He dips his head to match his formal bow, but then he looks up. And there’s that smolder again. Oof, that man…
“Why, thank you, sir,” I say with a sweet voice, but then I shift into command mode. “Now sit.”
Nick drops into the chair as I swing the towel around his shoulders. I wet my hands in the sink and then run them through his hair from behind to dampen the strands.
Head tilted back, he closes his eyes and makes a humming sound that makes me smile. “Where did you learn to cut hair?”
I have this sudden urge to kiss his forehead as if to comfort him or something. I quickly nudge his head forward, then run a comb through a length of his hair in the back and cut two inches off. “At Liam’s shop. The groomer taught me.”
He jumps out of the chair, spins around, and fixates on the clump of dark hair I’m holding. “You learned to groom dogs?”
I’m struggling not to laugh at the way he enunciates each word as if he’s learning to speak English. “Yeah, but it’s not that different from people.”
He smirks. “Why am I having a hard time believing you?”
“Trust me. I’ve done both dogsandpeople. And a few cats. You’re a lot easier than a cat.”
He shakes his head but relents and sits down again.
I am having way too much fun at his expense, but he’s so easy to tease. I nudge his head forward and continue to trim the back.
“Hannah?”
I still my hands. “Yeah?”
“Please don’t make me look like a poodle.”
I giggle. “I won’t. I promise.”
Nick doesn’t say anything else. Maybe he’s afraid if he talks, he’ll distract me, causing me to make a mistake or something. I’m tempted to blurt out an ‘oops’ just to see him react again, but I’ll behave, which is a challenge because I learned from the best. My brothers have made pulling pranks an art form.
However, I have one talent they don’t. I can read the room and right now, I get the sense that whatever is going on with his parents is weighing on him pretty heavily, so I’ll give him a pass this time.
Once I finish the back and top of his head, I move around to the front to shape the sides. I’m so busy studying his hair that I don’t realize how close I am to his face. He’s staring at me so intently that my breath catches.
I can’t look away. The light from the kitchen pendant lights reflects in his eyes, revealing their deep blue depths like smoldering embers of blue flame.
And I’m burning in the blaze.
I slide my hands down from his hair and cup his face. This time, I’m totally aware that I’m stroking his jawline. I brush my thumb over the side of his lips, feeling their firmness. His breath caresses my lips as I move closer.
Part of me is telling me I should back away, but the other part desperately wants to know what his lips would feel like against mine. To brush his lips with a soft kiss at first, then more if he welcomes my touch. That’s the part winning at the moment—this longing to get closer to him.
But I’m also curious to see how Nick will react…if his player reputation might make an appearance and show his true colors. I don’t know exactly what that might look like, but I’m trusting my gut to tell me.
“Hannah.” His voice is low and guttural, which does crazy things to my pulse.
“Yes?” My gaze darts back and forth, searching his eyes for some indication of whether he wants to kiss me. So far, all signs seem to say yes. I drop my gaze to his mouth as he caresses his hand over my cheek and into my hair. I close my eyes in anticipation of the first touch of our lips…
He lowers his hand. “As much as I want to…to kiss you, this isn’t a good idea.”
My eyes flutter open as I pull back to get a better view of his face. “Why not?”
“Because you have two very overprotective brothers. One of whom is my best friend.”
I straighten and put my hands on my hips. “For your information, my brothers do not run my love life.”
And we’re not even talking about love here. Just a silly little kiss. Except I’m certain it would have been big and totally hot.
