She told him everything, including poor Dr. Van Card’s demise. “I’m sorry, I know it’s a lot to ask, but my relationship book is coming out.” She should have been embarrassed, or at least suspicious that he would blab her secret to the world, but Noah seemed like a really decent guy.
“How does Pierce feel about this?” He sat down beside Chloe.
“He’s on board. He fake proposed to me this morning, but since the world thinks we’re brother and sister, it won’t work.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Is my hair really the wrong style for my face shape?” Not that she was self-conscious about it, but that was good information to have.
“Yes, but if you’ll trust me, I think I can fix it.” He stood. “I have my scissors out in the car.” He headed for the door.
“Scissors, I don’t understand.” Chloe had no idea what he was talking about.
“Noah has a special gift. Not only is he able to catch a football and run really fast, he’s also good with hair. His mother is a stylist and she says he’s like a hair-cutting ninja. He cuts my hair.” Sweet Louise fluffed her hair.
“Seriously, he cuts hair?” Chloe pointed toward her open front door. “No way.”
“Yes, he’s really good at it. You should let him,” Sweet Louise said. “You won’t regret it.”
“Okay.” She trusted Sweet Louise, and she really didn’t have anything to lose. “Why does he keep stylist scissors in his car?”
Sweet Louise shrugged a shoulder. “In case he ever has a hair out of place. I told you he can be a self-absorbed ass.”
He walked back into the house and closed the front door. He was carrying a small black bundle. “We need to take some of the weight off. If we do long layers, it will really bring out the waves and cut down on the frizz.” He went to her kitchen table and unrolled his bundle. It was a long piece of fabric with pockets sown into it. Each pocket held a tool, from scissors to combs and other hair-stylist things.
“Okay.” Really, what did she have to lose?
“I think we should do this in the kitchen. That way it’s easier to sweep up the hair.” He pulled out a kitchen chair. “Have a seat.”
She eased off the sofa, grabbed her crutches, and hobbled over to the chair. She still couldn’t get over that this man liked to cut hair. Hey, who was she to judge? She lowered herself into the chair. “I should probably be nervous.”
“Not really.” He pulled out some scissors. “Who does your hair normally?”
“Supercuts.” She’d never really cared for going to the salon. Her mother loved to go to the salon, but it just seemed like a waste of time to Chloe.
“Oh my God. Did you really just say Supercuts?” Noah sounded horrified.
“I don’t get the whole salon thing. My mother is addicted to salons. She spends hours there every week.” And there were always lots of people there. “I’m more of a get in and get out type of person.”
“Okay, well, now you’re on my list. I have a small list of people whose hair I cut. I only do in-home haircuts.” He combed her hair down. “I wish we had a mirror so you could watch me work. Maybe we should do this in the bathroom?”
“I’m okay with no mirror. Actually, I like this better. If you can live without a mirror, I can. I want to be surprised.” She really did want to be surprised. She should be worried, but her hair wasn’t her best feature, and if Sweet Louise vouched for him, that was enough for her. “Don’t you need to wet my hair first?”
“You’ve got some natural waves, so it’s better this way. You have a heart-shaped face, which means if we take some of the length away and texture around the face, it will even out the narrowing of your jawline.”
She had no idea what he was talking about, but she nodded anyway.
He combed and cut and cut and combed. He tilted her head this way and that. He had her look down and then up and side to side.
From where she was sitting, all she could see were chunks of her hair hitting the floor.
“Oh yes, now I see where you’re going with this,” Sweet Louise said from behind her. “It looks fantastic.” She walked around to stand in front of Chloe. “Your hair is going to be fabulous.”
Chloe wanted to turn her head, but she didn’t want to mess him up. “I don’t suppose either of you could help me out with clothes. I figure if I’m going to get my hair done, I might as well do the whole makeover thing.”
“Do you mind if I text my friends Grace and Debra? Debra is a wonder with makeup and clothes. Grace and I are excellent critique-ers.” Sweet Louise pulled her phone out of her cleavage and waited for a response from Chloe.
