“I meant you most of all.”
“Hnf.” Kevin left, though, and he obviously wasn’t actually upset.
Stacy grimaced at Keith, though. “Sorry I smacked him. That was a really weird thing for me to do.”
“No, it was genuinely great. Kevin really enjoys being the older brother and I’m terrible at putting him in his place. You’re not a younger sibling, are you?”
“Guilty as charged. I’m the oldest of three.”
“Great. You can protect me from my brother.” Keith laughed, but a surge of conviction ran through Stacy. She felt like she’d protect Keith from anything, if he needed it. Which was ridiculous, because he was nine inches taller than she was and possibly that much broader across the shoulders, too. Still, if his older brother needed smacking around a little, she was the person to do it. In fact, she’d be kind of mad if anybody else got to, which really didn’t make any sense.
She really needed to pull herself together. Having gorgeous guys sit down in her salon chair didn’t usually de-grinch her, never mind turn her into some kind of younger-twin-avenging angel. Trying to remember she had a job here, she said, “So what do you think?” and gestured lightly at Keith’s hair.
“It’s good. I think it’s good. I mean, itisa good haircut! It’s just…” Keith took a deep breath. “Really different, you know?”
“Yeah.” She smiled at him in the mirror again, trying to resist the urge to sink her hands into his new hair and play with it. “You got more cut than anybody except a girl who went short-short earlier today. It’s a big change.”
“It’s not gonna go brown all of a sudden, right?” Keith’s eyebrows wrinkled. “You know, like Rapunzel?”
Stacy laughed. “I don’t know. Are you secretly under an enchantment? Have you been kept in a tower your whole life? Do you have a wicked stepmother, witch, or queen in your life?”
Keith grimaced playfully. “Nope, I’ve got the original edition mom, no witches that I’m aware of, and if I’m secretly the heir to a throne I…” He paused, considering. “I think I don’t want it, actually. It sure doesn’t seem to do any of the royals in the papers any good.”
“Then I think you’re safe and will probably stay a redhead. All right.” Stacy didn’t want him to leave—possibly ever—but she couldn’t think of a way to say that without making it weird. Because she had met him an hour ago, and it would absolutely be weird to invite him to move into her salon.
Well, that would be weird under any circumstances. She glanced out the window, where his whole family was shuffling around in the snow, waiting for him. “I guess you better get going. You have a lot of money to collect for Noah.”
“I guess so. I’m surprised he’s not already back in here, in fact.”
Stacy grinned. “I think he’s out playing with Molly’s kids in the snow. They’re all going to freeze solid.”
“They’re probably out there in shirt sleeves because they’re running around so hard they’re overheating.” Keith got his flannel, shrugging it on those terrific shoulders before hiding them beneath his winter coat. He flicked a hand to his nape like he would pull his hair out from under the collar, then froze in surprised confusion. “Oh, that’s weird.”
“You’ll get used to it, but it might take a couple months.”
“Months?”
“You’ve had long hair since you were twelve,” Stacy pointed out. “That’s, what, about twenty years of conditioned behavior? You’ll probably still do it every once in a while for years, if you keep your hair shorter.”
She could tell he wasn’t entirely kidding when he said, “What have Idone?”
“Raised like four grand for a playground?”
“Ah. Right. Well. That’s kind of worth it, then, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, kinda. And maybe they’ll let you use the playground when it’s finished. Since you wanted one when you were a kid.” She was talking just to keep him there, which was as unlike her as Stacy could imagine. Especially at this time of year. She should have shooed him out of the salon already, locked up, and gone home to hide in a house with no Christmas decorations up. A house that was her sanctuary against all the noise and loudness of the season.
A house that just wasn’t as appealing as hanging out in her hair salon with Mr. Formerly Million Miles Of Hair Man.
“Stacy?”
Stacy startled a little. Keith had made it to the door, but hesitated there, looking back at her. He wasn’t posing now. He looked nervous, in fact. Shy. “Yeah?”
“I know we only just met and this might be a little fast, but I was wondering if you might like to go out to dinner tomorr—”
“Yes!” Stacy cleared her throat. “I mean, uh, yeah, sure, that’d be totally cool, whatever.”
She had just said ‘whatever’ to the most attractive guy she’d ever seen, when he’d asked her out on a date. She put both hands over her face, mumbled, “Oh my god, I’m an idiot,” and peered through her fingers at him. “Please forget I ever said ‘whatever’ like a fourteen year old trying to be chill. Also please forget I said yes like a desperate housewife. Please remember this as me having said, ‘I would love to go out to dinner with you’ like a nice, normal person.”
