Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
F riday afternoon, Mel sat inside the luxurious spa atmosphere of Belle Journèe salon as Lilly’s stylist, Marguerite, snipped and measured what seemed like each strand of hair on Mel’s head. Snipped and measured again, over and over with precise little moves.
She and Adam had arrived an hour prior, and the slender stylist had pulled Mel into the back immediately to start her transformation.
Prior to cutting, Marguerite had painted tiny strips of color onto the front and sides of Mel’s hair, then carefully wrapped each strip in foil, leaving shiny multicolored tabs sticking up all over her head. Highlights, she’d been informed.
Now the stylist moved back and forth, from one side of Mel’s chair to the other, their expression brimming with concentration. Marguerite wore all black—leggings, turtleneck, and smock—their hair in a bright-turquoise-and-pink fauxhawk with full makeup to match. Marguerite was transgender and quite possibly one of the most beautiful people Mel had ever seen. Plus, with all the stylist’s well-placed piercings, Mel was seriously considering getting more than just her ears pierced. She turned slightly to admire the tiny diamond stud glinting from Marguerite’s right nostril and another through their left eyebrow, and wondered if she should shake things up even more in her makeover.
“If you keep moving, honey, I can’t be responsible for the accuracy of your cut,” Marguerite said, giving Mel a stern stare in the mirror. “I pride myself on accuracy, among other things.”
Mel stilled immediately, staring in the reflection to where Adam sat alone in the waiting area, looking as out of place as a priest in purgatory. Lilly had cancelled at the last minute, leaving the two of them on their own. Mel just hoped whatever magic had made Adam suddenly change his mind and agree to help her continued until their August deadline.
“Almost done.” Marguerite swiveled the chair slightly, so Mel couldn’t see in the mirror any longer. “Sit back, relax, and get ready for your big reveal.”
Her stomach knotted. The anticipation was killing her. She turned slightly and received another temperamental grunt from Marguerite and a firm hand on either side of her head, forcing it front again.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the stylist stopped working and hauled Mel over to the shampoo area. Her hair was washed and rinsed to within an inch of its life, and all those tiny foils were removed. Then a towel was draped over her head, again preventing her from seeing anything as she was led back to the stylist’s station, where Marguerite blow-dried and fluffed her new do.
At last, the stylist stepped back and gave Mel a beaming smile. “I have outdone myself this time, honey. You are magnificent.”
Mel’s chair was turned slowly to face the mirror and… Wow!
What a difference a cut and color made. Where her hair had been uniformly dark before, now there were shimmering highlights of caramel and auburn and even blond running through it. There were layers, too, around her face and through the crown, adding much-needed volume. She wasn’t club-ready yet, given her lack of makeup, but she was closer than when she’d walked in.
Then Marguerite went to fetch the tools for the next part of the makeover, and Mel glanced up to find Adam approaching, the look on his face an odd mix of wariness and wonder. Her heart tripped. Not exactly overwhelming enthusiasm for her new look, but not outright dislike, either. He seemed a bit astonished by her new haircut, actually, as he stopped beside her chair, staring.
“I like it,” she said defensively, his prolonged silence making her feel awkward. “A lot.”
Adam seemed to find his voice at last, his words emerging low and filled with surprise. “It’s… good, Mel. Brings out your eyes.”
The tightness her chest melted into warm goo as Marguerite returned with a plastic makeup caddy filled with brushes and tubes and pots of color, similar to what Lilly had brought over the other night. The stylist turned to Adam and hiked a thumb at the empty chair at the next station. “Have a seat. ”
Soon, Mel’s face was patted with powders and gels and concealers. While that set, Marguerite tweezed Mel’s eyebrows. “Honey, you have beautiful skin. You don’t need a lot of foundation or touch-up. We want to enhance, not cover you up. A little goes a long way.”
Mel noted the colors Marguerite used—sparkly peach blush, coppery eye shadow, black eyeliner and mascara, a pinkish nude lip stain. Adam sat at the station across from her, staring at the toes of his boots. Or maybe he’d fallen asleep. It was hard to tell since time had gone off-kilter in this place.