“Sure, go ahead. The more the merrier.” Chloe was certain that if she stuffed her phone into her bra, it would slide through the cups and land on the ground, or worse, people would ask why she had one rectangular glowing boob.
Sweet Louise thumb-typed at lightning speed.
“I wish I could type that fast. Did you take a class or something?” Noah asked as he combed and clipped.
“Sort of. There are a bazillion YouTube videos on thumb-typing for old people.” Sweet Louise slipped her phone back into her cleavage.
“So, fake love of my life, I feel like we should get to know each other a little bit better.” Noah clipped and then combed. “Tell me about yourself.”
There really wasn’t that much to tell. “I’m thirty-one and I grew up in Dallas. My father is a trust-fund baby, and my mother’s only ambition in life was to marry a trust-fund baby. They both suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder—not officially diagnosed by anyone but me. They made each other’s lives a living hell until they finally divorced when I was in high school. It was the best thing for everyone.”
She’d never revealed that to anyone, including her therapist.
“I’ve never met a trust-fund baby before. You’re more down-to-earth than I thought you’d be.” Noah brushed hair off of her shoulders. “I’m assuming you’re also a trust-fund baby.”
“Yes, I come from very old money.” She grinned. “Ever used a pair of fingernail clippers?”
“Yes,” Noah and Sweet Louise said in unison.
“You’re welcome. My however-many-greats-back-grandfather invented and patented them back in the late 1800s.” She laughed. “I’m the heir to the great fingernail clipper fortune.”
“That makes you super sharp.” Noah laughed.
“I forgot to tell you that he has a strange sense of humor.” Sweet Louise rolled her eyes. “Fingernail clippers, that’s actually interesting.”
“We also hold patents for the straw part of a spray bottle and the metal brackets that go around the teeth for braces.” Her ancestors had been very resourceful.
“Shouldn’t you live like Paris Hilton or someone like that?” Noah ran his fingers through her hair.
“Unfortunately, I’m not that rich, but even if I were, I still would live right here and do what I do.” She loved her life … well, apart from the fake fiancé.
“I feel the same way. If I had to play football for free, I would.” He grinned. “Thank God they pay me for it, because otherwise I’d be flipping burgers.”
“No, you’d be doing hair.” Sweet Louise pulled up a kitchen chair and sat. “Which is what I see you doing after football.”
“I guess football isn’t a long-term career. I never really thought about it, but you probably only get, what, twenty years in the NFL?” Chloe had read somewhere that it was really hard on their bodies.
“Twenty years … I wish. The most I can hope for is a good decade or possibly more. The averages change based on performance. Overall, the average player life is only a little over three years, but it goes up if, say, you’re a first-round draft pick or you’ve won at least one pro bowl. But yeah, there’s not much longevity in the NFL, plus after a while, your body just can’t take the hits anymore.” His hands stopped moving. “What do you think?”
“Unbelievable.” Sweet Louise clapped. “It’s perfect.”
“I want to see.�
�� Chloe grabbed her crutches and rolled onto her one good foot. “I can’t wait.”
She hobbled to the master bath, and they followed after her.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror over her sink. She didn’t even look like the same person. Her hair had long, flowing, wavy curls that framed her face and cascaded down her shoulders. She shook her head like a shampoo commercial model. “It’s incredible. I love it. You’re a genius.” She leaned up and kissed Noah on the cheek. “Thank you so much. You truly have a gift.”
“Thank you.” Noah turned all humble.
The doorbell bonged.
“That will be Grace and Debra. I texted them your size, coloring, and approximate height, and they both had things in their closet that might work. I hope you don’t mind.” Sweet Louise bustled out of the bathroom. “Noah, help her back to the sofa.”
“Thank you, but I think I can manage.” Chloe shifted her weight on her crutches.
“Yeah, if I don’t help you, Sweet Louise is going to tear me a new one.” Noah put an arm around her and shouldered her weight.
“I’m not used to all of this fuss.” She didn’t have a choice, so she let him help her.
