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Humor brightened his green eyes. “Both.”
“Then yes. The caterers left us some food.”
“Good. We’ll eat while we circle the lake and take care of that other thing later.”
They stood together, staring out onto the lake. Lights twinkled from the shore. Tall buildings stretched to the sky. It was a beautiful night and she was enjoying herself, but her mind kept circling back to her conversation with Allison.
“You sighed.”
She leaned against him. “I’m distracted. I feel so bad for Allison. I can’t seem to let it go.”
“You don’t like problems you can’t fix. Nearly everything about her situation is unfixable. That makes you uncomfortable.”
She glanced at him. “I thought you were going to say it’s because I care about her.”
“You do, but you don’t mind that.”
How did he know her so well? She thought briefly about what her friend had said about Killion and his feelings for her, then dismissed the concern. There was no way he was in love with her. They were convenient and they liked each other’s company, nothing more.
“I think Peter’s a total shit and now it turns out he’s also a criminal, which is surprising, but oh well.” She turned to Killion. “But me thinking that is one thing. Allison loves him. She’s the kind of woman who needs to be in a relationship to be happy. He was supposed to take care of her and he didn’t. He’s in jail and he’s not getting out anytime soon. She’s totally alone with a toddler and a baby due in a few weeks. It sucks and I’m just pissed at Peter for screwing up her life.”
Killion touched her cheek. “She’s not alone. She has you.”
“It’s not the same.”
“No, but it’s a good substitute. You won’t let her down and you’re unlikely to be arrested.”
That made her smile for a second. Then she sighed again. “You’re right. I want to fix things, and I can’t. Summer wants to throw her a baby shower.”
“I can give you the name of my party planner. She can pull it all together.”
“It’s a baby shower. I think I’m capable. Besides my mom said she’ll help and that means she’ll do most of the work.”
“How about if I have Napoleon call her and they can work out the details together?”
She smiled. “I like that idea. You always know someone.”
“Yes, but more important, I’m someone you can trust to take care of you.”
What? She glared at him. “I don’t need taking care of. I’m perfectly capable of—”
He silenced her with a brief kiss. “You know what I mean. Don’t make what I said more than it is. You handle things for me and I do the same for you.”
She let her mad fade. He was right. From arranging movers to finding out where Peter was being held, Killion was someone she could count on. Funny how she’d never really seen that before.
26
Allison spent her break with Emmy, the salon’s general manager. They’d hit it off the first day of training.
“Not every salon has the training programs that we offer here,” Emmy said as they sat in the break room. “Beauty school teaches a lot, but most graduates need real world experience. We pair our graduates with a mentor and offer additional training. How long varies from department to department.”
Allison sipped her mug of warm water and wished her feet weren’t so swollen. But she was too far along to expect to be comfortable.
“There’s also ongoing training for all departments,” Emmy continued. “Our suppliers bring classes to us or offer slots for classes they’re teaching elsewhere. We can also earn slots through product sales and contests.”
“There’s a lot more to running a salon than I’d realized,” Allison admitted.
“If we were just doing hair, it would be easier, but we’re running a spa as well.”
