"Evan," I said in a quiet tone even though no one could hear us. "You are exactly who you're supposed to be—scars and all. It's not like God was taken by surprise about your accident. Everything that happens in our life, good or bad, He allows. Nothing happens to us without it going through God first."
He smiled at me. "That's sort of the type of stuff I've been thinking about lately," Evan said. He shrugged. "I'm not sure what it all means yet, but I'm starting to know it was all for a reason."
"Good," I said. "Then you should understand that you don't need to say things about not messing up your face and stuff like that. Your face is exactly what it's supposed to be."
I stared straight at his scar in a way that was not at all ashamed, and before I knew it, I was reaching out to touch it. "I'm sorry if you hate me doing this right now," I said. "I know you hated when Jemma Richardson did it at the restaurant."
I placed my palm on the side of his face and used my thumb to gently trace the line of his scar. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose when I crossed from his eyebrow to his cheek. "I just want you to know from a female perspective that it's flattering on you. It makes you look dangerous—in a good way."
The corners of his mouth lifted in a slow grin as he opened his eyes to peer up at me. "I am dangerous in a good way," he said.
I was already nervous as it was, but his statement had me taking a shaky breath. I dropped my hand and smirked at him. "I was trying to help you out," I said. "I thought you were having some confidence issues, but I can clearly see that's not the case."
"Oh, you were just saying all that to make me feel better?" he asked, smirking back at me.
I smiled. "I guess so."
His face crumpled into a depressed expression. "Then, I'm all torn up," he said.
I laughed and pushed at his shoulder. "It's too late now," I said. "You had me feeling bad for you—giving you a pep talk and everything, and all the time you knew what a hunk you were."
I had begun cleaning my station as I spoke, and when I finished talking, Evan put his hand on my arm to get my attention. I looked at him to see that he was regarding me sincerely. "I loved your pep talk," he said. "And I needed it in spite of all the kidding around. You're awesome for saying all that just now, and I'm not even gonna tease you for using the word hunk like my grandma."
"But saying you're not going to tease me as a means of bringing it up is teasing me."
"You said hunk," Evan said, looking like he was stifling a smile.
I widened my eyes and shrugged as if I stood behind my choice of words. "You are a hunk," I said in a matter of fact tone. "You know you are, and you know that scar looks good on you." I narrowed my eyes playfully at him. "You're just acting insecure to get me to compliment you."
"I wasn't trying to act insecure," he said, smiling with his hands raised. "I was just being serious when I said I'd let you practice shaving my face. I mean, compared to this, a little nick from a razor is nothing."
"Don't ever let a girl shave your face," I said.
It was perhaps the dumbest thing I could come up with to say, but I honestly didn't want him letting other girls shave his face. I hated the idea of him offering to let some other girl do that.
"Are girls bad at it or something?" he asked, looking slightly amused.
"It's best just to do it yourself," I said. "You know all the contours of your own face. It's just better for you to do it."
Evan let out a laugh as he got to his feet. He stood there, watching me straighten my station with his hands in his pocket. "Amanda can help you at the front," I said, glancing at him with a casual smile. "It was good seeing you again."
"That's it?" he asked.
"I can walk you to the front if you want, but it's just right there, so I thought you—"
"What are you doing right now?" he asked.
"Me? I'm just cleaning up my station."
The easy smile remained on his face. "I meant after that."
I glanced at the clock that was hanging on the wall. "I'm just gonna go read or whatever for a few minutes till my six o'clock gets here."
"You have someone else coming in tonight?" he asked, looking taken aback as he glanced at me and then the clock. "How late do you work?"
"Andy's my last one."
"My cousin, Andy?" Evan asked.
"I don't think so," I said. "His name's Andy Fields. He's a writer for the Charlotte Times."
Evan shook his head like this description didn’t fit that of his cousin. "What time are you done with this Andy character?" he asked.
"His appointment's at six, and it'll take me forty-five minutes or so." I hesitated but then added, "but he's taking me to dinner after that."
I was totally being silly, but I secretly hoped it would make Evan jealous.
"Is he really?" he asked.
I smiled and shook my head. "No, I'm just playing."
I thought he would walk off at that point, but he just stood there. "You want to hang out?" he asked.
"You mean after work?" I asked.
He nodded.
"I'd like to, but I can't," I said.
"It's the scar," he said, looking disappointed even though he was totally faking it.
I narrowed my eyes and pointed at him. "You better quit playing, or you'll make me give you another pointless pep talk."
"That pep talk was not pointless," he said. "I loved it."
"Good," I said, patting his shoulder casually. "Because everything I said was true."
"Why can't you hang out after work?" he asked.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Because I want to hang out with you."
I wanted to drop everything and do it, I really did. I didn't even know what he meant by "hang out", but I didn't really care as long as it meant being in his presence. It was a terrible idea and I knew it. He was leaving for California in the morning, for goodness sake.
"I have to help my mom," I said.
"With what?"
I tried to keep my face expressionless as I decided how to answer his question. "Pumpkin bread," I said, honestly.
"Pumpkin bread?"
