Chapter 2
Kim
TAKING A BITE from the peach in my hand, I lean against the front counter at the salon and flip through the latest issue of Cosmo, not really seeing the words on the pages. My mind is on the appointment I went to yesterday. I didn’t know what to expect when I met with Dr. Jayne, but I didn’t expect to leave her office feeling as hopeful as I did.
During my appointment, she told me about numerous patients of hers who have had amazing results using the tools she’s given them. She also told me that as long as I follow her diet plan and start taking the new meds she prescribed, I should see the same outcome. She explained that I won’t be better but I should feel better, which to me is the most important thing right now. There is nothing worse than feeling like you have the flu everyday and knowing there is no store-bought remedy or any amount of rest to fix it.
Hearing the bell on the door ding, I come out of my head and watch Ellie as she walks in with a smile on her face.
“Hey, honey,” she says, holding the door open for Hope, who spots me and runs over, her pigtails bouncing and a huge smile on her adorable face.
“Kimmyyy!” she shouts, holding a black backpack out toward me. “Look what Uncle Sage got me. Isn’t it so cool?” she asks, and I look at the bag and notice the words “Detective Kit” scrolled across the front in large yellow writing.
“Wow, that is cool,” I agree, getting down on my haunches in front of her and dropping my voice. “Who are you going to spy on?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s top secret.” She sighs like she’s disappointed that she can’t tell me, and I fight back a smile.
“Well, if you need any help, Detective, let me know.” I touch the top of her head then stand to my full height and raise a brow at Ellie. “I thought you were off today?”
“I was, but Selma called and asked if I could come in and do her and Sejla’s hair for some big party they have to attend tonight,” she explains before she drops her eyes to Hope who is now sitting at my feet, going through all the gadgets and gizmos in her bag.
“Don’t pull that all out, honey. Daddy will be here in just a little while to pick you up, and you don’t want to lose anything.”
“Okay,” Hope agrees, shoving everything she has taken out back in and looking up at me. “Can you paint my nails?”
“Of course I can. Go pick out your color,” I tell her, and her eyes get big with excitement right before she stands and skips off to the back of the shop, with her new backpack bouncing behind her on her back.
“You spoil her,” Ellie mumbles, and I shrug, making her roll her eyes. “Is Frankie in?”
“He’s in his office doing a stock order.”
“Cool, I’m going to get my stuff set up. You okay out here?”
“You know I am.” I give her smile then turn when the bell on the door dings again. The smile on my face slides away as Sage steps inside, looking as beautiful as ever wearing a pair of dark jeans and a long-sleeved dark gray cotton shirt that is molded perfectly to his frame. “Can I help you?”
“We need to talk,” he says, taking a step toward the counter I’m still standing behind. Feeling my muscles get tight when he starts to get close, I see his eyes change, and he stops moving as his jaw clenches.
“I know you know I lied and—”
“I don’t give a shit about that,” he cuts me off, taking another step toward me. “I deserved that after the things I said.” He didn’t deserve for me to lie to him. I should have just had a backbone and been honest. “We need to talk,” he repeats.
“We don’t have anything to talk about.”
“You know that’s not true,” he says quietly, and it’s at that quiet tone I start to get annoyed. I don’t need this right now. I might not need it ever, but I definitely don’t need it right now.
“Okay then, I don’t want to talk to you,” I state, and he opens his mouth to speak, only to close it as Hope yells “Uncle Sage!” while running through the salon at full speed right toward him. Smiling at her, he leans down and scoops her up into his arms.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
“I came to ask Kim to have dinner with me,” he tells her, and my eyes narrow on him right before I put a fake smile on my face for Hope, who swings her head around to look at me.
“You’re going out with Uncle Sage?” she breathes with wide eyes that I can see are filled with visions of a fairy tale in the making.
“No, sweetie. I’m not.”
“Oh.” She frowns, looking at Sage, who is looking at me with a somewhat amused, somewhat annoyed expression on his face. Oh well, he’ll have to get over it. Just because I no longer have a fake boyfriend doesn’t mean I want to go out with him.
“Yet,” Sage rumbles, staring at me.
“Yet?” Hope repeats, tipping her head to the side and studying him.
