One Silent Night (Romeo Family Romance #9) - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,8

worked to fold the towels. While building her clientele, she was acting as a helper to the other stylists by sweeping up stations, folding towels, washing hair, grabbing lunch, manning the front desk—basically doing whatever menial task was needed. Bits of conversation drifted up. One woman chatted about her Christmas menu. Another spoke of her grown children and grandchildren flying in from Chicago to visit. The hubbub of the holidays kindled the air with energy. Upbeat Christmas music played in the background. Noelle hoped some of the excitement would rub off on her. She needed to put on a happy face for Aiden, so that he would enjoy Christmas. It would be hard for him to be away from his dad and grandparents. No, she wasn’t going to cave to Dottie and allow Aiden to go to Tybee Island. Aiden needed to be here with his mom and great aunt.

Noelle folded the last of the towels. She gathered them in her arms and placed them in the cupboards behind the row of sinks. Grunt work was not what Noelle thought she’d be doing at this point in her career. Most of the stylists were appreciative of her help, a couple telling her that they’d started out just like her and now they had a large client base. Noelle merely smiled and thanked them for the encouragement, not feeling the need to point out that she’d built her client base up so large in Decatur, Georgia that she could no longer take on new clients. It was daunting to be the low man on the totem pole again, starting from scratch.

Meredith was intolerable. She’d been bossing Noelle around all morning. Thankfully, the diva had left the salon an hour ago, announcing that she was taking a long lunch. The very air seemed to breathe easier now that Meredith was gone. Noelle could tell that Meredith had rubbed many of the other stylists wrong. Vivian seemed oblivious to Meredith’s better-than-thou attitude. In her eyes, her daughter could do no wrong.

Noelle’s thoughts moved ahead to the evening. She and Aiden were going to the ranch with Birdie to have dinner with Knox, her cousins, and their spouses. Zoe, her husband, and kids would be there. Birdie suggested that it might be helpful for Noelle to talk to Zoe about her divorce. “It was tough on Zoe and the kids, at first,” Birdie explained, “but Zoe’s doing great now, as are Milo and Madison.” Birdie’s eyes had sparkled as she added, “Incidentally, Zoe ended up with her former boyfriend, Briggs. Maybe you should take a lesson from her. Hint, hint.”

“That door was officially closed and nailed shut the second I realized that Holden was with Meredith Sims,” Noelle retorted. The shocked look on Birdie’s face had given her a sense of vindication.

“I thought Holden was too smart to get mixed up with Meredith,” Birdie said.

“One would think, but obviously not.”

Birdie had pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Well, you know what they say—all is fair in love and war.”

“That’s what they say, but I don’t think anything is fair in either love or war.”

“You’re probably right,” Birdie chuckled.

Noelle had ended the conversation by stating firmly that she had no intention of getting involved with anyone right now. She needed to heal, and she needed to work on her relationship with her son. She needed to build her career, so she and Aiden could get a place of their own. Birdie had told Noelle repeatedly that she could stay at her house as long as she wished, but Noelle didn’t want to take advantage of her aunt’s generosity.

Tina, the front desk receptionist, approached with a spring in her step, a Texas-sized grin slathered over her lips. She clasped her hands, twisting her foot. “I have a client for you. A haircut.” Barely out of high school, Tina was petite with a large personality. She was in cosmetology school and wanted to get on-the-job-experience while she did her schooling. Her long floral dress edged with cream lace was a stark contrast to her black combat boots. Noelle wasn’t sure what style Tina was going for. She was certainly interesting.

“Oh, that’s great.” Vivian had agreed to give Noelle all the walk-ins for several weeks, promising that there would be a handful each day. Yesterday, there had been zilch. The only reason Noelle got to do Marjorie Smalley’s hair was because Marjorie’s normal hairstylist was under the weather. And what had seemed like a lucky break at the time wasn’t