Page 23 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

And with myself lost in that little fantasy, I come faster than I thought possible.

Pressing the button to stop the vibration, my room falls silent, apart from my heavy breathing. Or at least, it does for three seconds. Then, the music starts again.

8

SIENNA

“No, no. If you’re sick, you need to be at home. I’ll figure it out, Sav. Just rest and focus on getting better, okay?” I say as Savvy, one of our therapists, begins hacking up a lung on the other end of the phone.

She’s been feeling under the weather for a couple of days. Well, now she’s got the full-on flu and is probably going to be out for a while.

“Wonderful,” I breathe as I lower the phone back to the counter and wake up the iPad with today’s appointments on.

Footsteps behind me alert me to someone else’s presence.

“Rachel, can you⁠—”

“I’ve already canceled my date tonight, and I’ve got protein powder out back. We’ve got this,” she says with a wide smile on her face.

“Fuck,” I breathe, sinking lower in the seat.

Business is booming. In fact, booming doesn’t even begin to cover it.

When Bea first started dating Rett, no one knew about this place. But as time has gone on and people have looked a little deeper into the woman who has stolen Everett Donnelly’s black heart, more and more have discovered the salon. It’s fantastic. We've always been steady with appointments, but right now, we’re fully booked every day, with more and more people calling and emailing about appointments.

But as much as we’d love to hire more staff and let more clients through the door, we only have so much space.

If we want to grow, then…It’s going to be a really big step, and with Bea pregnant, I’m not sure now is the right time.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t started looking into options for other premises. The thought of expanding is as exciting as it is terrifying. This place has always been Bea’s dream. But I know that deep down, she dreams bigger than just one salon. And now, with how busy we are, with the number of potential clients we’re turning away every day, and a hockey player with millions of dollars behind us…maybe it actually is the right time.

No. It’s not. Lock it the fuck down.

“Sienna?”

“Huh? Sorry. I spaced out.”

“Did you hear anything I just suggested?” Rachel scolds.

My face heats. “Um…maybe.”

“Ugh,” she teases before setting about repeating herself with her plans for the appointments.

An hour later, we’ve just about managed to get everything sorted. Bea is coming in early and will no doubt be staying late with us, too, and Lessy’s little sister, who is currently studying beauty, is coming in this afternoon to pick up a shift on reception to free us up.

We’ve got this under control. Kinda.

“I swear to God,” I say to Rachel and Lessy a few minutes before we open. “If either of you get the flu from Savvy, we’re all fucked.”

Lessy pulls out a small bottle of hand sanitizer from the pocket in her apron. “Not gonna happen,” she states confidently. “And I’ve been drinking my daily greens. My immune system is fired up.”

“Should we wear masks?” Rachel asks seriously.

I grimace. “I’m not sure I can go back to 2020.”

“She’s right,” Lessy agrees. “That fucking sucked.”

“I’ve already preordered lunch from the deli down the street. Make sure you keep drinking. We’ve got this.”