Chapter 1
“Smile, ladies!” Travis Holt looked into his camera’s viewfinder and frowned. “Aw, come on. You can do better than that. We’re losing light. Pretty soon the sun’s gonna disappear behind that canopy of pecan trees and we’re done.”
Whitney Adams could tell by his tone that he was losing more than light. He was about to lose his patience too. They’d done this Atlanta Belles photo shoot every June for the past five years, using the pictures of her salon and spa staff for a life-size poster that was hung at her yearly charity event, which happened to be a little over a week away. There was no time to waste. Travis had to get the shots he needed today.
Whitney nudged Dixie, and her best friend let out a small sigh as she shifted her weight onto her other foot. They’d been out there a long time, and after working all day, it was no wonder everyone was having trouble looking happy.
“Are we all set?” Whitney asked, glancing over at her staff. They were a good-looking group, even when exhausted.
When all ten women nodded, Travis instructed, “Say cheesecake.”
They said it in unison and then erupted into laughter, which delighted Travis as he snapped shot after shot. “It’s a wrap,” he said happily a few minutes later.
As they traipsed across the lush lawn of the two-acre property that sat in the center of Atlanta’s trendy Kirkwood neighborhood, Whitney studied the rear of the nearly eight-thousand-foot Queen Anne Victorian house full of historic charm, with its massive wrap-around porch and stained glass windows. She hadn’t for one moment regretted her decision to move her salon from its original tiny storefront location to the most desirable area of town. Within walking distance to dozens of great restaurants and shops, it hadn’t taken long for Atlanta Belles to gain in popularity, and when she added the spa last year, everything exploded. Walk-ins were unheard of now, as they were usually booked at least a month out. Life was good, and once Whitney paid off the loan she’d taken out to renovate the inside of the house, she hoped to be in a position to purchase the property. Although Marshall Porter was an ideal landlord, her dream had always been to not just be a business owner but a homeowner as well. And this property could kill two birds with one stone, seeing as the salon and spa were on the first floor, and she lived on the second.
Upon opening the back door, they were greeted by Clarice, Whitney’s lemon-and-white Papillon. The little dog, weighing no more than nine pounds, danced around the group.
“You must be starving,” Whitney stated after glancing at her watch and discovering it was well after eight p.m. She scooped the dog up into her arms and scratched one of her huge butterfly-like fringed ears. Clarice responded by licking Whitney’s nose.
“Thanks for a great photoshoot, ladies. See y’all in the morning.” As she headed up front toward the reception desk, she turned around and said with a laugh, “And don’t overindulge tonight. We’ve got a super busy day tomorrow.” Friday nights in Atlanta were hopping. Her entire staff was single, aside from Augusta, the Belles’ esthetician, and Whitney had no doubt most of them had plans to hit the town tonight.
She tucked Clarice under her arm as she flipped through the appointment book, and let out a gasp when she came to tomorrow afternoon. “Allie,” she said, trying hard to keep her voice even. “When did you book this appointment with Cash Galloway?” Her tone rose in pitch when she said his name.
Dixie, who’d been on her way out the front door, spun around. Her mouth hung open as she stared at Whitney.
Allie sheepishly came up to the desk, her face a bright red. “I don’t know. Sometime earlier today. He said he wanted an appointment with you as soon as possible. We’d had a cancellation a few minutes earlier, so I booked him. Did I do something wrong?”
Whitney shook her head and tried to maintain her calm. All the while, her heart thundered and visions of his handsome face flashed through her mind. Dixie was beside her now, her arm around Whitney’s shoulders, helping to keep her steady. “No, no, Allie, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just I know him and um… I haven’t seen him in a long time.” Whitney’s voice sounded strange to her own ears, as if she was in a tunnel with no end in sight.
Dixie pushed her down into the receptionist’s chair. “I think it’s best if you sit.” Then she turned to the rest of the staff, who were all staring at Whitney, and said, “Y’all go on. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
After they left, Travis came out of the break room carrying a tripod and a backpack full of camera equipment slung over his shoulder. “Whit, ready to grab some dinner?” As he neared the desk, his brow furrowed. “You okay? You don’t look so great.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m going to have to pass on tonight. I have a migraine coming on.”
His brown eyes relayed understanding. “Is there anything I can do? Anything I can get for you?”
He was a great guy, and while they usually went out Friday nights, all she wanted right now was to be alone. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. I just need some sleep.”
He nodded. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
After he left, Dixie grabbed a chair from the waiting area and set it down beside Whitney’s. “I can’t believe Cash is back in town. And I really can’t believe his nerve…letting you know by getting a haircut. You should nip his ear with your scissors.”
Turmoil raged inside her. “I’d like to do more than nip his ear.”
“And well you should. But you’re too nice. Even after everything he did, you’ll exude your usual Southern grace and charm. I know you too well. You don’t have a vengeful bone in your body.”
She shrugged. “He did what he thought was best for his future.”