She hobbled back into the great room to find Sweet Louise talking to a blonde and a brunette who were holding armloads of clothes.
Sweet Louise glanced at Chloe. “Chloe, this is Grace,” she motioned toward the brunette, “and this is Debra.” She pointed to the blonde.
Grace waved. “You poor thing. I hope your foot isn’t too painful.”
“No, it hurts, but it’s actually not that bad.” Chloe eased her way onto the sofa.
Debra grinned and nodded to the armload of clothes she was carrying. “I was cleaning out my closet when Sweet Louise texted. I hope you don’t mind cast-offs. I thought some of these might work for you.”
“I love cast-offs. To tell you the truth, I’m not much for shopping. Seems like a waste of time. When I do shop, I buy most of my clothes online.”
Grace laid her armload of clothes over the sofa back. “I hear you. I’m an online shopper myself.”
Debra stacked her armload on top of Grace’s. “I love your hair.”
“Thanks. Me too.” Chloe nodded toward Noah. “He did it.”
Grace stage-whispered, “He’s a genius, but don’t tell him I said so.”
Chloe laughed. She felt nothing but excitement at meeting these two new ladies. That was huge for her. She had a feeling that she’d just made two new friends.
Chloe’s phone rang. She leaned forward and grabbed it from the coffee table. She checked the screen and said to the room at large, “It’s my book agent.”
Normally, she wouldn’t answer the phone while having company, but Blanche only called when she needed something important. Chloe wished she could go into the other room for privacy, but she couldn’t hobble and hold the phone at the same time.
She hit answer. “Hello.”
“Are you, all right? I just saw you on TMZ. I didn’t know Pierce Rogan was your brother.” Blanche sounded honestly concerned. “Do I need to make sure that BookPeople is wheelchair accessible?”
“I’m fine. Just broke some bones in my foot. I’m not in a wheelchair.” Why was she on TMZ? Oh, right. Pierce was famous. Butterflies bounced around in her stomach. It looked like she’d be meeting lots of new people, maybe even reporters. It gave her a headache just thinking about it.
“Thank God. I’m worried about you.” Blanche rustled some papers.
“I’ll be fine.” Everyone was making a bigger deal out of her foot than it really was. She supposed she should call her parents and tell them about the accident. What did it say about her that she’d just thought of that?
“That’s good to hear.” Blanche hesitated. “I had a thought this morning … why don’t you put together a little video montage of your life with your fiancé? We could have it playing in the background at the launch. I think it would be fun for everyone to see the relationship that inspired the book L-O-V-E.”
Oh crap. The butterflies turned into lead weights, and a headache pounded through her brain. “Um … I … um …” It was time for her to tell the truth. It wasn’t like she could produce photographic evidence of her life with her fake fiancé.
Blanche spoke a few words to someone away from the phone. “I’ve got to run. So glad you’re okay. Talk again soon.” She hung up.
Every single time Chloe spoke with Blanche, her lie swallowed a little bit more of her soul. She was trapped, and there was no way out.
Chapter 11
Pierce was exhausted, and all he wanted was to see Chloe. It was stupid how much he just wanted to be in the same room with her.
His hands fisted in his lap. He couldn’t believe he’d given out her first name in a public, soon-to-be televised interview. He’d have to tell her to expect reporters and photographers to hound her. If only he hadn’t slipped up and given Jenny her name.
“I know you’re worried about Chloe, but she’ll be fine.” Karen always seemed to know what he was thinking. “We just need to let her know what to expect. She’s got you and Sweet Louise and Noah and me. We will shield her as much as possible.”
“I know, but I can’t believe I made that mistake. Chloe has issues with meeting new people, and now she’s going to be surrounded by new people. It sucks.” And the worst part was that he’d done this to her. This was the second time he’d hurt her in the last twenty-four hours. He hated to admit it, but the best thing for her would be for him to walk away … only he couldn’t walk away from her.
“At least she’ll be in a good mood.” Karen pulled out of the Lone Stars players’ parking lot.
