“Your father will take care ofdinner.”
Daisy chewed her lip. “I’m pretty sure Beckett will be there.”Considering he’s living with me.She wondered if she could convince Beckett to hide his things in the closet and pretend he wasn’t sleeping in her front room while her parents were in town. Dad was overprotective and Mom’s favorite lecture was about keeping the magic of chemical mystery alive before marriage. This was all going to be a bittricky.
Chapter Twenty
Monday passed by so fast,Beckett hardly noticed the time. The barbershop was an … experience. A wonderful, manly experience. More guys should go for a shave and a haircut. When Daisy first came up with the whole makeover idea, he’d pictured some froufrou salon that smelled like perm solution and handed out glasses of champagne, not Vern and his love of all thingsboxing.
“Boxing is a gentleman’s sport,” Vern scolded Daisy when she made a comment about the men trying to win a blinged-outbelt.
Her cheeks sank. Beckett had to look away or he’d laugh knowing she was biting her cheeks to hold in her laughter. She hadn’t meant to rile Vern, but she’d done a good job ofit.
Vern didn’t shave off the beard, but he cut it to a quarter inch long. At that length, the hair hung straight and he could comb it down with ease. The sideburns were a little shorter and blended into the hair on the sides and back of his head. The top was left long and he was able to do that sweet up-and-over style Quin did for the comedy club. He had to admit, he was polished like a new pair of Sunday shoes and almost as dark. Almost all the sun-bleached hair was left in Vern’s dustbin. The change was startling, making him do a double take when they passed a store window on the way out. He didn’t recognize himself—which wasn’t a badthing.
On top of getting a great cut, the price was more than reasonable. Daisy tipped well and Beckett left feeling almost as good as he did when he left a village knowing they were taken care of. Not that he’d taken care of Vern—it was quite the opposite—but Vern was a small-business owner who supported his family and kept up an institution. Hopefully the big reveal episode would helpbusiness.
Beckett paused in the middle of brushing his teeth. Of course Daisy had chosen Vern’s Barbershop, not just for his comfort but because she wanted to help a local business. She wasn’t blind to the effect her posts had on companies, and she’d strategically used her fame to bless some random person’slife.
And all this time he thought she’d taken him to the shop with the crack in the steps, the leather seats, and the faded pictures on the wall to makehimfeel more comfortable. Well, she’d probably taken that into consideration too. Win-win-win. Daisy got the footage she wanted with an interesting character, Vern’s business boomed, and Beckett relaxed enough to enjoy theexperience.
Daisy spent a lot of time thinking about others. That was hugelyattractive.
He finished brushing and checked her door, wanting more than anything to see Daisy and hold her close. He’d kill for one of those sunshine smiles ofhers.
Maybe not kill—but he’d blend. The “filming” sign was still on the door, so he checked the time. She’d be done in fifteen minutes and out for breakfast. It was high time he did something forher.
Chapter Twenty-One
EveryDayGlam!BeautyTip
Intensive HandTreatment
½ of a ripeavocado
2 teaspoons sweet almondoil.
Mash the avocado and mix with the sweet almond oil. Rub the mixture into your rough and tired hands. Wrap your hands in plastic wrap and let sit for twenty minutes to an hour. Rinse clean and blot dry for beautifully nourished hands andnails.
* * *
Daisy was thankful,and not for the first time, that she’d picked the type of door handle that moved by pushing down and not a knob she’d have to turn. The knob would have been darn near impossible with her hands covered in avocado and almond oil and wrapped in plastic wrap. She had twenty minutes before she could wash off the goop, which smelled like Betsy Lacey’s oatmeal cookies. Maybe she’d put a link in to the recipe and give theSweet Home Vermontchannel a boost. That would be fun. She had yet to meet the star of the cooking channel but hoped to see her at theconference.
She rounded the corner to find Beckett standing over the blender, patiently chopping a banana. Her breath caught in her throat and she wondered if she’d ever get used to his new look. Under all that sun-bleached hair was a dark, brooding man who could easily grace the lens of anycamera.
She leaned her shoulder against the wall, needing the support as her body went to jelly mode. Vern suggested leaving a sexy stubble. Vern hadn’tcalledit a sexy stubble—he probably would have kicked Daisy out of his shop for even thinking it was called a sexy stubble. He’d classified it as a one-week beard. Daisy classified it as long enough to be soft to the touch and short enough not to get in the way when they kissed. If they ever had the opportunity to kiss again. She’d been thinking about those kisses in the club parking lot much more than any woman should think about akiss.
The beard transitioned smoothly into the hair at his temples. No gray there. The top was longer and parted on the side. It wasn’t flat against his head; rather, it went up and over—like Bryce Harper’s hair, only in a walnut-brown color. Even though she’d been starting at pictures of him for the video montage, she’d forgotten how his dark hair set off his bright eyes. They were positively electric. Wha-wha. When he looked at her, she felt the sparks all the way down to her silver-glitter-polishedtoenails.
His phone played “Hail to the Chief.” She dove for his back pocket, earning a yelp from him before he figured out who was grabbing at his backside. She didn’t actually grab him as she got his phone. The yelping was funny, though, and shelaughed.
“Whatthe…?”
She swiped the answer button. “Uh-uh, Kelly.” She shook her finger in front of her face for the tiny camera. “No spoilers. You can find out what Beckett looks like along with the rest of myfollowers.”
Kelly’s shoulders slumped. “Pleeease. I have a bet going with accounting. They think you went all guns and ammo pinup on him. I told them no way, my girl isclassy.”
Daisy bit her lip, looking over the phone to Beckett. He lifted one eyebrow, asking her what she was going to do, and her insides turned tolava.
“Ooooh! It’s got to be so good. You’reblushing!”