I nodded. "She makes one big batch of it every year at this time. Some of it goes to the church for the fall festival, and some of it we sell at the restaurant. People wait for it all year. A few people buy multiple loaves and freeze them."
"I guess it's a secret recipe," Evan said.
"Yep."
"No outsiders in the kitchen, I guess."
I stared at him sideways. "Are you trying to infiltrate my mama's kitchen?"
He smiled and nodded. "I think I am."
"Too bad," I said, shaking my head. "It's a secret family recipe."
"What if I promise not to look?" he asked.
"Look at what?"
He shrugged. "At whatever we're putting in the mix."
I tilted my head at him and stared at him with a confused expression. "Are you seriously asking if you can come to my mom's to make pumpkin bread tonight?"
He nodded as if yes were the only appropriate answer to that question.
I was so confused. "Why would you want to do that?" I asked.
"Because that's what you're doing," he said.
I smiled and rolled my eyes at him since I had no idea whether or not he was serious. "I'm gonna be leaving here at seven," I said. "If you seriously want to make pumpkin bread with my mom, you can meet me back here. If not, I'll see you when you come back into town for a visit or whenever."
"I'll be back at seven," Evan said.
"All right, but don't feel bad if you can't make it," I said.
"Stop making excuses for me," he said. "It makes me feel like you don't want me to come."
"It's not that, I just don't want you to feel like—"
"I don't feel like anything," he said, cutting me off. "I'm just trying to hang out with you a little more, even if it means making pumpkin bread." He smiled and reached out to nudge my elbow with hi
s knuckle before he headed off toward the desk. "I'll see you at seven," he said.
"All right," I said in a I'll forgive you if you cant make it tone.
Ten minutes later, Amanda came into the break room wearing a huge grin. "I'm leaving early," she said. "You and Becca will be the last ones here, so just lock up and set the alarm on you way out."
"Okay," I said only vaguely wondering why she'd be wearing such a huge smile to say some everyday things like that. "Evan must've liked his haircut," she said, raising her eyebrows.
"Why?"
"Because he tipped you fifty bucks!"
"Nu-uhh," I said.
She smiled and nodded. "It's up at the front for you." Her face morphed into one of curiosity. "He also said something about coming back to pick you up."
"He said something about hanging out when I got off," I said.
"Like a date?" she asked with wide-eyed interest.
"Hardly," I said. "He might come by my mom's to help with the pumpkin bread."
"Oh, my gosh, I forgot about that stuff," she said. "Are you bringing some of it up here?"
I nodded. "I always do."
"All right, chica, well, have fun making pumpkin bread with the J. Crew model."
I smiled and rolled my eyes at her, and she winked at me.
"Your money's under the till."
Chapter 6
My boss, Paige, (who also happened to be married to Evan's brother, Cody) came by the salon to drop something off just as I was finishing up with Andy Fields, my last client of the day. She had their two little girls in tow. Ryan, who was in third grade, and Izzy, who was just about to turn three. They were the cutest little family ever, and I smiled and waved at them as they headed to the back of the salon to their mom's office.
"Amanda will set you up for your appointment in four weeks," I said, knowing Andy came in once a month like clockwork. "Oh, wait," I corrected. "She's already gone. I'll go up there with you."
We walked to the front together. I went behind the reception desk while Andy made his way around to the other side. A few clicks, and he was pre-booked for four weeks later. Andy paid cash like he always did, tipping me five bucks on top of his total. I thanked him and came around the counter to hug him and see him out. I always hugged my clients. Usually I hugged them twice—once when they were coming and once when they were going. People can share a lot with you during the timespan of a haircut or color, and a lot of my regular clients had already become like family to me, even in my short career.
Evan came through the door just as Andy was leaving. They greeted each other with nods as they switched places—Evan heading toward me, and Andy heading out the door. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of Evan, and I couldn’t contain a smile at the way he physically affected me.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm just smiling," I said, shrugging.
"That's good," he said. "I like that smile."
I gestured with a flick of my head for him to follow me. "Are you seriously gonna come with me to my mom's?" I asked as I started walking back to my station to clean up and unplug everything.
"No, I just came up here to see Ryan and Izzy," Evan said. He was following me, and I glanced back at him to find that he was smiling as he looked toward the girls who were standing in a hallway waiting for their mom.
"Seriously?" I asked, just as they caught sight of him.
"No," he said, smiling at his nieces before making a face like he was going to tickle them.
They giggled and began running toward him instantly. Evan glanced at me just as the girls started coming our way. "I'm going with you to your mom's," he said. "If that's okay with you."
Right after he said it, he stooped to hug his nieces who were running full force into their uncle. They giggled as he hugged and tickled them.
"What are you little girls doing here?" he asked, standing up. In a practiced maneuver, Izzy lifted her arms and Evan scooped her up to position her on his side, supporting her backside with his arm.
"Izzy, Uncle Evan can't pick you up because of his broken leg," Ryan warned, tugging at her sister's pants.
Izzy dodged her sister's attempts to pull her down, clinging to Evan.
"My leg's fine, peanut," he said messing up Ryan's hair. "I can hold you at the same time if you want me to."