“Done!” Marguerite stepped back at last, and Mel locked eyes with her transformed self for the second time, not quite believing what she saw reflected in the mirror. Where Lilly’s makeup the other night had felt foreign, like paint, this felt natural, normal. Mel touched her face, then the soft wisps of hair around her face. Adam had been right. The new highlights did bring out her eyes. It was Mel, improved. Looking professional, confident, and more than a tad bit sexy.
Okay. A whole lot sexy.
“Is it really me?” she whispered.
“It is.” Adam stood and moved in beside her chair, his face flushed as he ran a finger beneath the collar of his black T-shirt.
“Okay, kiddos,” Marguerite said before either of them could say anything else. They held a white handled shopping bag to Mel. “Free goodies for you. Samples of everything I used today. Should last you for a month or more. By the time you run out, you’ll be due back to see me for a touch-up.” The stylist winked. “You’re drop-dead gorgeous, honey. Hold your head high and be awesome. ”
She and Adam were herded toward the front entrance before Mel dug in her heels. “Wait! I need to pay.”
“Lilly already took care of it,” Marguerite said. “Her treat, she said. Now you lovebirds enjoy the rest of your day. I’ve got my next client waiting.”
“Oh, we’re not—” Mel and Adam said in unison, but Marguerite was already gone, moving away to greet their next client in the waiting area.
“So.” Mel said as she stepped out of the path of all the people walking past them in the busy mall concourse, sunlight streaming in from the skylights above. From somewhere in the distance the sound of a fountain gurgled. “Where to from here?”
Adam continued to watch her, as if seeing her for the first time. “Marguerite was right. You’re gorgeous, Mel.”
She couldn’t help fidgeting under his intense scrutiny. The warm fuzziness that had filled her earlier now turned molten, spreading need outward from her core to her extremities. Self-consciously, she tucked her hair behind her ear, realizing how much lighter and softer it felt. “Thanks. I really love what Marguerite did.”
Adam brushed his fingertips over her forehead, tracing her widow’s peak. “It suits you. You have a heart-shaped face.”
“Since when do you know about women’s face shapes?”
He dropped his hand and looked away then, clearing his throat. “I don’t. Not sure why I said that.”
But something deep inside Mel told her he was lying. He knew why’d he’d said it. Funny, but after all those years of fantasizing about him finally noticing her as a woman, all it took was a haircut.
Adam continued to study a potted plant beside him like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen as he dug the toe of his boot into the tile floor. “You hungry?”
Mel had to remind herself that this wasn’t a date. Adam might think she was attractive now, but that was all. They’d made a deal. He’d been clear—no dating, no sex. So, yeah, lunch sounded perfect because that was all she was going to get with him. They’d chat, relax, recalibrate, then shop for a new wardrobe. She wasn’t actually looking forward to seeing herself in the unforgiving dressing room mirrors, but she wanted his opinion on the clothes, so…
She forced a confident smile and started off toward the restaurants in the mall. “I am. Let’s go to Cheesecake Factory. I’m buying.”
Adam couldn’t seem to quit glancing at Mel as they waited in line for a table at the popular eatery. Maybe it was seeing her with new hair and a new look that had changed things—made Mel more than a girl he’d known half his life, a girl he’d laughed with and consoled when she cried, a girl he’d played stupid video games with until the wee hours.
Or maybe it was being in a different location, one where no one knew them and they could just be themselves, without all the baggage.
Whatever it was, Adam had finally been forced to acknowledge that he found Mel attractive as a woman. Seeing her after her reveal in the salon had made all his senses sit up and beg. Even now, her nearness had his body tightening with awareness.
This was going to be a problem. But Adam was a man of his word. A promise was a promise. It was what had gotten him through his tours of duty, and it was what would get him through this new minefield with Mel. He’d vowed to help her with this crazy scheme, and he’d protect her through it, come what may.
He’d keep his hands, and his heart, to himself.
The hostess called their name and escorted them through the packed house to a large booth near the windows in the back; Adam did his best not to notice the sway of Mel’s hips as she walked in front of him or the unsteady trip of his own heart.
