Blah, she was right and that was the worst part.
Instead of letting the new timeline wiggle into her head, Darla got purple highlights. Tom would’ve had a heart attack if she’d done this while they were engaged.
But the highlights looked fabulous. The subtle hint of lavender complimented the ivory of her skin tone and brought out more of the hints of peach in her eyes. She felt beautiful and confident, and it was like the highlights were supposed to be there all along.
Turned out she was a big fan of spa days with Irina and Courtney because her fingernails and toenails matched the same shade of lavender as her hair, so that was kickass.
With her newfound confidence, and their continued encouragement, they picked up those rented Segway scooters she’d reserved on the plane to L.A. And then they made some plans so she could surprise Mach before this crazy journey of theirs had to come to an end. Darla’s way of saying goodbye to their adventure, without actually having to say goodbye.
The three of them rolled into the studio on shiny blue two-wheelers while the guys finished up a song she hadn’t heard before. Mach was genuinely happy to see her—his face lighting up when he caught a glimpse of her in his periphery. Then his eyebrows raised at the new hair color and his eyes softened and she didn’t have to ask if he liked it, because it was written there on his face.
They parked their scooters in the hallway and headed into the studio.
"Hey, uh, Mach?" Darla asked as she meandered to him. She didn’t wait before continuing, "Did you forget to tell me something?"
She tap-a-tapped her foot.
He seemed lost at the question.
"Something Courtney maybe asked you to tell me?" She gave him a hint.
"Shit." Mach paled. He pressed his index finger to the bridge of his nose. "Um…Later, Latelyis tomorrow."
"Uh-huh." Darla nodded, jerking her thumb toward Courtney. "She told me."
"See, Courtney covered it. All good." Linx folded his hands under his chin and looked from Darla to Mach, then back to Darla.
"Anything else I need to know?" Darla asked, smiling a saccharine grin she hoped would distract him from the fact she had an amazing night planned for him.
"No. No," Mach said, adamantly. "And I’m sorry. It skipped my mind when we were, uh, on the couch." He flashed her a knowing smile.
"My couch?" Courtney asked with fake distress. "That’smycouch!"
"This. Is. Fun." Linx punctuated each word individually.
"Don’t worry, Mach." Darla squared her shoulders. "I’ve forgiven you for your memory lapse. Now, quick, don’t think—"
"Black or blue?” Courtney asked, rapid-fire, as she cocked her head and put her hands on her hips.
"Blue," he replied, looking at Darla kind of funny.
"Sweet or savory?” Irina asked.
"Sweet," he said super quick, clearly getting into the game.
"Wool or cotton?" Courtney asked.
"Cotton," he said without hesitation.
"Perfect." Darla raised up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the lips. But when their lips met it was electric, and as he kissed her back it became something more.
Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Chapter Twenty-Two
MACH
Darla’s hairwasn’t the only thing that had changed today. She was more earnest about their time together. She touched him every second she could, and looked a little sad when he kissed her until she went breathless. Which only made him kiss her until she didn’t look sad anymore.