Ryan laughed at that since she was getting so big that she rarely (if ever) got picked up anymore.
"Mama said thew's a hole in the fent," Izzy said. "Daddy has to come put some dup take on it."
"It's called the vvvent," Ryan said, emphasizing the V-sound.
"I figured she was saying vent," Evan said. "I'm stuck on dup take." He leaned in and tickled Izzy, who squirmed and squealed with delight. "Dup take!" He said in a growling voice that made her laugh even harder.
"Dup take!" she repeated, trying to clarify, but still saying it incorrectly.
"What in the world is dup take?" Evan asked, laughing. We were all giggling by this point.
"It's that grey take," Ryan said. As the word 'take' came out of her mouth, a confused expression covered her face as if she knew she was saying something wrong but just wasn't sure what it was.
"You mean tape?" Evan said as he and Ryan shared a laugh.
"Dup take!" Izzy repeated, thinking she was pronouncing it perfectly the whole time.
"What are you doing here?" Paige asked, coming down the hall to find us all standing there.
"Annabel gave me a haircut," Evan said motioning toward me.
I waved as I continued toward my station.
"It looks good," Paige said, crossing over to stand by Evan. I could see out of the corner of my eyes that she reached out to touch his hair with a stylist's interest. "You did a good job," she said when I glanced at her. "It looks fresh on you, Evan."
"She gave me scalp massage, too," he said raising his eyebrows.
"The standard scalp massage," I clarified like the gigantic dork I was.
"What's a scalp bassage?" Izzy asked, leaning over to get Evan to look at her.
"It just means she scratched my head when she washed my hair."
"I hope you're planning on tipping her," Paige said.
"Oh, he did," I said, patting the back pocket of my jeans to indicate the fifty-dollar bill that was stashed there. "I forgot to say thank you for that, by the way," I said, looking at Evan. "That's too much."
"All right, you can buy me something to eat, then," he said, seeming entertained by teasing me.
I didn't know what to say, and I felt shy in front of Paige and the girls, so I just smiled and scrunched up my face as I continued dusting hair off of my implements. I hoped Paige would continue talking to him and change the subject.
"Iz said Cody's got to come up here with some dup take," Evan said.
Paige looked like she might say something about his mispronunciation for a second, but then changed her mind. "He's got to do something with the vent in my office," she said. "The whole thing might need to be replaced." She paused and glanced at me. "Becca's still here," she said. "She'll lock up."
I watched her shift her attention to Evan.
"Wait," she said, looking perplexed. She looked back and forth from Evan to me. "I thought you were working on Andy when we came in."
"I was," I said. "I cut Evan's hair before Andy came in."
"Why are you here?" Paige asked, with a genuinely confused expression aimed at Evan.
"Annabel's buying me something to eat before we go to her mom's house." He paused and cupped his hand to his mouth so he could whisper. "I'm helping them make their super-secret pumpkin bread," he said.
"Oh my gosh, is it time for the bread?" Paige asked, looking at me.
I nodded. "Please don't forget to bring some up here," she said. "We'll take like four loaves." She looked at Evan. "Are you really going over there?"
He nodded.
"All right," she said, thankfully not making a big deal about it. "Let me give you a hug in case we don't see you again be
fore you go."
"Where woo goin' Unco Evan?" Izzy asked.
"Back to California, remember?"
"I thought woo already went there," she said.
"Memaw and Pop had spaghetti dinner to tell me goodbye, but I didn't go yet. I'm leaving in the morning."
Paige and her girls all looked sad as they hugged Evan and told him goodbye, and I did my best to ignore them and give them their privacy as I finished straightening my station. As soon as they had walked away and were out of earshot, I smiled at Evan. "Ready?" I asked.
Evan followed me to my mom's house. We stopped for a sub sandwich on the way, but he wouldn't let me pay for it with the fifty bucks like he was saying. He insisted on paying for it.
My parents had divorced years earlier, and while Dad had remarried right away, Mom never had. I saw my dad regularly, but I lived with my mom. There was no arranged custody; I just chose where I wanted to live. I stayed with Mom all through middle and high school, and then even after that until I finished hair school and started working at the salon. I had my own place now, but I still saw her just about every day since she kept my dog while I was at work.
Cupcake was my 120lb harlequin Great Dane. She had a lot of white on her chest with just the right amount of black markings. I had gotten used to her, so I would forget sometimes how breathtaking she was. She bounded across the living room, headed toward Evan and me when we came in the front door.
"Oh my goodness, does she seriously have a Great Dane?" Evan asked.
I could tell by his tone that he was excited about it, and I smiled as we stooped to pet Cupcake. "She's mine, aren't you girl?" I asked, scratching behind her ears.
She sat down and began pawing at me like she wanted me to tell her to shake. "She's showing off for you," I said, speaking to Evan even though I was looking at Cupcake. "Shake, girl," I said like it was my idea.
She had never stopped pawing at me, but I caught her paw and shook it, following through on the command. I praised her for obeying even though she was the one who brought it up in the first place. She stood up excitedly and began sniffing Evan and me like crazy.
It's About Time (Hunt Family #5) Page 4
