I turned my head to see what he was looking at but couldn’t see anything but a figure moving at the window behind the blinds that were partially closed against the heat of the sun.
He went on, “Never calls for an appointment. Thinks she owns the town, I swear. She always waltzes in here and thinks I can do her walk-in. Do I look like a stylist who accepts walk-ins? Uh… no.”
Then the door opened; the figure that was obscured by the blinds moved through the door and Misty Keaton walked in.
I froze.
Shit. Shit. Fucking shit.
“Misty!” Dominic cried as if she was his bestest best high school friend who he hadn’t seen since they got shitfaced at their graduation party and they’d just locked eyes at their twenty-five year reunion and he had not been bitching about her five seconds earlier.
But Misty was frozen too, her eyes on me. Clearly, she had no idea I worked there.
I came unlocked first and moved to the reception desk, not taking my eyes off her, my mind filled with options on how to play this, so many of them, I couldn’t get a lock on a single one and all the while I moved I felt Dominic follow.
“Long time, no see, darling. What brings you to Dominic’s House of Eternal Beauty?” Dominic asked Misty (this wasn’t actually the name of the salon, it was called “Carnal Spa” but Dominic referred to it by different, inventive, hilarious names all the time).
Her body jerked and she hesitantly moved to the high front of the receptionist desk.
“Uh, here to see if you can fit me in, Dominic,” she said softly, her eyes shifting back and forth between Dominic and me. She stopped in front of the desk and locked on Dominic, sucking in breath; she gave him a shaky smile and finished, “Emergency procedure.”
She was nervous. And she was nervous because of me.
She should be. She knew I knew what she did. She knew I was standing there wanting to tear her hair out, scratch her eyes out and take her to the ground, kick her in the stomach and spit on her when she was down (amongst other things).
Unfortunately, for Ty, I could not do that.
Fortunately, she didn’t know that.
My eyes narrowed on her. Like she felt it, her eyes slid to me and I was pleased to see her face pale. Then they shot back to Dominic when he spoke.
“Girl, you know I love to have my hands in your hair. But I got a one o’clock half highlight and cut and while she’s cookin’, one of my sweet little blue hairs is comin’ in for a set. My afternoon is all decked out. Kayeleen’s on lunch but, she gets back, her afternoon is full too. We can’t help you out. Make an appointment, I think I got an opening late the week after next.”
“But, the thing I need my touch up for is Tuesday night,” she told him.
“Sorry, precious, no can do,” Dominic replied, shaking his head, her eyes slid to me and back to Dominic, her mouth working with indecision and I’d know why when she spoke again.
“Dominic, this is a big deal for Chace. He told me awhile ago and I clean forgot about it. And you know he’s not a man who likes roots,” she admitted softly.
Good. Chace was going to get pissed at his wife for being a moron.
Good again. It was clear by the way she said it, she was a moron often and Chace didn’t like it. The worried look in her eyes said he also didn’t mind telling her.
And good yet again. It was clearly not all fun and games in the Keaton household.
And one last, big, f**king good. She did have roots. That blonde was way fake. I liked that.
All this made me feel better. Tons better.
My eyes unnarrowed and I felt my lips tip up.
“Sorry, darling. It’s impossible today,” Dominic told her.
“Well, can you squeeze me in sometime Tuesday?” she asked Dominic and, now feeling helpful, I moved to the schedule book, flipping it open and turning pages.
“Let me see…” I entered the conversation, scanning the scribbles on Dominic’s columns as well as Kayeleen’s. Then I looked at Misty. “Sorry, babe. Nothing open. All booked up.” I flipped the page then another then another and kept going until I was two weeks out and told her, “Got an opening two weeks Thursday. Two o’clock. That good for you?”
She stared at me. Then she whispered cautiously, “I need it Tuesday. Can you move someone around?”