“Rocky and Jack’s wife, Felicity, both know Jack well enough to know about his criminal for a cousin,” I added.
“What’s the likelihood that Georgia only showed the pictures to Jack and left it at that?” Adrian asked.
“Slim to none.” I thought about it for a few seconds and then said, “I think we can rule out Nadine. She wouldn’t likely have knowledge about Jack’s distant cousin.”
“Why do you think Georgia took her affair with Rocky to the grave? Why not rub it in Nadine’s face?” Adrian asked. “Especially when Nadine started talking trash to Georgia in the salon.”
The mention of the salon brought warm memories of Josh to the forefront of my mind for a few minutes before suspicion wiggled in to ruin it.Why hadn’t I thought about it sooner?I had already drawn the conclusion that clients got chatty with their stylists, but I didn’t truly connect the dots between Georgia and Josh because I was too busy trying to get close to him.Damn it!
“I bet Georgia told someone about her affair. It’s doubtful she kept it just to herself. She would’ve told someone she loved and trusted. I think I know just the person.”
“Who?” Adrian asked.
“One feisty salon owner,” I replied.
“Oh, shit.” Adrian was quiet as I drove back to the station. “Why wouldn’t he tell you?”
“To protect Georgia’s reputation or because I didn’t ask.” I shook my head in irritation. “Who knows what makes him tick, certainly not me.”
“You’re not going in there with guns blazing are you?” Adrian asked.
“Verbal ones, maybe,” I replied.
“Partner, it sounds like you’ve already convicted the guy before you’ve had the chance to talk to him. Don’t ruin something good.”
I wanted to believe that Josh and I were working toward something good, but how could we if he knew something that big and didn’t tell me? Adrian was right though; I was mad at him before I knew the truth. I wanted to drop Adrian off and go to the salon, but I didn’t. I knew I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk to him and I was afraid I was right. If so, where did that leave us?
IWOKE UP FEELINGgreat and told myself that it was the day I’d give up being stupid and call Gabe and invite him over. In fact, I gave serious thought to inviting him over to Sunday dinner with Mere and Chaz. That alone was enough to make me pause, but even more shocking was how much I missed him in the week that passed since our date.
I missed the sound of his voice, the heat of his body, the taste of his mouth, and especially the look in his eyes that said I was special to him. I tried to convince myself that I was seeing things that weren’t really there because I wanted it to be true. Then I’d recall the way his eyes would gleam when he’d smile over something that I said, whether I intended to be funny or not. Yes, it was time to be brave and see where things would lead with Gabe.
Bright sunlight streamed in through the windows of the salon when I went downstairs, but I wasn’t fooled into believing the outdoor temperature was anything other than freezing. I could see the ice clinging to the bare tree branches and grass. I couldn’t help but hear Gabe’s grumbling in my head about the frigid weather. I decided I would show him all the benefits of cold weather, namely cuddling together under a blanket – preferably naked with his dick in my ass.
Someone cleared their throat behind me and I turned to find Meredith watching me with a huge smile on her face. “Deep in thought over your guy, I see.”
“He’s not my…”
“Shut up, Jazz.” She rolled her eyes and went to her station that was directly across from mine to get ready for her day. “Lady Chatterbox is first up this morning,” Meredith told me.
I was grateful for the change of subject because I didn’t know how to talk about Gabe and the way he made me feel. That was a first for us; I’d always been able to talk to Mere about anything and everything. I worried that her feelings were hurt, but the smile she sent me through the reflection in the mirror told me that things between us were good.
“Why are the chattiest ones morning people?” I asked her. “We’re all going to need an extra dose of caffeine to handle her.”
“You know it,” Meredith replied.
I added an extra scoop and a half of ground coffee beans for a stronger brew when I made our pot of coffee. We drank our heavenly nectar from the gods and embraced the calm silence before our day began. Chaz was the next to arrive and he went straight to the coffee pot with a wave of his hand as his only greeting. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept in a week. Something was going on with him, but I couldn’t figure it out. I respected his privacy and hoped that he’d come to Meredith or me if he needed us.
I looked over at Meredith to find her watching him closely. “He’ll let us know if he needs us,” I told her.
“I hope you’re right,” she replied.
“When aren’t I?”
She placed her finger over her lips, tilted her head to the side, and pretended to think about it for a few seconds. “You really want to go there?” she asked.
“Not really,” I replied honestly, earning a delighted laugh from her.
Too soon we gave up our quiet and embraced the day when our first clients showed up. My mood stayed high through the morning into early afternoon, but took a dive when the dark clouds moved in and eclipsed the sun. It felt like a premonition of something bad to come, but I couldn’t figure out what it could be until I saw Gabe enter the salon right before we closed for the day. The expression on his face was every bit as dark and threatening as the snow storm we were sure to get that evening.
