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A weird prickling sensation shoots down my spine. I turn toward the vanity without watching my hands and swipe Lily’s cheek with purple eyeshadow.
“Hey!” She laughs.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
Rowan stands beside the front desk. His weighted stare in the mirror has my skin heating and my eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets. A flush spreads across my cheeks, and I turn away from the makeup station to hide my reaction.
“Ohh, you’re getting red. Mommy does that with Daddy.” Lily’s eyes light up.
“Hmm.”What is he doing here? Am I going to be fired?
Lily catches me staring at Rowan’s reflection in the mirror. “Do you like him?”
“Shh! No!” I wipe the makeup off her cheek.
“Is it a secret?” she whispers.
“Yes!” I’ll say anything to get her to shut up.
I take another peek over my shoulder. The asshole-in-Armani’s eyes remain focused on me, adding to my anxiety with nothing but a scowl.
Henry walks up to my vanity under the guise of offering Lily a juice box. “So, care to share why Mr. Kane is asking about you?”
“Because I might have made him angry earlier?”
Henry’s eyes crinkle with concern. “I wanted to come over and warn you that he’s asking Regina all kinds of questions about you.”
I hope Regina keeps her personal dislike toward me to herself. While she would love nothing more than to complain about me, my performance speaks for itself. My client tips are nearly double everyone else’s, which only fuels her personal vendetta against me. I don’t understand her problem. Her daughter is the one who had an affair with my nowveryex-boyfriend while we were still dating. I’m nothing close to a threat because I wouldn’t touch Lance with a hazmat suit, let alone get back with him.
I straighten my spine. Thinking about Lance and Tammy only dampens my mood. It puts me back in that bad mental place, and I refuse to reduce myself to being that girl who thought she would marry her college sweetheart. That future crashed and burned after finding out about Lance’s double life with Tammy.
Let it go. Show them that they didn’t break you, no matter how close you got.
“Is he your prince?” Lily grins.
I snap back into the conversation.
Henry shimmies his shoulders. “We’ll have to wait and see if he carries her off to his kingdom.”
The only kingdom that man resides in is hell and I’m not interested in visiting. He’s a devil in a designer suit with a personality to match.
“Good luck! You’re going to need it.” Henry leaves after patting me on the head like a child.
Every time I look in the mirror, Rowan’s emotionless, brown eyes meet mine. I shiver under his stare despite the warm lights of the vanity.
During the entire makeover, I somehow keep a straight face despite my heart pounding against my rib cage. I throw all my energy into ignoring my new boss while making Lily the prettiest princess in the whole park.
As I get closer to the reveal, I turn her chair toward the center of the room and away from the mirror. I finish up the final touches before making a show of swiveling her chair back in front of the mirror for the big reveal. Her eyes water as she checks out her reflection.
“You look beautiful.” I bend over and give her a small hug.
“Thank you.” She frowns at her chair.
My heart squeezes in my chest, making me wish I could do more for kids like Lily. They always seem to be overlooked.
I wrap my arm around Lily’s shoulder and smile into the mirror. “You’re one pretty lady. I bet someone is going to mistake you for the real Princess Cara the moment you leave here.”