“She’s not going out with me yet,” he says, pulling his eyes from me to look at her.
“You have to do something heewowick to win her, don’t you?” Hope asks, and I press my lips together to keep from laughing, because I know she means heroic, but the way she says it is way too cute.
“Something like that.” He gives her a squeeze before he sets her feet to the floor. The second she’s down, she comes over to me.
“Can we paint my nails now?”
“Absolutely. What color did you pick?” I ask, ignoring the fact Sage has now moved closer, causing his scent to fill my lungs.
“This one.” She opens the palm of her hand, showing me the color, which is pink, of course.
“Good choice. Go get in the chair, sweetie. I’ll be there in just a second,” I say gently, touching the top of her head, and she nods at me then turns to face her uncle.
“You should bring her flowers. Mama always says yes when Daddy brings her flowers.” And with that bit of advice delivered, she takes off, leaving me alone with Sage once again.
“Would that do it?”
“What?” I pull my eyes from Hope’s back to look at him at his question.
“If I brought you flowers, would that make you change your mind?”
“No.”
“So what would change your mind about having dinner with me?”
“A million dollars,” I snap, and he stares at me for a long time before his lips tip up and he turns for the door.
“All right,” he says, right before he pulls it open and steps out, letting the door close behind him.
“Shit.” My eyes close and panic fills my stomach, because I know without a doubt I somehow just threw down the gauntlet. With a shake of my head, I move to the back of the salon, put a smile on my face, and paint my favorite girl’s nails.
Standing at the front counter after saying bye to Hope and Ellie’s husband Jax an hour later, I watch Chris come to the front window and put his forehead to the glass, making a funny face. Laughing, I move to the front door and open it then squeak when he picks me up and swings me around.
“Put me down, you idiot.” I smile down at him, hitting his shoulder.
“If I must.” He drops me to my feet and follows me into the salon. “Are you off soon?”
“No. Well, kind of, but not really. I have a client who should be here any minute, and then I need to get to the grocery store. And after that, I’m going over to watch the kids for Elizabeth.”
“All right, I’ll hang with you here then we can go to the store together. I need to get some stuff for my place anyway, so that will give us a little time to chat.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agree, right before I turn to watch my client walk in. “Hi, Mrs. Ethel.” I smile at her as she picks up her tiny dog and puts him in the bag she’s carrying.
“Kim.” She doesn’t smile, but that doesn’t surprise me. Mrs. Ethel never smiles. Ever. The only time I’ve ever seen what could be described as happiness on her face was when she told me that her son was getting a divorce from the ‘floozy’ he married.
“Are you ready?”
“Would I be here if I wasn’t?” she asks, and I press my lips together as Chris turns and heads for the back of the shop, with his shoulders shaking in silent laughter as he goes.
“I guess not.” I smile, taking the bag holding her dog. Knowing the drill, I carry him over to my station, set him next to it, open the side pocket, pull out the small collapsible bowl there, go to the sink, and fill it with water. Then I take it back, setting it inside his bag, while Mrs. Ethel removes the scarf around her neck along with her ever-present pearls. Once she’s seated, I drape a cape around her then turn her to face the mirror. “Are we doing the usual?” I ask, and she rolls her eyes.
Taking that as a yes, I spend the next two hours trimming her hair, coloring it an off shade of grayish purple, and then teasing and hair spraying the crap out of it. By the time I’m done, she looks the same as she always does, just a little more refreshed.
After paying, she hands me a three-dollar tip, takes her dog out of the bag, and leaves without so much as a thank you. Cleaning up my station so I can leave, I listen with one ear as Chris recounts his run-in with Sage to Ellie, Selma, and Sejla, who ooh and aah over his story. You would think by the way he describes it that it was the most amazing night of his life and that he didn’t get punched in the face.
I don’t care that he’s telling them about what happened, since Ellie knew from the beginning that Chris and I have never been anything more than friends. And Selma and Sejla are cool, but I don’t know them enough to feel embarrassed that they know I lied about Chris being my boyfriend.
“So what now?” Selma asks, and I hear a pause in the conversation and turn to find all eyes on me.
“What?”
“What now? What are you going to do now that he knows the truth?” Selma clarifies.
