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Seeing the enthusiasm and excitement in her, I made a decision. I was going to need someone like her for my secret assignment.
“Hey, can you help me with something after we’re done with your hair?”
Raising her eyebrows, Cyn shrugged. “Sure. I work from home and I’m ahead of what I’m doing. Plus, Wick’s at school, so I’ve got some time to kill. What do you need?”
“You. Just you.”
CHAPTER 13
Jacinda
I was nervous. I desperately wanted to give this woman the boost she needed. What we were planning to do was for her, so there wouldn’t be any cameras. Sure, there were people who could benefit from showing what we did, but I’d find a way to show them that at a later date.
Standing behind Reid as he knocked on the door, I prayed for a good outcome.
The woman who opened the door was striking. That’s the only word I could think of to describe her.
“Holy shit,” Cyn and Rockie muttered behind me, sounding as stunned as I was.
“Reid, hi,” she breathed, blushing prettily.
I couldn’t blame her. The youngest Klein in his uniform was hot as hell, and if I weren’t as in love with his brother as I was, I’d have been reacting the same way she had.
“Hey, Ryanne. I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted you to meet some friends of mine.”
Her eyes moved to where we were standing, and I noticed she had a chunk of her long blonde hair over her face, obviously covering the scar Reid had mentioned earlier.
“Hey, honey!” I greeted, waving like a dork. “I’m Jacinda, and this is Cynthia—or Cyn—and Rockie.”
I don’t know what my friends did, but her eyes widened, but she did her best to smile through her surprise.
“D-do you want to come in?”
“Yeah, babe,” Reid said smoothly, putting his hand on the base of her spine when she slowly pivoted, like he expected her legs to give out.
That’s when I noticed her limp.
Rockie was the last one through the door, and the second he shut it, he put his hands on his hips and frowned at Reid.
“Why didn’t you tell us she looked like a real life Rapunzel?” He wasn’t wrong.
“He’s not wrong,” Cyn added, echoing what I was thinking out loud. “Doll, you’re fucking gorgeous.” Realizing she’d sworn, she covered her mouth and mumbled, “S’cuse the potty mouth. I don’t get to swear that often around my kid, and sometimes it just slips out.”
Ryanne tilted her head to the side. “You’re British?”
Dropping her hand, Cyn winked. “What gave it away?”
Snorting, Ryanne gestured toward the couches. “Do y’all want to sit down? I’m sorry I don’t have anything out for you to drink. I wasn’t expecting—” she stopped and looked up at Reid. “Coffee? I can make coffee. And I bought some tea the other day.” Dropping her head and leaning slightly to the side so she could see around him, she said to Cyn, “That’s a British thing, isn’t it?”
The words were coming out of her so quickly, I was worried about what her blood pressure was doing.
“Babe, they’re here to meet you. No one gives a shit about you not having stuff out for us. If we want a drink, we’ll say, okay?”
The way Reid spoke to her took my breath away. His tone was gentle and instantly affected her, calming her down and taking away her anxiety. She had his complete focus and attention the whole time, too.
I would kill to have that. On that thought, it hit me I did have that. And Canon looked at me exactly the same way Reid was looking at Ryanne.
Oh. My. Shit.
“Do you want me to make it?” Cynthia offered. “I kind of miss having lots of people to make drinks for. Before I moved here, I lived with my grandma, sister, and brother. Now it’s just me who has the hot beverages.”
I could tell Ryanne was still overwhelmed and figured it might have something to do with us crowding her, so I smiled gratefully at Cyn and grabbed Rockie’s hand and dragged him over to a couch.
“I don’t know if Reid’s mentioned me, but I’m Canon’s girlfriend. I own the salon in town, Delicious Divas, with my best friends. Rockie’s the best drag queen and makeup artist in Texas—”
“In the world, thank you very much,” he scoffed, glaring at me afterward.
“That’s—” she gave us a small smile, “that’s awesome. I kind of remember Canon from high school.”
Leaning in, I winked and whispered, “I bet he’s even hotter now. Do you remember Jarrod?” At her nod, I grinned. “I’ll leave you a list of the erotica books he’s narrated. Wait until you hear his voice saying the dirty words.”
“It’s filthy,” Rockie added, sighing happily. “I do love it when his voice reads the filthy scenes.”
“I’m sitting right fucking here,” Reid clipped. “I don’t need to know about that shit. Jesus!”
