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Roger pulled up a seat across from her and said, “I’m free. My name is Roger by the way. And you are?”
“Vickie, Gia’s best friend. Sorry about the Mr. Handsome. The way she described you, when you two first met, well that helped me come up with that nickname. By the way, I knew she had called it right when I saw you from the window.”
The look in his eyes said he was enjoying this way too much. How she looked right now was no longer her greatest concern. How much would Vickie embarrass her in the next thirty minutes?
“Roger, I can meet you someplace when I’m finished here,” Gia offered, really hoping to put some distance between those two.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” he challenged.
Duh.“Not at all. I was just thinking that”—Think Gia—“the smell of these chemicals might give you a headache.” That was so freaking lame. There was nothing she could do other than ask him to leave, which would be extremely rude. So she had to suck it up and hope she could steer the conversation away from her.
“I’m sure it’s safe, otherwise your friend wouldn’t have put it on your head.”
I don’t know. I think she’s trying to kill me by embarrassment.No one but Vickie knew so much about her. That also meant Vickie knew Gia didn’t like her private life shared. Internally she crossed her fingers and tried having faith in her so-called best friend.
Vickie began chattering about Maplesville and how boring it was there. “And that’s why I’m in Boston today. Well that and to work my magic on Gia.” She shot Gia a brilliant smile then turned her attention back to poor Roger, who seemed cornered. “Which brings me to a very important question. Any single friends or brothers?” Vickie asked.
Roger shook his head. “Sorry, no.”
“Figures. Gia had promised me pizza and beer after this. Guess I’ll have to do that solo.”
“You could always join us,” Roger offered.
No she can’t.Put a beer or two in Vickie and those lips would start flapping, then Gia was doomed for sure. Not only would Roger have a different opinion of her, he probably would call Brice and that once-in-a-lifetime job would be gone for good. Thankfully, Vickie didn’t like being a third wheel. Not that lunch was going to be a date.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure how I’d meet anyone with you there. You’re handsome and everything, but you look intimidating. The last thing I need is someone scaring a guy off before I even get a chance to open my mouth.”
Gia snorted, and Vickie gave her a warning look. “Vickie, I think that was the buzzer.”
Vickie checked one of the foils. “Oh, this is going to look so good. Come to the sink and let me wash it out. Roger, no peeking until it’s done.”
“Vickie this isn’t a—”
“Hush. I worked hard on this and want to see his face when he sees it for the first time.”
Gia groaned, but there wasn’t anything she could say. She had to get this out of her hair now or risk it being damaged. She followed Vickie into the other room. Once the door was shut she whispered, “Remind me to kill you later.”
“You should be thanking me. If it wasn’t for me, he might have left.”
“And that would’ve been a bad thing?” Gia asked as Vickie washed out the bleach.
“From where I was standing, yes. He obviously is into you, just in case you didn’t figure that out when he kissed you last night.”
Even though the water was running, Gia didn’t want Roger overhearing them. “Vickie, let’s talk about this later.”
“You mean after your date?”
The only way she was going to get Vickie to stop was to agree. “Yes. Is the bleach all out?”
“It is. Let’s get you blow-dried.”
Gia had a lot of hair so it took another ten minutes. But when Vickie was done, Gia was impressed with how natural it looked. My old self. Even though she loved it, it would take some time to get used to again. Time wasn’t something she had.
Roger was sitting alone in her living room looking at God knows what. She didn’t have anything inappropriate lying around. Those items were tucked away in her nightstand drawer. Hopefully, Roger was sitting on the couch, twiddling his thumbs. She knew she had taken one of those stupid “Are you compatible with your mate” tests in a magazine. Normally she left that sort of thing blank, but out of boredom and curiosity she’d filled it in. Roger may have been on her mind at the time. She had meant to toss it in the trash—mostly because she didn’t like the answer. What the hell did some yes or no test prove? Nothing.
“If you want, I’ll entertain Mr. Handsome for you while you put on some makeup.”
She wasn’t leaving those two alone for a second. Vickie would pump him for information or, worse, spill things about Gia she didn’t need him to know. Things like how she had been the dorky nerd in school and the only reason she came out of her shell was having a friend like Vickie. Their differences complemented each other. She kept Vickie out of trouble, and Vickie showed her how to loosen up and have some fun. I just don’t need her planning the fun for me. Not with Roger at least. Things were going fine all on their own. They didn’t need nudging from a busybody.