They took seats on opposite sides of the booth, and Adam took refuge behind his massive menu while Mel chatted away about her books and her library and her time in the salon. He made occasional grunts or murmurs to show he was paying attention, but in truth, his mind was nothing but grinding gears. He’d thought Mel was beautiful before the haircut and makeup. But seeing her now taken the turmoil inside him to a whole new level. All of it had combined to smack him over the head like a sledgehammer. He felt off-balance and shaky and decidedly unsure about where to go from here.
But the thing that kept him from running, that made his skin crawl with anxiety, was if he didn’t help her, some other guy would. Some guy who may not have Mel’s best interests at heart. So he sat in an overpriced restaurant with a twenty-five-page menu and quite possibly the most massive slabs of cheesecake he’d ever seen, feeling more like he was facing the firing squad than helping out a friend.
“What are you going to have?” Mel asked, smiling at him over the top of her menu.
Adam shrugged. “Probably a burger, same as always.”
“Break out of your comfort zone.” She grinned. “I am.”
Food wasn’t something Adam thought a lot about. As long as his belly was full, he was good. In the military, you wolfed down whatever they served you in record time because you never knew when you might get called out to the field. Now that he was back stateside, he pretty much stuck to the basics. Living alone meant cooking for one, which wasn’t fun. Not that he knew how to make much anyway. Mac and cheese from a box. Scrambled eggs. A steak or burger on the grill. That was about it.
He flipped through the pages of his menu again, frowning at all the offerings. “I don’t even know what half this stuff is. What do you recommend?”
“I’m having truffle honey chicken with asparagus and mashed potatoes.” Mel set her menu aside. “And cheesecake for dessert, of course.”
A waiter walked by with a tray full of food, and Adam sniffed the delicious aromas of garlic and caramelized onions. “I wonder what that is.”
“Ask the server when they come,” Mel suggested.
Adam did that, finding out it was something called Carne Asada Steak Medallions. He’d never had them, but he liked Mexican food, he so gave them a try. Mel placed her order too, and their drinks arrived shortly thereafter. Iced tea for Mel and a Bud Light in the bottle for Adam. A man needed all the fortitude he could get for clothes-shopping.
Thankfully, Mel carried the conversation for them both, gossiping about people around Point Beacon she’d run into through the library. Who was getting married, who was getting divorced, who was cheating on whom. Adam had never really thought being a librarian would be that exciting, but the way Mel talked about it, it sounded like the coolest job ever.
Well, besides being a mechanic. He did love his Victory Vets.
He’d noticed that since they’d left the salon there’d been a change in Mel. He wasn’t sure she was even aware of it yet herself, but he hadn’t missed the looks she’d gotten from people in the restaurant as they’d been led to their table. Not because he was being possessive. She wanted to change her life, and he was here to make sure it happened, safely. Mel was his to protect during the process, that was all.
Liar.
Well, regardless, he was sticking with what he knew where Mel was concerned. He’d deal with his weird new feelings and he’d move on when it was over because that was the deal. He wouldn’t ruin her chances of finding love and happiness by letting her get involved with a dead-end, nowhere guy like him, even if she did look at him sometimes like he was one of those slabs of scrumptious cheesecake.
Speaking of scrumptious, that word led to all sorts of forbidden images of the two of them together in his bed, with whipped cream and caramel sauce, feeding each other bites of dessert before forgetting about the food altogether and…
Do. Not. Go. There.
He closed his eyes and scrubbed his hand over his face, glad when the waiter returned with their first courses—a salad for him and soup for her.
“Can I get either of you anything else right now?” the server asked.
“No, thanks,” Mel said.
She smiled, and it felt like the clouds parted and the day brightened for Adam. Which only made him grumpier because he didn’t want his world coming to life when Mel was around. They were partners on her quest to change herself. That’s all. He needed to stay businesslike, unemotional, unattached to her.
He dug into his food rather than think about that anymore. The crisp veggies in his house salad were surprisingly good, as was the ranch dressing he smothered them in. Adam worked out pretty regularly at home, plus all the heavy lifting and moving in the garage, so he could eat whatever he wanted, within reason. He grabbed a breadstick from the basket between them and bit into it, looking over at Mel to find her watching him.
“What?” he asked around a mouthful of food.
