But I did have a sizeable savings account, and we’d worked out a deal that meant I’d mostly be a silent partner in the shop, so I’d agreed. It turned out to be an excellent decision, almost exclusively thanks to Brody, who knew exactly what he was doing. And even when he didn’t, he figured it out.
My involvement was mostly in the back shop, tuning up bikes and skis, stocking inventory, doing other grunt work, and filling in for the front-end staff during shoulder season when things got temporarily quieter in town, and our seasonal staff moved on.
“Is there anything pressing you need me to take care of today, brother?” I asked Brody as he extracted himself from puppy kisses and got up off the floor. “Or do you just need a body up front?”
“I need a body until at least three,” he said. “But if you can start tagging the clearance ski equipment and moving it to the far side, we can start bringing the bikes out and gearing up for the summer season.”
“I think we can handle that, can’t we, Summit?”
The puppy wagged his tail, happy to be included.
Brody rolled his eyes. “Try to keep your assistant from chewing on the inventory, okay?”
“I make no promises.”
“I’ll be in the back working on the books.” Brody gave Summit one last pat. “If he’s getting in the way too badly, send him back to hang with me.”
Jess
I didn’t even recognize myself when Kat Carlson spun me around, and I faced myself in the salon mirror.
My hand moved as if on its own accord and gingerly patted the elaborate twist of curls she’d magically worked my curly auburn hair into. “How did you…what did you…” I looked over my shoulder at her beaming face. “I swear, you’re a magician. Is this all really my own hair?”
“Of course it is. Your hair is amazing.” Kat tucked a piece into a bobby pin and brushed an imaginary strand off my face before once more stepping back and assessing her handiwork. “Do you like it? Seriously? You have to be honest with me because if you were thinking of something else, or had a different vision at all, it’s important you let me know. This is the most important day of your life.”
Most important day of your life.
Her words reverberated in my skull. I swallowed hard and nodded. “It’s perfect. I honestly didn’t have any vision for what it would look like. I just wanted it to lookbridal.”
“Well, you’ve definitely achieved that.” My friend Lauren’s reflection appeared in the mirror. “You look freakin’ amazing, Jess.”
“You really do.” Kat nodded. “And I’m not just saying that because I did it.” She laughed at herself and spun my chair around. Kat and I had grown up together, and she was one of my oldest friends in Trickle Creek. Lucky for me, she was also an amazing hairstylist.
“What about your makeup?” Lauren asked, giving me a once-over. “Not that you’re not gorgeous without it,” she added quickly. “Because you are.”
“But wedding makeup is different,” Kat agreed. “I can help you out, but you know who’s really good at it?”
“That would be me.” We all spun to see Noa, Kat’s sister-in-law-to-be, burst through the door of Strands, Kat’s hair salon. “And lucky for you, Jess, I love a blank canvas.”
We all laughed, and Lauren moved to pour more prosecco in our glasses. I hadn’t been sure about even bothering with a hair and makeup trial, but now that I was surrounded by my friends, I was glad I’d let them talk me into it. It was nice to spend time together.
Noa pulled up a little table and started to unpack her supplies. “Your skin is so perfect, Jess. I really don’t think we’ll need much,” she said as she smeared something she said was aprimeron my face. “And we definitely don’t want to cover those gorgeous freckles.”
I offered her a genuine smile. It had taken me a long time to accept my freckly face. It didn’t help that some of the boys growing up—okay,oneboy—had given me an annoying nickname.
But just as I’d come to love my curly hair, I also loved my freckles. They were all a part of me.
“I think we should focus on the eyes,” Noa said. “Just enough to make them pop in the photos.”
“Pop?”
“You definitely need to pop,” Kat agreed. “It might seem like too much up close, but in the photos, it will be perfect. Whoisdoing your photos?”
My brain immediately started to spiral as I tried to remember the notebook with details and prices scribbled in it. “I don’t even know if I’ve booked a photographer yet,” I confessed. “It’s on my list.”
Noa froze, brush in hand, her mouth open. “You haven’t booked one yet?” She spoke slowly, pausing on every word.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so, but maybe Trevor’s organized something. He has all sorts of contacts from the city, and if I’m being honest, there are a lot of details he’s taken care of. He has a bit of a vision, I think.”
