Page 10 of Unburied

Good God. Mason had told her he was a twin after the debacle in the bar. Never in a million years did she ever imagine that he was related to Miles Kane. For whatever reason, she’d imagined an exact duplicate of him—not the man who continued to glower her way across the counter.

She tried desperately not to glare at Miles, because that information would have been super helpful a few days ago. She cleared her throat. “Awesome. Well, I should let you guys get going.”

“You’re more than welcome to join us,” Miles teased. “The more the merrier.”

“I—” She jumped as her brother shoved another file into her hands, jerking her out of her stupor.

“Stop flirting with my guys.”

She rolled her eyes. “No one’s flirting.” And she most certainly did not have an insanely hot one-night stand with the new guy.

“Good, ‘cuz I’d have to kill them for putting hands on her baby sister.”

Her jaw dropped at his declaration. “Oh, my God, you’re such a⁠—”

“Mason, this is my sister, Vivi,” Knox said, cutting off her tirade.

Mason dipped his head, his sharp golden eyes unreadable, mask firmly back in place. “We’ve met.”

She glared at him, but it was short-lived as her brother continued. “You need any help getting settled, let her know. She’ll be more than happy to help.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” His eyes never left hers, and Vivi felt her pulse kick up. She needed to get away from all of them before she lost her mind. Her brother would probably kill Mason if he found out about their night at the hotel. He’d practically raised her and acted more like a parent than her big brother sometimes.

“Excuse me,” she said, pushing past the three men currently crowding her space and being a general nuisance. “I’ve got to take care of these.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket as she made her way to the back office where the files were kept, then pulled up Jamie’s number. They’d been friends all through high school and had reconnected via Facebook when she told her she was moving back to Florida. She’d graduated from cosmetology school a couple of years ago and now had her own small salon on the west end of town.

“Hey, girl, what’s up?” Jamie asked when she picked up.

“I need an emergency session with you tonight if you’re free.”

“Sure. Stop by around seven?”

“You got it.” Vivi shoved the files into their places, then slammed the drawer.

Three hours later, Vivi sat in Jamie’s kitchen, her shears at the ready. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked, her fingers sifting through Vivi’s long locks.

She wasn’t sure why every life change required women to do something drastic to their hair, but here she was. Vivi was tired of Knox treating her like a little girl. She was tired of men like Mason telling her what to do. It was time for a change.

Jamie studied her in the reflection of the mirror she’d propped on the table. “You’re not going to freak out afterward, right?”

“No way.” Vivi laughed. “The guys like it long, but this is for me. I want something shorter, more mature. Easy to take care of.”

“Hmm…” Jamie circled her, looking at her face and rearranging her hair. She opened her phone and flipped to a picture of a woman with a sleek bob that barely brushed her shoulders and handed it to Vivi. “Is this too short?”

“That’s perfect,” Vivi said with a grin. “Let’s get to it.”

She watched as long locks of brown hair fell to the floor around her, and she waited anxiously for Jamie to finish so she could see.

Finally, Jamie turned her around to face the huge mirror hanging on her wall. “What do you think?”

“Holy crap.” It was short, but it felt so light and playful. “I love it!”

Longer in front and a little shorter in the back, the cut framed her face and made her look older. Now if only she could be a little wiser…

No more hookups with alpha bodyguards, she promised herself as she studied her reflection.

She hugged Jamie, then headed to her car. Slowing for a red light, she glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror and ran her fingers through her dramatically shorter locks. A bitter smile curved her face. Mason could eat his heart out, because she was done being that girl back at the hotel. He thought she was some cheap slut he could use and throw away like yesterday’s trash.