“Nothing.” She shook her head and sipped her soup, all dainty and ladylike. “It’s good to hang out with you again is all. I’ve missed you.”
“Yeah?” He lowered his gaze. He’d missed her, too. He hadn’t realized how much until they were back together again. “How’s the soup?”
“Good.” She dabbed her mouth with her napkin, then gave a delighted squeal that made certain parts of him sit up and take notice. “Look, the lip stain doesn’t wipe off. That is so cool.”
Adam nodded and looked away fast, his cheeks prickling with guilty heat, because now all he could picture was him kissing her long enough to really test out how well that new makeup of hers lasted.
Mel sighed after a while, tucking her napkin back onto her lap. “Look, I know this is difficult for you, and I hope you know how grateful I am that you’re helping me, Adam.”
He came up with an answer that wasn’t a total lie. “I do, Mel. It’s just awkward sometimes. This isn’t exactly my usual MO. Fancy eats and designer clothes and stuff. I’m a jeans and barbecue kind of guy.”
“How will your bad-boy image ever survive an afternoon of clothes shopping?” she asked, using a fake Southern drawl like Scarlett O’Hara, complete with a wrist to her forehead like she was going to faint.
It was supposed to be funny, but his struggle was real. He’d figured bringing her here would be easy, drinking fancy bottled water and looking at hot chicks in magazines while he waited for her at the salon and shops. But now that he knew Mel expected him to actively participate in all of it, that meant spending even more time together in close quarters.
Adam tried to play things off by devouring the rest of his salad and breadstick before the waiter returned to clear their dishes.
Keeping on the straight and narrow, he returned to military analogies to deal with the shopping ahead. “What’s your plan of attack? Any particular stores you want to target?”
Her green eyes sparkled as she talked about the places in this exclusive little mall. She rattled off several names, but they didn’t mean squat to Adam, nor did he really care. Not with the way her hair danced around her face when she moved. Not with the sweetness of her grin that warmed him from the inside out. He wasn’t sure how he’d let Mel go at the end of all this, only that he would. Because of who she was and what he wasn’t.
When he focused the conversation again, Mel watched him expectantly as if waiting for an answer. Crap . He had no idea what she’d said. His head pounded and his heart raced and if he didn’t come up with something quick, he was liable to lean across the table and kiss her until neither of them cared about clothes anymore. So he said, “Fine.”
“Wow,” Mel said. “The shoes, too?”
“Huh?” That must’ve been what she’d asked him. Something about shoes.
The waiter returned with their main courses, and they both sat back. As Adam stared at his plate of steak and peppers and the delectable smell of onions drifted around him, he knew it didn’t matter what she wanted to do, within reason, because he was going to say yes.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, he’d tried something new with his meal choice and, from the looks of it, it would be amazing. So maybe going with the flow with Mel this afternoon would work out okay, too.
He gave her a tentative smile and picked up his knife and fork. “Shoes, too.”
“Great.” Mel dug into her chicken and veggies, glancing his way periodically as if she wanted to ask him something but wasn’t sure how. Finally, she came out with it. “So, what was it like? Being deployed overseas?”
He shrugged, hoping she’d drop the subject. Talking about the war wasn’t his favorite topic. Especially today, when it was supposed to be all about her and light and fun. During his service, sunny, fun spots had been few and far between.
Mel persisted though. “I’ve tried to ask James, but he never wants to talk about it. I’ve read some horror stories online.”
Adam took a deep breath. There was a reason most of the guys didn’t discuss what happened on deployments afterward. It was tough to verbalize to someone else what you could barely wrap your head around yourself. Still, Mel was staring at him again with those pretty eyes, so he felt like he should try. They had a whole afternoon filled with conversation stretching ahead of them. Maybe if he opened up to her a little now, she wouldn’t press him for more later. “I don’t know. It was weird. It’s still weird, being home.”
“Weird how?”
“Like I enlisted to be a good citizen and do my duty. It wasn’t like I had a lot going on around here anyway.” He swallowed another bite of food, then took a sip of his beer before continuing. “College wasn’t an option for me. No money for it and my grades weren’t good enough for scholarships or grants. Plus, I had no real family life, so yeah. I joined up. Figured I’d go over there, help make things better, hopefully come home with all my limbs and my mind intact, learn how to be a leader or learn a new trade, become someone I could be proud of.”