“Nothing,” I say, and Sejla frowns.
“Nothing?” she repeats, studying me with a disbelieving and disappointed look in her eyes.
“You need to at least give him a chance!” Selma cries, spinning around in the chair to face me, dislodging Ellie’s hands from her hair.
“I agree. You need to at least hear him out,” Sejla says, and I know she and her sister mean well, but it’s so easy for them to say I need to just give him a chance, because their hearts aren’t on the line here. Mine is.
Seeing both Selma and Sejla waiting for my response, I mutter, “I’ll talk to him.”
“Good,” they say in unison, and I smile at the happy and relieved looks on their faces. Pulling my eyes from them, I look at Chris.
“Are you ready?”
“Yep.” He stands from the chair that he has been sitting in then goes about giving the girls air kisses and farewells. Saying goodbye to everyone, we leave the salon, and I head to my car while Chris goes to his, telling me he will meet me at the store.
“So how was work?” Chris asks as we grab a cart and walk into the grocery store fifteen minutes later.
“Good.”
“Anything happen?” he continues, and I look at him and narrow my eyes.
“Why?”
“Just wondering. Ellie said that Sage stopped by the salon today.”
“He did.”
“And?”
“And nothing. He came by the salon, asked if we could talk, my answer was no, and he left.”
“What?” His eyes grow with surprise. “He didn’t demand you change your mind or toss you over his shoulder and speed away with you in his truck to hide you in a secluded cabin, where he could convince you of the mistake you’re making by not taking a chance on him?” he asks, and I stare at him, blinking.
“I think you’ve been reading too many romance novels.”
“You can never read too many romance novels,” he scoffs, making me smile. Chris is the only guy I’ve ever met who is more obsessed with romance books than I am. “So what exactly happened? Tell me everything.”
“Nothing happened. Like I said, he came in, told me we needed to talk, I said no we didn’t, and he left.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. I’ve known you since we were five. I know your tell.”
“My tell?”
“Yeah, when you lie, your nose twitches.”
“My nose does not twitch,” I say, touching my fingers to my nose.
“It does.” He smiles, pulling my hand away from my face.
“Whatever,” I mutter, picking up a bag of oranges and dropping them in the cart.
“So when are you going to talk to him?”
“Never.”
“He apologized. Don’t you think you should do the polite thing and at least hear him out?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, or you’re just too scared to find out what will happen if you do?”
“Do we have to do this right now?” I sigh, and he tosses his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side.
“We’ve been doing this for months now. I’ve seen the way you look at him when you think no one will notice, and I see the way he looks at you, not giving a fuck if everyone sees. Even when he thought you and I were a thing, he still made it perfectly clear to those who were watching that if by some chance he got a shot, you would be his.”
“I really think you are reading way too much into this.”
“Am I?”
I want to say yes, but that would be a lie. Every time I’ve seen Sage out, it’s taken everything in me to keep my feet from moving in his direction, and when I’m not carefully watching him, I can feel his eyes on me like a physical touch.
“We don’t have time to talk about this.” I decide to say. “We need to finish shopping, and I have to get to the house. Elizabeth is meeting Jelikai in Nashville for dinner, and you know she can’t leave the boys alone for more then ten minutes without someone ending up in the hospital, so I can’t be late.”
“Fine,” he grumbles, but I know Chris. He may have given up for now, but he has not given up forever, and he won’t until he gets his way, and I admit there is still something between Sage and me. “Just so you know, I’m reserving the right to tell you ‘I told you so’ when this is all said and done.”
“Fine.” I roll my eyes at him then grab the shopping cart from his grasp and finish up my grocery shopping.
“Elizabeth, I’m here!” I shout into the house as I toss my bag on the table near the front door. Hearing no reply over the boys yelling and the sounds of a video game being played, I head up the stairs. Stopping at the door of the theater room, I watch Jimmy, the oldest at fourteen, as he tosses Aiden, who is three, onto the couch, making him laugh, while the other two, Mickey who’s six and Hayden who’s nine, sit on the floor with headphones on and controllers in their hands.
“Hey, guys!” I shout over the sound of the TV, and all four heads swing toward me.
