“I know. And I’m very sorry, honey,” Beth Ann said soothingly, resting the phone on her cheek as she shampooed someone’s hair. “It won’t happen again. Did you want me to squeeze you in today? Or tomorrow?”
“No,” Mrs. Potter said in a sour voice. “I went to that new place instead.”
“New…place?”
“That one down the street. Next to the hardware store. She just moved in. Lovely girl. She used to do hair in Dallas, you know. She cut Troy Aikman’s hair once.”
“You don’t say,” Beth Ann murmured. She grabbed the spray nozzle and began to rinse her client’s hair. “Well, I’ll see you for your Saturday appointment as usual, then?”
“Or maybe I’ll just go there,” Mrs. Potter said nastily. “We’ll see on Saturday, won’t we?” She hung up.
Jeez. Beth Ann put the phone on the counter and wrapped a towel around her client’s wet hair as the woman sat up. “So you wanted to take off two inches?”
As she began to rattle off about what she wanted done to her hair, Beth Ann listened halfheartedly. When the woman sat in the barber chair, Beth Ann moved to the big storefront window and peeked out the mini blinds. The shop next to the hardware store had been closed for a while. Had someone moved in, or was Mrs. Potter just being her usual snide self?
But then she saw a customer walk in. And there was a sign in the window, though it was too far away to make out.
“What do you think? Two inches?” the woman in her chair was saying.
Beth Ann forced herself to turn away from the window and smiled. “Two inches is a little shorter than you normally wear it, but I think it’d be cute.”
No matter how curious she was, she was not going to look out the window again.
After her last appointment left for the day, Beth Ann sat down and sighed. She’d been on her feet all day straight. Normally she didn’t mind, but today she’d been juggling clients on top of clients, and it had been exhausting. She needed a few minutes off her feet. Better yet, she needed someone to come in here and give her a pedicure and a foot massage herself, instead of being the one to give them. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.
The cowbell on the door clanged, indicating a new customer.
“No walk-ins today, sorry,” Beth Ann said in as pleasant a voice as she could…and then had to stifle her groan at the sight of the man that had just walked in.
Allan. He smiled over at her, his boyish face handsome. “I sold two BMWs today, Bethy-babe. Thought I’d come by and see if you wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate.”
Ugh. “That’s nice, Allan,” she said politely. “Congratulations.”
“Get your purse and let’s go. I made dinner reservations at that Italian place you like over in Huntsville.”
Annoyance swept over her. He made reservations? Without asking her? And she didn’t like that Italian place—he did. Typical. “Allan, listen, that’s very nice but I’m too tired to go out.” Especially with you.
“Nonsense,” he said cheerfully. “My treat.”
“Allan, no—”
A car horn honked out front.
That sounded like her car. Beth Ann’s heart began to thud rapidly, and she felt her ni**les grow tight. Colt. Oh.
She’d been thinking about him nonstop since they’d parted. So she was kind of not doing so hot with the “no strings attached one night stand” sort of thing. She wanted to see him again. Of course she couldn’t ask. She’d been the one insisting that it be a brief, meaningless fling. It wasn’t his fault that he’d been so flat-out amazing in bed that she was craving more. She was a junkie. A Colt junkie. How silly.
But she still found herself pushing past Allan to step out the front door of her salon, straightening her hair and smoothing her skirt. She smiled in delight at the sight of her green VW, shining and clean.
Colt stood up from the driver’s side and grinned at her. “Hey, darlin’.”
“Hey,” she said breathlessly, feeling like a teenager. “You brought my car. Thank you.”
“Got it all cleaned up for you.” He shut the door and began to stroll toward her, his hands in his pockets, and she felt a little thrill at the sight of him. His white shirt was tight across his pectorals and tucked neatly into his dark green BDUs. She could almost make out his dog tags underneath, and remembered them smacking her in the cheek as he’d been deep inside her.
Warmth flushed through her body at the thought. “You’re a good man,” she said softly, and was rewarded with a flash of his dimple as he approached.
“The best,” he said in a low, husky voice.
Oh mercy, he was sexy. Her ni**les pricked and she smiled widely at him, her cheeks hot with excitement. She was glad she’d dressed pretty today, in a light blue dress with a full skirt that swished at her knees. Feminine. She looked her best. And he was smiling at her. And maybe he’d want to see her again. That dimple gave her hope.
“Beth Ann?” called Allan from behind her.
She gritted her teeth, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration. The playful, sensual look on Colt’s face had disappeared, replaced by intense dislike.
“I can see this is a bad time,” Colt drawled.
“It’s not,” she said hastily. “I assure you. I—”
“Bethy-babe,” Allan said, coming up behind her and putting his arm around her waist. “We need to go if we’re going to make those reservations.”
As she watched, Colt’s eyes narrowed to slits. Just like that, Allan was going to ruin her hopes with Colt. He was going to shove his way in and make Colt think that she was with him. And the thought horrified her.
She had to do something.
“No,” she said, stepping away from Allan, her gaze on Colt for a moment longer before turning to frown at Allan. “I told you, I’m not going out with you. You shouldn’t have made reservations without asking me first. I’m too tired to go out.”
Allan gave her a wounded look, as if she’d crushed him. She was very familiar with that look. Whenever she did something that didn’t please him, she got the hurt stare. As if she were the unreasonable one.
Colt was watching the two of them closely. Beth Ann kept her arms crossed over her chest, her chin firm. Allan had to learn.