“You sure I can’t make you lunch?” he asked again.
“Nope. I’m already late.” I rinsed out my bowl and opened the dishwasher to slide it in. Reid was the kind of guy who had avery specificway of loading dishes, and I still hadn’tfigured it out. I just hoped the fact that I never left anything in the sink counted for something.
I walked toward the entry, throwing him an apologetic smile. “Dinner, maybe?”
He paused, leaning against the hallway. “I have dinner with my family tonight.”
“Oh,” I said, disappointment evident in my tone.
“You should come.” He tossed it out there so casually I almost thought I’d misheard him.
“To dinner? With your family?” The invite shocked me.
“Why not?” he said. “You already know Ruby. And everyone else has been dying to meet you.”
He wanted me to meet his family? Before we’d even discussed the other night? Was this a good sign? It had to be, right? “Um, I guess I could,” was all I said.
“I really want you to come,” he added.
I forced a smile and nodded. “Okay, then.”
Reid’s eyes twinkled. He must have realized how flustered I looked. “Okay, then,” he parroted back my words.
And that was it.
His invitation rattled around in my brain the entire drive to the salon.
Everyone was dying to meet me? He really wanted me to come?
The words did not compute. The fact that Reid’s family knew about me made me all sorts of self-conscious. I’d never cared much about what people thought of me, but with Reid…I really didn’t want his family to dislike me. Would they think I was good enough for their son? Was I delusional for even having that thought? He’d mentioned nothing of the kiss since it happened, and for all I knew he had zero interest in doing it again.
But even without knowing how he felt, it still occupied every corner of my mind. The kiss was growing like an infection. Soon it would be the only thing I could think or talk about.
I pushed open the door to the salon and relief flooded through me that Ruby wasn’t at her station. I wasn’t sure I could handle the added pressure of acting nonchalant around her right now.
“Nice of you to join us,” Jackson said, as I rushed to my chair and tied on my apron.
“I’m on time.” Technically I was, but my client walked through the door not even a minute later.
“Morning, Denise.”
I smiled brightly at the graying woman. She was just here for a trim. Her usual. She came to me once a month like clockwork and was one of the clients who’d moved to this salon with me after I’d left the last place. She said she’d never liked the energy there. She was sweet and kind. She’d given me a tissue and let me cry the week after Gran passed away.
“What’s new, Denise?” Jackson asked, sitting in his chair and spinning toward us.
“I’ve got a speed dating event at the rec center tomorrow,” she said coyly.
Jackson grinned. “Denise! You player. Hazel, get this woman looking her best.”
“Obviously,” I said, taking her over to the sink to give her a quick wash.
As my gloved hands worked through her short hair, my mind kept wandering to Reid’s dinner invitation. Part of me was tempted to ask Jackson for advice. He was the closest thing I had to a friend, lately. I hadn’t even heard from Zoe since her birthday. She’d said thanks for coming, and I’d told her to let me know if she wanted to do breakfast or lunch before she left. She never responded. It hurt, but having already had the realization that we just weren’t that close anymore lessened the blow.
“What’s got you all worked up?” Jackson asked when I walked Denise back to my chair. I pulled out a comb and concentrated, trimming the ends as little as I could. I knewfrom experience she preferred it just brushing her shoulders. Nothing even a centimeter shorter.
“Nothing,” I said, snipping away at the dead ends.
He dipped his chin. “Are you serious? The lines between your eyebrows are so deep, I can practically see the stress headache forming.”