“Kim.” Aiden smiles, running toward me, while the other boys grin and wave before going back to what they were doing.
“Hey, dude.” I pick him up, and he wraps his tiny arms around my neck before dropping his head to my shoulder, making something deep inside me wish for a moment just like this with my own baby one day. “Did you eat dinner yet?”
“No.” He leans back to look at me. “Can we have pizza?”
“Sure,” I agree, and he looks to where Jimmy is now sitting with Mickey and Hayden, who are still playing a video game.
“We get to have pizza!” he shouts. At that announcement, the boys all smile at me. Elizabeth is a health freak, so the kids love when I come over, because they know they will get some form of junk food before the night is over.
“Where’s your mom?” I ask, carrying Aiden away from the fighting that has suddenly erupted over the controllers for the video game.
“In her room, getting ready,” he says, so I head down the hall toward the master bedroom. Knocking on the door that is open, I smile as Elizabeth pokes her head out of the bathroom and grins.
“Hey, I’m just about ready,” she says, putting a long, dangly earring in her ear. “Give me two then I need you to tell me how I look.”
“Okay,” I reply as she disappears once more. Walking across the room, I take a seat in one of the chairs that are set up in front of the fireplace, with Aiden still clinging to me. As soon as I’m down, he stands on the tops of my thighs and takes hold of my hands.
“Watch what I can do.”
I grin right before he jumps and doubles back, flipping over. Narrowly missing getting kicked in the face by his tiny bare feet, I laugh at him as he stands, tossing his hands in the air. “Wow, that was awesome.”
“Wanna see me do it again?” he asks with a bright smile as he starts to climb back up onto my lap.
“Aiden, how about we don’t give Kim a concussion,” Elizabeth suggests as she walks out of the bathroom, putting on her heels. She is beautiful, with long brown hair that flows past her shoulders, skin that subtly announces her Spanish heritage, and hazel eyes that change to green when she’s happy, or brown when she’s frustrated with her boys.
“What’s a concussion?” Aiden asks, climbing up onto the arm of the chair to stand there.
“A head injury, honey,” she mutters before looking at me. “So what do you think?” She holds out her hands, spinning in a circle.
“I think you and Jelikai are going to be late getting home,” I say truthfully. Jelikai, Elizabeth’s husband, is obsessed with her, and I have no doubt that as soon as he sees her, his jaw is going to hit the floor. She looks beautiful in the black heels and red wrap dress she’s wearing right now.
“That’s exactly the look I was going for.”
She grins at me and Aiden laughs, saying, “Mom, you’re funny,” before jumping off the arm of the chair, landing on the floor with a loud thud, and taking off out of the room.
“I swear one of these days he is going to give me a heart attack,” I admit, watching him go.
“I think the three boys before him got all the fear out of me.” She laughs, picking up a black clutch that is resting on the bed before turning to look at me. “You okay?”
“Totally, and I already told the boys we are having pizza for dinner, so I will be filling them with lots and lots of processed foods while you’re gone.”
“Fill them with whatever you like. You can make it up to me by staying late. I’m going to try to convince Jelikai to get us a hotel room in the city.”
“I’m thinking that as soon as he sees you in that dress, there won’t be much convincing needed,” I say, standing. “You guys should stay out. I don’t have a client until eleven tomorrow, so I can stay the night if you want.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she tells me, walking over and giving me a hug then leaning back. “Are you sure you’re okay? How was your appointment yesterday?”
“I swear I’m okay, and my appointment went great. I feel really good about my new plan.”
“Good.” She touches my cheek before dropping her hand away. “You know where the petty cash is. Use whatever you need, and I’ll call you as soon as I know what we’re doing.”
“Okay.” I give her a smile then follow her out of the room and down the hall to where the boys are hanging out. Standing in the doorway, I watch her give each of the boys a kiss goodbye, even the ones that fight her on it. Walking fully into the room, I take a seat on the couch then watch her leave with a wave and a wink in my direction.
After that, the rest of the night goes by in a flash. The boys and I order pizza, watch a movie, and then go to bed after Elizabeth calls to say she and Jelikai won’t be back until morning, which means I go to bed with a happy smile on my face for my friend.