“But my dreams are all tangled up in yours, Luce, and the thought of you having your own salon makes me just as happy as the thought of having my own place.”
She put a hand over her chest but didn’t say anything.
“You’ll never have to give anyone your resume again.”
She pursed her lips.
“You could even hire some of the girls from the salon if you wanted,” I said. “Heck, you’ll probably be up and running before I am.”
“But the expense of getting all the chairs and the mirrors and the products.” She gestured towards the front window. “And a couch and a sign and business cards and-”
“I’ve already thought about all that,” I said. “We can afford it. It’s no problem.”
“I’d have to pay you back.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Aiden, I would.” Her face was serious. “I absolutely would.”
“I’m sure we could come to some other arrangement.”
“No,” she said. “I would have to pay you back. No matter how long it took me, I’d have to pay you back.”
“Okay,” I said. “Whatever you want. I know better than to argue with you, but can I make a suggestion?”
“Sure.”
“Why don’t you stop looking for reasons to say no and consider all the reasons you should say yes?”
She looked in my eyes.
“You shouldn’t have to look very far.”
She swallowed.
I reached in my pocket for my key chain and wiggled a key off the ring. Then I held it up in front of her. “What do you say?”