Dixie scowled. “A future that for nine years included you. Y’all were planning a wedding, for goodness’ sake. At least he didn’t leave you stranded at the altar. I’ll give him that much.”
Memories came flooding back, and she blinked quickly to keep the tears that burned beneath her lids from streaming down her face. Cash had been her first and only love. She’d met him her freshman year of high school and had fallen for him immediately. No surprise. He was gorgeous, smart, funny, and kind. Cash possessed every quality she’d wanted in a guy and then some. But he was also ambitious, so much so that it ended their relationship. The pain that she’d felt over seven years ago after their breakup shot through her like it had happened yesterday.
She picked up Clarice from her lap, then pushed her chair out to stand. “I’m sorry, Dix. I don’t want to talk about this right now. I really do have a headache. All I want is to go upstairs, have a quick dinner, and then go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Dixie opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut. She headed to the front door, but before opening it, turned and waved good-bye.
Whitney waved back, hating to have been so abrupt with her friend. But she wasn’t about to discuss Cash. It was bad enough that she had to cut his hair tomorrow. If Allie had taken his number down, like she was supposed to, Whitney would’ve canceled the appointment. Instead, she had to hold her nose and get through it. And rehashing the past with Dixie would’ve only made her appointment with him more difficult.
After locking up the shop, she climbed the grand staircase up to her second-floor apartment, running her hand over the centuries-old white oak railing. When she reached the top, she glanced down at the magnificent foyer, aglow with the rich amber tones of the intricately carved woodwork. Never once had she regretted becoming a businesswoman. It was difficult at times, to be sure, but she’d been raised to be an independent, strong woman, and to give that up for a man wasn’t in her DNA.
With a sigh, she put Clarice down, and the dog scampered into the kitchen. Whitney followed, and the little Papillon impatiently jumped around her legs as Whitney fixed the dog’s food. While Clarice was eating, Whitney went over to the refrigerator to figure out what to have herself. Her choices were limited since she’d thought she’d be going out to dinner with Travis and had planned to grocery shop after work tomorrow.
She took out a loaf of bread and a jar of grape jelly, then took the peanut butter out of the bottom cabinet and proceeded to make a sandwich. As she ate, she stared out the kitchen window to the patio below and then past a gorgeous magnolia tree out to the pecan grove where they’d had the photo shoot. It was so beautiful and peaceful there. Usually when she looked out at it, all the stresses of the day faded away, but not tonight. Tonight, she had a knot in her stomach the size of a grapefruit. Why had Cash come back into her life?
She knew that someday, during one of his trips to visit his mom, she might run into him. But she never imagined that he’d book an appointment at her salon. It might’ve been over seven years ago that he moved to New York City, but she wasn’t prepared to talk to him. Maybe she never would be… Too much had happened between them. Although her anger had disappeared years ago, the wondering what might have been never went away. Cash had a right to pursue his dream, just as she had. The problem was she’d had no idea that dream involved moving across the country. If only he’d told her earlier…before she’d opened Atlanta Belles and poured her heart and soul into the business. Had he really expected her to give it up? She’d often wondered that over the years. Maybe asking her to go with him had been a ruse. Maybe he’d known she wouldn’t and that gave him an easy way out of their engagement. She’d probably never know the answer to that. However, cold feet and the offer of a lifetime was most likely what had happened.
Cash’s dad had died when he was a boy, leaving his Uncle Hunter as his only male role model, so it really wasn’t that much of a surprise that Cash took him up on his offer to join the mega-successful Galloway Realty Group. What was shocking was that he’d taken so long to tell her.
Whitney took the last bite of her sandwich, swallowing hard as she pushed those painful memories aside. There was no way out of it. She was going to see Cash tomorrow, so she’d better come to grips with it.
After she cleaned up the kitchen, Whitney took Clarice outside to do her business, then made sure all the doors were locked before heading back upstairs. Although she felt drained and wanted nothing more than to climb into bed, she took a shower first, letting the hot water wash away some of her stress.
As Whitney combed through her long blonde hair, she glanced at the photo on her dressing table. Mattie’s hair was brown like her father’s. She had his blue eyes too. But she had Whitney’s pale skin tone and wide smile.
Whit set the comb down and picked up the picture. The house was so quiet without the little six-year-old running around, and Whitney missed her terribly. She’d only been gone a few nights and had nine more to go. It was going to be torture being away from her for so long, but Mattie had begged to go to overnight camp with her best friend, so how could Whitney refuse? Besides, she’d remembered how much she’d loved going to the same camp as a child. And it was just two hours north of Atlanta, so if Mattie needed her for any reason, she could hop in the car and be there soon. She doubted that would be the case, though. Mattie had the same strong, independent streak as she did.
She ran her finger over her daughter’s cute button nose, then set the frame back down on the dressing table. It was a good thing Mattie was at camp, because Whitney had no idea how to tell her that her father was in town. And she certainly had no idea how to broach the subject with Cash.