“And did you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side, her expression thoughtful. “Learn how to be a leader? Become someone you were proud of?”
“Yes and no.” He stared out the window near their table, at the people milling about in the parking lot. “I gained a stronger identity being on my own. I wasn’t just the town delinquent anymore, the local screwup. Going overseas gave me the rare opportunity to reinvent myself, to become the man I wanted to be. In that respect, I guess it was a good experience. I became stronger, braver, better able to stand up for myself and what I believed in. So yeah, I guess I was successful in that sense.”
Mel pushed her half-finished plate aside. “But not in others?”
“No, not in others. To be honest, deployment was really confusing.” Adam looked back at her, finding himself wanting to tell her things he hadn’t ever wanted to tell anyone else. But here, in their little corner of the restaurant, he felt safe enough to open up. He sat back as the waiter cleared their plates and took their cheesecake order.
Once they were alone again, he continued. “When they first send you into battle, after basic training, they tell you you’re going to fight the enemy. But the thing is, there’s no way to tell who’s the enemy and who isn’t when you’re there. It’s not like they wore buttons or anything. Like one day you roll into a village on a humanitarian visit and these people bring their kids into the clinic you helped set up for treatment, then the next day they’re shooting at you. What’s worse is a lot of them didn’t even know why we were there. They live in remote areas with no connection to the outside world. They’d never heard of 9/11 or Americans coming or whatever. Plus, there are tons of regional dialects in these places too, so even if you learn the basics of the language, communication is a problem.”
“That sounds really hard.” Mel’s feet brushed his under the table before she pulled back again. “It makes sense now why James doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Sorry to put a damper on the mood,” he said, kicking himself for not just coming up with some convenient lie instead of spilling the ugly truth. In an effort to get back to the light easiness of before, he added, “It wasn’t all horrible, though.”
“Yeah?” Her small smile lifted his spirits and made the shadows recede. Or maybe that was the waiter returned with their dessert. “Tell me.”
“Back when I learned about the Middle East in Mr. Knudten’s geography class I thought the whole place was sand and mountains.” He snuck a bite of his chocolate hazelnut cheesecake and, man, it definitely lived up to the hype. “Anyway, it’s not all like that. I probably spent as much time in orchards as I did anyplace else. One time we hiked through a jungle. Then it rained for days and we had to dig irrigation trenches because of flooding in our camp. Definitely not all arid sand and mountains.”
She nodded, trying a bite of her cinnamon swirl cheesecake as the waiter returned with their check. “What else surprised you in a good way?”
“Food sharing is a big part of the culture there.” He snagged the check before she could and pulled his wallet from his back pocket before Mel could object. “If anyone has something to eat, custom says you have to share it with everyone. Even if you only brought a little. People get, like, really offended if you eat in front of them and don’t offer them any. Gives family-style dining a whole new meaning.”
“So you’re saying the next time we eat together we should share a plate to make things easier, is that right?”
Her coy little grin made the warmth inside him kick up a notch. The thought of sharing a plate with her, of feeding her, of tasting the spicy flavors in her kisses…
Adam gulped his water to drown those erotic images before answering. “Maybe we should just start with our cheesecake.”
She snuck a bite of his dessert while Adam took care of the credit card receipt from the waiter, glad for the distraction.
“Here, try a bite of mine, too,” she said, holding out her fork to him with a bite of her dessert on it once they were alone again. Without much choice, Adam leaned forward. Mel placed the bite of cheesecake on his tongue, all creamy and smooth and spicy from the cinnamon. He chewed fast before swallowing, as much to stifle his groan of frustration as anything else.
Yep. Time to go.
He slid out of the booth then waited for Mel to do the same. “Uh, we should probably get a move on if you want to visit all those stores before we head home.”
She blinked up at him a moment, close enough for her to turn slightly and kiss him on the cheek. “You deserve every good thing in life, Adam Foster. You always did. Remember that, okay?”
She then she grabbed her purse and headed for the exit, leaving him behind to stare after her as she called, “Let’s hit those stores.”