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“Oh, more of the same, I think.” Lydia smoothed a hand over her neck and tilted her head. “Maybe more of an A-line cut versus the usual blunt bob?”
“I can do that.” Steph met Lydia’s smile in the mirror. “And the color? Any changes?”
“If you think I’m going completely silver, that’ll never happen. Just give me the usual highlights.” Lydia’s smile turned speculative. “I have a date tonight.”
“Wonderful,” Steph gushed, while inside her stomach knotted. “Do I know him? Is he local?” Did her daughters know? From all the conversations she had ever overheard, Lydia had sworn off dating. Surely the topic of Lydia going on her first date in a long time would have come up in the group chat. She’d been widowed for many years, and no man could match up to her dearly departed husband.
“You don’t know him. He’s from the next town over.” Lydia grinned like the Cheshire Cat.
“Oh, interesting.” Steph gathered the foils and color, then dropped her voice when she returned. “Is this your first date?”
“Yes,” Lydia confirmed. “But it feels like I already know him. We’ve been messaging for weeks.”
The phrase sent Steph on alert. “Messaging? You mean texting?” She mixed the color in a small plastic bowl.
Lydia’s eyes crinkled with humor. “No, dear. Messaging on a dating app. Isn’t that how it’s done these days? I hear you date a lot—isn’t that how you meet all those men?”
Steph opened her mouth, then closed it. She sectioned off Lydia’s hair and started on the first foil. “I, uh … I’ve been on some apps, but not for a while.” It had been too hard to filter through the crazies. Her last app date was two years ago, when she showed up at a restaurant, only to be met by a man twice the age he’d claimed on his profile. She hadn’t stayed long enough to ask him where he’d dug up the photo he’d posted.
That night she’d deleted the app, and hadn’t regretted it for a second. Except now … “Which app did you use?” Maybe things had cleaned up in the past couple of years, and there were more filters or something.
“Oh, it’s kind of a spunky name.” Lydia pulled out her phone from her glossy red purse. “Friends to More.You can set your profile to ‘friends only’ or ‘looking for more.’ Spiffy, huh?”
Steph had never heard of the app. She finished up one section of hair, then started on the next. “Sounds interesting.” She was pretty sure all dating apps had those features, but she didn’t want to deflate Lydia’s excitement. “What do your daughters think?”
Lydia laughed. “I’m not telling them—they’d throw a fit. If the gentleman turns out to be everything I hope he is, then I’ll let my daughters know.”
Steph laughed as well, but her gut had tightened again. There were so many scams going around, and a beautiful—and somewhat naïve and small-town—woman like Lydia Kane would be the perfect target.
Steph drew in a steadying breath. “I hope your date goes well. I’m excited to hear about it later. Where are you meeting?” She told herself she was only asking out of curiosity, but a small warning bell continued to ring in her head.
“It’s a Mexican restaurant in Wintree,” Lydia said in a breezy voice. “He said he’d send me the directions later this afternoon.”
Steph’s smile stiffened. “Do you like Mexican food?”
“For the most part,” Lydia said. “I just don’t usually eat it for dinner.” She lowered her voice. “Heartburn, you know.”
Steph nodded and said in a light tone, “I’ve heard all about heartburn from my grandpa. Say, do you have a picture of your mystery man, and does he have a name?”
“Sure do.” Lydia looked about the shop as if she expected someone else to be leaning over to listen to their conversation. Seemingly safe, she opened her photo app and showed a picture of a forty-something man in a plaid shirt, posing next to a fishing boat.
Steph’s eyes widened involuntarily. “Oh, he’s … good looking.”
“He sure is.” Lydia released a swoony sigh. “And I know what you’re thinking—he’s too young for me. But he said he’s looking for a mature woman. Not too mature, of course. Oh, and his name is Greg. Kind of catchy.” She laughed.
Steph memorized as much as she could about the man’s features. Dirty-blond hair, mustache, looked just under six feet, bit of a paunch. Maybe it was fine. Maybe he was fine. But she didn’t want to take any chances.
After Lydia’s appointment, Steph took a deep breath and texted both Brandy and Everly.Probably nothing, but your mom came into the salon today. She said she’s going on a date tonight—and apparently it’s a secret! She met the man on a dating app, so of course I’m a little suspicious. I didn’t know your mom was dating, and well … I didn’t want to betray her confidence, but I thought I should give you gals a heads-up.
Everly’s reply was immediate.I’m out of town at Austin’s parents’, so I’m kind of stuck here. Do you think I should call Mom?
Which dating app?Brandy wrote back at the same time.
Steph typed the name of the app, and within a few minutes, she and Brandy had set up a reconnaissance mission. They’d follow her mom’s car to the restaurant and wait outside. It was the least they could do, and it would hopefully ease the worry that kept gnawing at Steph.
“CAN YOU STILL SEE HER?” Brandy asked over the phone.
Steph stood inside a drugstore across the street from the Mexican restaurant Lydia had walked into about five minutes before.
