“Jesus.” Doug smiles as he interrupts me. “I love you already. Follow me, beautiful. I can help you change.” He guides me to a couch in the front, right by his station.
“Is Ryder still with Cindy?” I blurt out.
He freezes for a second, then smiles at his current client in the mirror. She’s sitting in the chair closest to me.
“Dolly, you’re up,” he calmly says as he starts to put dye on the woman’s hair. She’s blatantly staring at me. Again, everyone says New Yorkers are rude, but LA is the worst.
“Okay. No, but it’s complicated.”
I blow out the breath I was holding and sink down into the velvety couch.
“You must think I’m either crazy or the worst person or both. I know she’s your friend.” I shake my head, cross my leg, and cover my face. Memories of that day pour in.
“We’re here. Is Gia okay?” Eve looks back at us. I glance over at her. Gia, along with me, must have passed out on the way. God, she looks terrible: mascara on cheek, her hair that we had done earlier a tangled mess in the back. We need to get ourselves together, but they don’t need to know we’ve been drinking for a solid week.
I clear my throat. “Well, you heard about Gia leaving the tour, right? She hasn’t been sleeping much.” It sounds absurd. I guess I’m still a terrible liar.
“Fucking Granger. I’m never downloading another song,” Eve gripes as I look over at the massive property. I should be nervous, yet I’m not. Maybe I’m still intoxicated because I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment to happen.
“God. I need to get Jason, I mean…” She looks at Rip, then back at Gia who hasn’t moved. “Rip, we can’t have Axel seeing his sister like this on his wedding day. We have enough drama going on,” Eve yells.
“I need to use the restroom.” I open the door and slide out. Neither of them pay me attention as they both argue about what to do with Gia. I shade my eyes and start toward the clubhouse, then stop as I stare, my heart leaping into my throat.
Dark.
Commanding.
Dangerous.
It’s as if all the air has been sucked out of me as my eyes cling to his. At one time, he was my everything.
Now he is my destiny.
In five steps, he stands in front of me. His golden-brown eyes caress my face like he can’t believe I’m real.
And I know. Deep inside I know he is mine. Time, age, none of it matters. He takes my hand and I follow him. I’d follow him anywhere.
I look up at Dolly who is dropping herself down next to me on the couch, her hand rubbing her baby belly. “I have to apologize for that day… the wedding, I did not mean for that to happen,” I say, groaning into my hands.
“Stop. Look at it this way. All of us will always remember it.” She smiles at me, her brown eyes kind. “We can’t help who we love.”
I go to tell her I don’t love Ryder, but that’s a lie, so I don’t say anything.
“Wow, Dougie, this might be serious.” She holds up a hand to stop anything he was going to say. “Now I know this is tricky with the Cindy thing. But ultimately this boils down to the heart. And Ryder has always been waiting…” She cocks her head at me. “I think Ryder has been waiting for you.” She slaps my leg.
“Baby Doll, stay out of it.” Doug sets down the brush he was using to put dye on the woman’s hair and sets a timer. He turns to face me. “Julianna, what are we thinking?”
“I want to dye my hair and cut it.”
He takes off his gloves and takes my hair down, his hands going through its thickness. “Not short. I’ll put some layers in, but I can’t allow you to go short.” Dolly twists to look at me.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but with her complexion and those blue eyes”—she grabs Doug’s arm—“she needs to go red.” She sighs dramatically. “You know how I feel about redheads, but somehow, she can pull this off.”
They both stare at me as if I’m a piece of meat they’re deciding to buy.
“Agreed.” Doug nods. “Fucking fierce. I love it.”
“Do it. She’ll look stunning, fit for our Ryder. I have a soft spot for him.” She winks at me, and I grin back. There’s something about little Dolly that’s kind of amazing. She’s the one who’s fierce.
The girl with blue hair whom I saw outside walks past us, wiping her lips.
Dolly stops and calls out, “OMG, why do you have blowjob lips, Jenny?”
My eyes widen. She does. Her lips are all red and puffy. Before anyone can say anything, Ox walks in, talking on the phone, the pink gated door slamming shut after him.