“Finish up and I’ll do your hair, then I better get going.”
“You want to leave?”
“You want me to stay?”
“I already said as much.”
I licked my lips. “Thought you just meant for an hour or two, not the night.”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
As if that told me anything. Ugh. And then a random and slightly scary thought occurred to me. I stood tall and raised my chin. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
“You’re not, huh?”
“Nope.”
“I find it interesting that that was where your mind went, because who said anything about sex?” It was like the word sex hung in the hair between us, his tone of voice a dare. If he hadn’t been thinking about it before then, he sure as hell was now. “Maybe you missed me more than you’re letting on.”
No wonder I couldn’t find my balance with him. He switched from seemingly sweet and innocent to blatant and porny in the blink of an eye. His gaze darkened and he stared me down, taking me in with seemingly infinite patience. And there was such intimacy in his eyes. Such knowledge of me and us and every damn thing we’d ever done together. Because irrespective of everything else that hadn’t worked in our relationship, the sex had always worked. Despite the heat in my cheeks, I couldn’t have looked away if I tried. Next, a shiver worked its way down my spine, every inch of me suddenly hyper-aware of the skin I was in. Of the heaviness in my breasts and ache between my legs. Stupid hormones and body.
For so damn long, the male race in its entirety had left me cold and unmoved. After getting my heart smashed, it had been a bit of a relief to take a break. But now…how could I have forgotten?
Talk about unfair. The man was beautiful.
I swallowed hard. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“You’re staring.”
“So are you.” Then he smiled as if something had been decided. I did not trust that smile. It was a sly sort of thing, suggesting he remembered full well what I looked like naked but wouldn’t mind a refresher if I’d be so kind as to disrobe. Damn him and his heated looks. I did not need this sort of confusion in my life.
“Fine,” I said with way too much going on inside me. “Whatever. As long as you know nothing is happening between us. I’m not here for anything like that. Just to cut the split ends off your hair and shave a zero off that check. That’s all.”
“Okay,” he said, face a careful blank.
“Great. Glad we got that sorted.”
“You know what I just realized?” he asked, standing and pulling his tee over his head. Just getting half-naked as if that were in any way acceptable and flashing the upper half of his lean hard body at me. The bastard. All of his ink and smooth skin and…oh my God I was melting inside. At this rate I’d be a puddle of girl goo in no time.
“What are you doing?” I squeaked.
“Don’t want hair stuck in my shirt.” He pushed his hair back from his face and dragged the barstool away from the counter into an open space. “This do?”
“Yeah. I’ll need a brush and comb too.”
He wandered off toward the bathroom, retrieving the requested items. Then he sat down and patiently waited. Still half-naked, dammit. “I was telling you about the moment I just had.”
And I was seriously not certain I wanted to know.
“That being defensive and in denial isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
I sniffed. “Speak for yourself. I have no plans to get myself anywhere anyway.”
“Think about it. This is a chance for us to clear the air. To maybe get things sorted between us. Get on the road to being friends, if that’s what you want.”
Oh no. Hell no. Being Adam’s buddy sure as hell wasn’t in the cards. My fake smile couldn’t possibly stand up to seeing him with another woman. Not that I’d be saying that out loud anytime this century.
“Things are sorted. They have been for a long time. Are you sure you trust me around you with sharp objects?” I asked, mostly joking. Like, ninety-nine percent.
“I trust you just fine.”
No comment from me. I picked up the shears, testing out their motion. Mae certainly hadn’t scrimped on quality. They were professional-level. With the scissors back on the bench, I took up the brush and started in on his tangles. No big deal. Just doing my job. Nothing special about touching him and being all up in his face at all. If my fingers hesitated a moment before making contact…it was just one of those things. The weirdness of exes and so on.
There’d been no lie when he said I liked how he smelled. Getting closer only amped it up more. Hard not to take a few nice deep breaths. At this range, the faint spicy hint of his aftershave lotion became detectable. Something expensive, no doubt. In all likelihood, my reaction to him could be labeled the comfort of familiarity. He’d been the great love of my life up until now, but others would come, and I’d eventually move on. Some of them might even end up better in bed than Adam. You never knew. Miracles did happen.
He reached for his phone, putting on some old Fleetwood Mac. One of my favorites.
Meanwhile, I carefully brushed out his hair, ignoring the heat of his skin and the width of his shoulders because…I was a boss like that. “You should take better care of it. Two-in-one shampoo is lazy-ass nonsense and you know it.”
“You had a nose-around, huh?”
“Nope. Lucky guess, that’s all.”
He was smart enough not to fall for that. “Looking for anything in particular?”
I sighed. “No. Just looking.”
“Right.” He chuckled. “Can’t believe you haven’t been on even one date in the last year.”
“Can’t believe you’re making a big deal out of it.” I exchanged the brush for the comb. “If I want company, I have friends. If I feel the need to get laid, I can organize that without too much difficulty as well. I just wasn’t in the mood. Stop reading so much into it.”
“I know. I’m well aware you don’t need anyone just for the sake of having someone,” he said. “But you were a great girlfriend. Partner. Whatever you want to call it. Seems a shame you’re not interested in sharing your life with someone special, you know?”
I sighed. “I’m just going to say thank you, and we’re going to stop this line of questioning, okay?”
A nod from him.
“A couple of inches off sound good?”
“Whatever you think is best.”
So I started cutting, stopping to brush hair off his back and shoulders as I went. Nothing special about skimming my fingers across his warm skin time and again. Nothing remarkable about the way he silently watched me as I worked on his front. Even if his gaze did ever so slightly unnerve me. The way he took in my eyes, my mouth, and the line of my neck leading down to my chest. The way the little hairs on his body stood on end, and so did mine. Guess we both got to each other. We always had.
I didn’t rush the job, but I didn’t mess around either.
“Take one of the zeros off the check,” I prodded when the silence had stretched too long.
“No.”
“Stop being difficult or we’re never going to reach an agreement.”