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I stared at Demi. “Kobe is obviously better than LeBron.”
Demi tossed her head back and groaned, so I let my attention fall to Golden, who was watching me now with newfound appreciation in his gaze. “I should ban you both from my shop,” Demi grumbled.
She finished with Golden, and they both walked to the front of the salon, where Golden whispered something to her, making her smile softly and blush a little before paying and leaving.
I watched through the window as he prowled to the same orange Camaro I’d seen him working on the day I’d arrived on their doorstep. He dropped into the driver’s seat, and the engine roared to life before he slowly pulled away from the curb and disappeared from sight.
“Don’t tell me you’ve got the hots for the Golden boy too.”
I was alarmed when I looked up and realized Demi had caught me watching my silent boss leave. She was standing over me with her hands on her generous hips, waiting for an answer from me.
I barked an incredulous laugh. “No. You don’t have to worry about that.” I was too busy catching feelings for a man that would have sent my father to an early grave if he wasn’t already dead. Grief punched a volleyball-sized hole in my chest without warning so I said, “I’m pretty sure Golden hates me.”
“Because he won’t talk to you? I wouldn’t take that personally. It took him two years before he would even say hi to me and then another two years before I got full sentences from him. We all have our ways of keeping the world at bay. ”
Great.
Except I didn’t have two years. I needed answers now, and whoever had sent me those letters had gone silent.
“So Golden’s is selective mutism?”
“I guess.” She grabbed a clean black cape from the cabinet near the sink and secured it around my neck before arranging it to protect my clothes. “So, how’s it going over there in the lion’s den?” she asked as she checked my scalp.
I snickered at her name for the shop. “I took off my training wheels today, so that was…new.”
“And the party last night? How was that?”
“It was okay,” I said as she leaned me back and began to wash my hair. “You should have come.”
Demi scoffed, the thin layer of scorn catching me off guard as she scrubbed my scalp. “Yeah, I’ll pass, but thanks.”
I frowned at her dry tone. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”
“No. No, no. Sorry, it’s nothing you said. It’s just there’s some…history between me and one of the Kings that I’m not looking to revisit.”
My belly sank as I wondered if she meant Rowdy. “Really?” I tried to keep my tone casual as I added, “Which one? If you don’t mind me asking.”
She paused for a heartbeat before she sighed loudly and grumbled, “Roc.”
“Oh.” I blinked my astonishment. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
There was a short pause before we both started laughing. “No offense.” I chortled. “But I just don’t see it.” Demi seemed way too sophisticated and sweet for immature-ass Roc.
“Yeah, well, that just means you’re a lot smarter than me.” She shut off the water and wrapped my faux locs in a towel to soak up the extra water.
“I’m not so sure about that,” I murmured as I thought about Rowdy. He’d been all over me this morning, and I hadn’t tried all that hard to stop him.
As if we’d conjured him up, a shadow suddenly darkened her door, and I recognized Roc immediately.
He was holding a little girl in his arms.
Roc pushed inside the salon with an irritated frown on his handsome mug as he listened to the caller on the other end of the phone plastered to his ear.
The little girl, who I assumed was the daughter Rowdy had mentioned, was babbling animatedly, oblivious to the fact that her father wasn’t listening.
Suddenly, she quieted and began looking around before catching sight of Demi and squirming to get down. Roc set her on her feet but only after a cautious sweep of the shop with his eyes, and she immediately ran in our direction as fast as her little legs would take her.
