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“Here?”
She rolled her eyes. “Where else? Hayes said something about a misunderstanding at the hospital. Bottom line, Shane’s been trying to reach you.”
I picked the brush back up and finished brushing my hair. I guess I should get back into real clothes. I’d already changed into my sleep shirt, even though it was just past seven. I’d been all set to drink myself into oblivion, eat ice cream, and bawl my eyes out, and those things were all best done in comfy clothes.
When I looked up again, Iris was frowning at me in the mirror.
“What?”
“You stayed with me the weekend before the gala, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you used my brush.”
“Yeah.”
“That brush.”
“Yeah…” Okay, this was getting weird.
She clapped her hand over her open mouth.
Now it was my turn to frown. “We’ve been sharing hairbrushes since we were like two years old, Iris. Clothes, too, until our tastes went in opposite directions. Don’t tell me you suddenly have a problem with it now.”
“No, not at all. It’s just that”…she shook her head…“oh my God, I can’t believe this! All this time, I thought the prediction was for me. But I think it was meant for you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Now I was really confused.
“Davina asked for a piece of my hair for the prediction about the gala. I took a piece of hair from that brush.”
The implication hit me in the face. “So…if it was my hair…then the prediction was for me!”
“And Shane is the perfect guy for you!” Iris squealed so loudly I had to cover my ears. “And he’s on his way here!”
Excitement and longing filled my chest, but I held up a hand. “Wait, wait. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t know for sure the hair was mine.”
“Well, if you hadn’t gone, then that spell would’ve hit me, and I’d be stuck with Keith. And there ain’t no way in hell he’s the man of my dreams. Eww. So yeah, I’m pretty sure it was yours.”
It did make sense, but I didn’t want to get too excited. The love spell was gone now, and maybe Shane still felt the same, but maybe not. Maybe he still liked me but not loved me, and we’d have to rebuild whatever connection we’d had.
I looked down at my nightshirt, which read A Book a Day Keeps Reality Away, and my comfy pom-pom slippers. While I’d packed them in case I wanted something low-key and comfy at his cabin, I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet him and possibly the two officers like this.
“I should probably change again.”
“Okay. They won’t be here for at least fifteen minutes if they’re coming from the hospital. I’m going to take a quick shower before they get here. Scoot.”
I went back to the guest room and let Iris have the bathroom. I threw on something decent and then contemplated whether I should put on a little makeup as well. It wasn’t like Shane hadn’t seen me without makeup. He had on the mornings I stayed over. Still, after our little misunderstanding, I wanted to put my best face forward, so to speak.
I dug in my bag for a little bit of concealer and some mascara, the two things that, when combined with coffee, turned me from zombie to presentable every morning. I was just swiping on some lip balm when the doorbell rang.
I checked the time. It had only been ten minutes. Damn. How fast were they driving? Must be nice to be able to flash your police cruiser’s lights and get everyone to move out of the way when you’re in a hurry. After giving myself a final onceover in the mirror, I ran downstairs and opened the door.
It wasn’t Shane or Officers Cooley and Hayes at the door. It was Keith, standing there with a nasty grin on his face.
“Hello, Iris. It’s been a while.”
I tried to slam the door shut, but he blocked it with his shoulders.
