“Miss Betty? Carly?” he offers, to which they both decline. Hudson shrugs and turns to walk back out the door to grab his coffee.
“My oh my.” Miss Betty fans her hands in front of her face. “If only I were fifty years younger.”
“Miss Betty!” I pretend to be appalled when, really, I understand the feeling all too well.
“Girl, I’m old, not blind,” she responds. “That boy there is a looker. I can’t believe that someone hasn’t snatched him up yet.” She makes a humming sound that causes the room to erupt in laughter. “Raven?” she asks my sister hopefully.
“Nope.” My sister is quick to reply. “Yes, I’m aware he’s gorgeous, but he’s my best friend. I just don’t see him that way.” She pretends to gag. “Ugh, can you imagine? Kissing him would be like kissing my brother.”
“We don’t have a brother,” I remind her. I don’t bother to mention that when I imagine kissing Hudson, it’s nothing like what I assume thinking about kissing your brother would be like. Nope. Instead, it’s his big, calloused hands cradling my face as his body is aligned with mine. Shit, I can’t go down that path of thinking. Not here. Not when he’s about to be in my chair.
“I’m married, but I can look,” Carly Sanderson chimes in from her spot in Raven’s chair. “Even saying that makes me feel like a cougar.” Her laughter fills the back area of the shop and does wonders to help me shake my thoughts of Hudson and me in a compromising position.
“Stop.” Raven laughs. “You are not a cougar.”
“I’m old enough to be his mother,” Carly counters.
“Don’t think about that,” Miss Betty tells her. “Just think about those arms and that chiseled jaw.” She hums, and once again, we fall into laughter, and that’s how Hudson finds us.
“You ladies are having too much fun,” he says as he saunters back into the working area instead of sitting in the small waiting room. “What did I miss?”
“How are you still single?” Miss Betty asks him. I know she’s turning the heat from us to him. Not to mention that all four of the females in the room are curious. Well, maybe not Raven, according to her claims, but the rest of us definitely want to know.
I want to know.
“Miss Betty.” Hudson flashes her his dimple. “Is that your way of asking me out?” He wags his eyebrows, and if I wasn’t watching her, I never would have believed that she’d be blushing, but sure enough, light pink tints her cheeks. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Hudson just has that effect on people.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She waves her hand in the air at him, and he chuckles.
For the next ten minutes, Hudson trades barbs with Miss Betty, which has us all smiling. And Miss Betty? Well, this is making her week. I can hear her now, down at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall playing bingo and telling all the ladies how Hudson was flirting with her.
“You’re all set, Miss Betty.” I remove the cape and help her stand from the chair.
“Thank you, dear.” She slips her arm through mine, and we slowly make our way to the reception area to cash her out. She digs into her purse and hands me a small white envelope. Miss Betty is in her late seventies and has been a widow for as long as I can remember. She lives on a fixed income. Each month, she makes a budget, and she always sets money aside to have her hair done. We raised our prices a year ago, but neither Raven nor I have the heart to tell her. What she doesn't know won’t hurt her, and we like being able to help her. I think she enjoys the company as much as she enjoys having her hair cut and styled.
“You got me down for four weeks, right?” she asks.
“I do. You’re going to be scheduled with Raven. I already have an appointment in the 10:00 a.m. slot that day.”
“Oh, that’s fine, dear. You girls are one and the same to me.” She gives me a kind smile, and I return it as I spot Hudson heading our way out of the corner of my eye.
“Riley, I’m going to walk her out. I’ll be right back.” Hudson slides up to the counter, offers Miss Betty his arm, and leads her out of the shop and down the street to her car.
I pretend to be cleaning up the counter when really my eyes follow them until I can no longer see them.
“Earth to Riley.” I turn to see Raven watching me. “You going to get that?”
That’s when I realize the phone is ringing. Shit. I need to do better about not letting myself get caught up when he’s around. It’s an act I’ve perfected over the years, but I let myself slip today. Clearing my throat, I turn back to the desk and pick up the phone. “Thank you for calling Sheer Sisters. This is Riley. How can I help you?” I greet the caller.