Chapter 19 Rush #2
“Nora.”
Abby smiles. “He just said he needs a trim, so I’m sure it shouldn’t take you that long. You can lock up when you’re done.”
Nora and Abby exchange a look I can only classify as concerning, but neither says anything. Instead, Nora nods, and Abby grabs her keys and heads for the door, leaving us to our own devices. It’s just me and Nora. Here. Alone in this salon.
“Come on, then,” she says as she nods to her chair. “Let’s get you suited up.”
I get into the chair with ease, my thoughts wandering to Abby’s words. She said my brother was here earlier. With Nora. And that they kissed.
I shove the thought out of my mind as she capes me, her hands on my shoulders bringing me back to the here and now.
“Thanks for taking me on such short notice,” I say as I relax and she slips her fingers through my hair.
“No problem. I mean, I didn’t know it was you, but—”
I tense at her words. “Would you have said no? If you knew it was me?” I ask honestly.
Her eyebrows furrow. “No! Of course not, I just—”
She shakes her head and asks, “How much do you want me to cut?”
“Just a trim,” I say. “You be the judge. You’re the professional.”
“Right,” she says, her cheeks turning pink. “Totally professional.”
She starts sectioning my hair and gets her scissors.
My heart is in my throat. I’ve never been so nervous to talk to a woman in all my life, but maybe it’s because I have a lot to say to Nora.
Maybe it’s because I want more.
“I…we never got a chance to talk about what happened the other night,” I say carefully. I feel her tense for a moment, then her scissors snip my hair. Some falls to the ground.
“The other night?” she asks, carefully.
“When we kissed.” I say the words solidly so she knows I’m serious.
“Right,” she says. “Then last night…”
She tenses as I look at her reflection in the mirror. She’s just dressed in black leggings and a white sweater—a cozy, average getup, and her fiery red hair is pulled back in a wavy ponytail. The leggings show off her figure perfectly, and she looks absolutely stunning. Just like this.
Her cheeks are red, and she’s staring at my reflection as her words hit me. Last night…
“I’m sorry if I offended you,” I say carefully. “I was drinking, and when I got your photo…”
Her fingers glide through my locks as she scissors the edges.
“I didn’t mean to send that photo to you,” she says. “Or your brothers…”
Brothers…as in…
“You sent that photo to my brothers?”
She nods. “Um…yes.”
So it wasn’t meant for me. But then…
“Who was it meant for?” I ask carefully, not sure if I want to hear the answer.
Nora bites her lip. “Does it matter?”
I nod, my gaze finding hers in the mirror. “Yes,” I say. “It matters to me, because—”
“I meant to send it to Brett. It was meant to be a ‘look what you lost’ sort of thing, and I was drinking so…” She breathes heavily. “I freaked out when I realized I’d sent it to all of you, and then you—”
I close my eyes.
Shit, I really fucked up this time and I know it.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “We can…we can just forget about it.”
She clips some hair and lets out a soft sigh.
“That’s the thing,” she says softly. “I don’t think I can, Rush.” She stops and turns my head, the force almost as gentle as it is firm. She holds my head still. “Forget what happened between us, I mean. And I’m not just talking about the photo.”
Her gaze finds mine in the mirror.
“So…” I venture carefully. “You’re not…offended by my dick pic?” I lick my lips. “Or that I kissed you the other night?”
She purses her lips and shakes her head. “No. But I have to be honest with you too. I’m not…” She shakes her head. “I don’t know how to navigate something like this.”
“Navigate what?”
“These…feelings. It’s like ever since Brett and I broke up, everything is just—”
“Yeah…I know the feeling,” I admit.
She clips some more of my hair, softly.
“That’s kind of the other reason I’m here,” I tell her. “I heard through the family grapevine that Brett got called out on some last-minute cancellation for some show, and he’s…gone. Going to be out for a few days.”
She stops cutting my hair, and I see her entire body stiffen in the reflection.
“A few days…”
“Yes,” I say. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I thought…”
Here goes nothing.
“I thought maybe we could head over there…you know, after this, and grab your stuff. That way you don’t have to see him and—”
“Where…where would I store my stuff?”
“My house. Or Freddie’s house, technically, but we have space. We’ve got plenty of attic and garage space. I was thinking you could…you know…stay with us.” I rush to add, “Temporarily of course, until you get a new place.”
She blinks, and I think she’s going to tell me to go pound salt, because I know exactly what it must look like.
Dancing with her, kissing her, sending her dick pics and then showing up demanding her time and telling her I’m going to get her stuff back and she’s going to stay with me—and my brothers. I look like a demanding asshole, and I know it, but I swear…
“You’ve thought about this,” she says softly. She focuses on my hair, snipping some more edges, and the fine hairs flutter to the ground.
“I have,” I say solidly. “I know it’s a lot, I get that, but—”
“You’ve talked to your brothers about this?”
I tense, knowing I shouldn’t lie, but…where’s the harm? Freddie’s not going to kick her out. Not if she needs him.
Not if we’re what she needs.
And Tommy…I can’t see him having that big of a problem with it.
Especially if he’s kissed her.
I try not to think about that, though, and keep my focus on the task at hand—helping Nora. That’s more important than anything else, right now.
At least, that’s what I tell myself.
“Yeah, of course,” I lie.
She nods. “Okay.”
I turn once she lets go of my head and pulls the scissors away.
“Okay?” I ask, expecting there to be more of an issue. An argument. Something.
But instead, I’m met with bright blue eyes and a warm smile.
“Okay,” she says. “It’s probably best we get my things while he’s gone, and that will make things a little easier.”
“Right.”
She unclips my cape, and I stand, coming around to face her. She brushes the hair off my shoulder, and it falls to the ground.
“I really am sorry, for what it’s worth,” I say, realizing how close we are. “About you and Brett.”
Nora keeps her gaze trained on mine, her blue eyes watery and full of questions neither of us want to ask. But maybe we don’t need to.
I settle one hand on her hip and she doesn’t jump or startle. She eases into my touch so softly, so faintly it’s almost unnoticeable.
But I feel her pulse, beneath the warm leggings she wears.
I see the way her lips part ever so slightly as she looks up at me.
“Thank you,” she says, her voice low. Sweet.
Sexy.
“Mhmm. You uh…ready to go or do you need a minute?”
She swallows, hard. “I’ll ring you up first, and then we’ll go.”
Yet neither of us make a move. And I realize she’s waiting for me to take the lead.
So I do. I drop my hand and head to the counter, and she moves quickly.
“Twenty,” she says. “Even.”
I pull out three twenties from my wallet and hand them to her. “Keep the change,” I tell her, and she sighs.
“Rush—”
“Nope. No arguing,” I say, and she takes the twenty out and pockets the other two.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I say as she comes to stand in front of me. “Not until we’re home.”
And for the first time, I feel excited to go home.