The sound that came from him had me wetter than I cared to admit. “Enjoy your appointment, I’ll pick you up after,” he said against my lips.
“Okay.” I gave him one more quick kiss before getting out and heading toward the door.
It was a cute place I’d seen on our outings before. It was a purple building with a matching sign with big, bold, black letters spelling out the business name.
I stepped up onto the porch and went inside. There, it looked exactly the way I’d expected a small-town salon to look. Only a couple of stations lined the walls, with the washing sinks in the back and a few sitting dryers along with it. I could hear the whirl of the hair dryer and smell the artificial good smell of the products they used.
“Welcome,” a short woman behind the counter said. She had long hair and pointed ears. “Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes; should be under Sydney.”
She ran her finger over the ledger in front of her. “Yes, Sydney, I see you here. You’re with Flora today. Let me go grab her for you.”
“Thanks.” She scurried to the back, and I leaned against the counter as I waited. Though Brooks wasn’t doing anything to make me feel uncomfortable—quite the opposite, actually—having some time away from him would hopefully get my head on straight and allow me to think about anything else.
From the back of the salon came the receptionist along with a beautiful woman who, if I had to guess, was a fairy. She had long, shimmering blue wings that were tucked neatly behind her, long curls that framed her face, and bright pink eyeliner that almost glowed against her deep skin.
“Are you Sydney?” she asked.
I nodded. “You must be Flora.”
“That I am. Why don’t you come back to my chair, and we can take a look at your hair?”
I followed her toward what was clearly her station. It had colorful tools scattered on the desk and photos up on the wall behind her mirror, ranging from what looked like personal photos to things she ripped out of a magazine.
“So what do you want to do today?” She ran her fingers through my hair as she talked, looking at me through the mirror.
“A blowout, and maybe some kind of hydrating treatment. I sort of took a tumble in a pond, and it’s been dry ever since.”
Her face twisted in question, but she didn’t say anything. “That makes sense. We can do all that. And maybe a light trim; you have a few split ends.”
“Please.”
She got out the cape, put it around me, and took me over to the wash bowl. I lay my head back and let my eyes close. The sound of the water came through as she turned on the sprayer and adjusted the temperature. I jumped a bit as it touched my scalp.
“Is the water okay?” she asked, and I was so relaxed, I just nodded.
“So, what brings you to Hallow’s Cove? You’re a bit out of the regular tourist season.”
“Work,” I told her. “I’m doing an inspection on the Hoffman Farm.”
“Oh, that’s exciting. They have the best produce. I can’t wait for the farmer’s market to open this year.”
“I can’t wait either,” one of the other women chimed in from another chair. “And those Hoffman men. How I wish I could scoop one up.”
Flora snorted. “I think most of them are scooped up.”
“There are still a couple left,” she insisted. “I think Bryce is still on the market. And I’m sure Brooks is as well. He spends so much time working that we rarely see him. But wouldn’t I love a piece of that farm man.”
My face heated at the conversation, and white-hot jealousy streaked through me. There was no reason for that. Brooks wasn’t mine, and one night and a few kisses didn’t change that. But as much as I told my brain that, my heart didn’t care.
“Who wouldn’t?” someone else chimed in. “Men and women have been chasing him since high school. But he’s never seemed interested in settling down.”
“One day he has to,” the first person said. “You need lots of kids to run a farm that large.”
That statement had my mind wandering. What would have happened if he’d taken me home to his bed instead?What would have happened if we had gone further yesterday?
No, I wasn’t considering kids or anything, but my mind traveled anyway. I remembered the feel of his body against mine, his calloused hands caressing me in his gentle way. The feel of his horns in my hands as he went down on me.
