changes. So, this is my way of saying I support you.” Gemma wagged her finger. “Don’t expect this next time. Like you, I have a business to run.”
Joy bubbled up inside Leah. She hugged her friend once more. “You’re the sister I always wanted.”
“You’re my sister no matter what. Let me know how the photo shoot goes.”
“I still can’t believe I agreed to it.” Leah rubbed her forearms, feeling the goosebumps surface.
“Have you talked to Cole about the final details?”
“He said he would call.”
Gemma clapped her hands. “I’m so excited for you!”
“Me too. A little nervous, but excited. I’ll talk to you later.” Leah grabbed her purse and strutted past the front desk to the front door. She shrieked bumping into a hard chest. Looking up, her eyes met Chase. Leah wobbled in her wedge heels as an aftereffect, so he steadied her with his firm hand.
“Sorry about that Le—whoa your hair!” His eyes blazed with obvious surprise.
Leah threaded her hand through her locks. “Thank you. Your wife is amazing at what she does. I’ll see you two later.”
Chase kissed her cheek and then snuck over to Gemma. She wrapped her arms around his neck and greeted him with a kiss. Hope fluttered inside Leah as she exited her friend’s beauty shop. When her phone buzzed in her purse, she saw Cole was calling.
“Hi Cole.”
“Hey, Leah. You’re not too busy, are you?” he asked.
Her breath caught at the sound of his deep voice saying her name. It rang in her ears like church bells. “No, I’m not busy. I was heading home from Gemma’s beauty salon.”
“Getting ready for tomorrow?”
“Something like that. I wanted something different.”
“Don’t change too much. I like you the way you are.”
Leah massaged the back of her neck. When she arrived at her car, she leaned against the door. “Thank you. I forgot you were sweet.” Did I say that? She cleared her throat. “So, what’s up?”
“I wanted to give you a final rundown of tomorrow. We shouldn’t be more than a few hours. I suggest you bring the casual and formal wear for me to photograph. The casual wear will be for the park, and the formal can be at my studio,” he explained.
“Okay.” She let out a deep breath.
“Don’t stress, Leah. It’ll be fun.”
She unlocked her door and settled into the driver’s seat. “I believe you. I’m trying to wrap my mind around it.”
“Read any good books lately?”
Her eyebrows shot up. She made a trip to the library and checked out a few of the classic books on her “to read” list.