“What do you mean?” Had something happened? Then again, Chloe always seemed to be in a good mood.
“Haven’t you been reading the texts?” She shook her head. “Probably not since you were being interviewed by Jealous Jenny. Chloe is getting a makeover. Noah cut her hair and Sweet Louise, Debra, and Grace are doing the rest.”
“Why? Chloe’s fine the way she is.” He didn’t want her to change. He liked the tiny, black lace panties. Hold on a minute, had Noah seen her in those tiny, black lace panties? Now he’d have to actually kill his best friend instead of just removing his eyes. What was the best way to get rid of the body? Surely no one would miss Noah until Spring Training. Maybe old Noah would go visit the same cannibals who’d eaten poor Dr. Van Card.
He pulled out his phone. There were a million texts from Sweet Louise. He pulled up the first one and looked at the picture. Chloe looked fantastic. Her hair was different. Somehow it made her eyes even brighter green.
“The haircut is perfect for her.” Karen’s eyes stayed on the road. “Wait until you see the picture of her in the green dress.”
“Green dress?” He pulled up text after text and finally found a picture of Chloe in a low-cut, knee-length dress that showcased a small waist and round hips. How had he missed that last night? She looked amazing … but he didn’t like it. Now Noah would see how fantastic she looked, and he’d probably already noticed how fantastic she was on the inside. And he’d want to be more than her fake fiancé. Pierce’s hand fisted around his phone, and he would have crushed it if not for the OtterBox case. “Drive faster.”
“Why?” Karen smiled as she gently tapped the brake, slowing down for no apparent reason.
“Why are you slowing down?” It might be faster to walk or run. He jogged ten miles a day. It was a good twenty to her house, although he’d be running on anger, so he might not even notice the extra mileage.
Karen tapped the brake again. “I hate to repeat myself, but why?”
How did he explain that he needed her to drive faster so he could kill his best friend?
He chose his words very carefully and took a couple of deep breaths to keep from yelling. “Chloe should be resting. All of this up and down is bad for her. She needs to take it easy.”
He had no idea if that was true, but it made sense.
“I think Chloe can take care of herself. She’s tough.” Karen actually took her eyes off the road to glance at him.
He had the distinct feeling that she was doing her best not to laugh. Chloe’s health wasn’t funny. She was seriously injured.
“I love you like a mother and I’d do anything for you, but if you don’t drive faster, I’m going to throw you out of this slowly moving car and floor it all of the way to Chloe’s house.” He thought he’d done an excellent job of keeping his voice level instead of threatening.
“Did you just threaten me?” She was using her mom voice.
“Maybe.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Either drive faster or risk bodily harm.”
He wasn’t backing down.
“Wow, somebody has some serious feelings for Chloe.” She reached over and patted his knee like she’d done after they’d lost the homecoming game his junior year in high school. “Just remember I want some grandbabies. Out of my five biological children, all I’ve gotten so far are three grand-dogs.”
He threw up both palms. “Now wait a minute … slow down. Chloe and I are just friends.” Only he already thought of her as more than a friend. “She only sees me as a friend.”
“So? Change her mind.” Karen smiled and her shoulders shook with silent laughter. “You’ve never really had to woo a girl before. I can’t wait to see how your version of courtship plays out.”
“Courtship, what is this, Victorian England?” He nodded. “Okay, I’ve been giving the idea of dating Chloe for real some serious thought. But courtship? I’m not even sure what that means.”
“What are your plans to turn Chloe from friend into girlfriend?” Karen was in analytical mode. He knew she was making a pros and cons list in her head.
“I don’t know. I guess just basically move in and spend all of my time with her.” He hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Karen shook her head. “You really are terrible at this. You can’t move out of the friend zone by just moving in with her. All you’ll end up being to her is the live-in BFF.”
“What do you suggest?” He could do the flowers and candy routine, but he usually reserved that as his makeup ritual after a fight. He had thought of taking Chloe on a Hill Country ride to check out the bluebonnets, so that was something.
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