The Boyfriend Experience (The Boyfriend Experience 1)

The other woman had nothing to worry about, because Evie had already selected a few possible hairstyles and hair colors for the two of them to discuss. Nothing radical or too extreme. She wanted Ginny to be happy with whatever new look she ended up with.

As soon as Eric stepped into the reception area, Evie felt as though his presence had sucked all the air from her lungs. Her heart squeezed painfully tight at seeing the man who fulfilled everything on her checklist but would never be a part of her life in the way she’d hoped. She pasted on an amicable smile and headed in their direction, trying to remain professional when all she wanted to do was throw herself in his arms because that’s how much she’d missed him.

“Hi, Eric,” she said, hating the slight quiver she heard in her own voice, along with the fact that she was probably wearing her broken heart on her sleeve.

“Evie.” He nodded in greeting, and even though she could see how guarded and reserved he was, his eyes told a different story.

They looked at her with the same kind of misery she’d been dealing with the past four days, and she had to force her attention away from him and to the woman at his side before the tears she’d managed to keep tucked away during working hours threatened to burst free. No, she only allowed herself to indulge in those crying jags at night.

“You must be Eric’s mom, Ginny,” Evie said, reaching out to gently shake the woman’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you and I’m excited to see what we can do to make you feel like a million bucks by the time you leave today.”

Ginny laughed lightly and self-consciously touched the wavy ends of her hair. “At this point, feeling like a hundred bucks would be amazing.”

The other woman had her son’s wry sense of humor and his kind eyes. “We only work in the millions here, so get ready to have your socks knocked off.” She shifted her gaze back to Eric, fighting to remain composed and businesslike. “Give me about three hours with her.”

“Perfect.” He smiled, but the sentiment didn’t erase the pain in his eyes. “I’ll be back to pick her up around five.”

As soon as he left the salon, Evie felt as though she could breathe and think again. She led his mom over to her station, and once she had Ginny settled in her chair, she brought out the magazines she’d ear-marked with a few styles for Ginny to choose from. She selected a pretty layered bob that Evie assured her would look great with the shape of her face and her jawline, and together they narrowed down the color to a warm chestnut shade that would cover the gray and give her a hint of red highlights.

Then Evie got to work, first painting sections of Ginny’s hair with the dye, aware of the fact that the other woman was looking at her more curiously now in the mirror.

“So you’re the girl that Eric went to Santa Barbara with last weekend.”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement, which meant Eric had mentioned her to his mother as more than a hairdresser who was going to do her hair. Honestly, Evie was surprised that he’d told his mom as much, but not knowing if Ginny knew the whole story about how Evie had met her son through the Boyfriend Experience app, she decided to just let Ginny lead the conversation and reveal what she knew.

“Yes, I am,” she replied, giving nothing away as she sectioned off another part of Ginny’s hair.

“I thought maybe the two of you were dating.”

“No.” Evie glanced in the mirror to meet the other woman’s gaze and forced a smile. “We’re just friends.”

“You know, he told me the same thing, but I just saw with my own eyes the way he was looking at you . . . and the way you were looking at him, and I know I’m really rusty and out of the game when it comes to having strong feelings for someone, but from my perspective, and it’s probably none of my business, but it seems like there is more between the two of you than just friendship.”

Evie swallowed hard, knowing she had to be careful with her reply yet be true to herself, as well. “I care for your son. A lot. And I suppose it could be something more than friendship, except he’s a little gun-shy when it comes to a long-term relationship.” And that was putting it mildly. Evie didn’t stand a chance against all the reasons Eric believed they couldn’t be together.

Ginny cast her gaze downward, her expression dismayed, as if she blamed herself for his inability to commit. “He’s always been that way. If he’s ever had a girlfriend, I’ve never met one. And it makes me sad.”