“Morning, beautiful,” Bobby greeted me as I pushed through the front door of the salon.
I loved Bobby, one of Roxie’s hairdressers. His sarcastic and over-the-top behaviour always made me smile. “Hey, Bobby. How’s your morning going?”
He rolled his eyes and gave me a flick of his wrist. “Don’t even go there, Harlow. I woke up this morning ready to take on the world and then the world took me on instead. I met the man of my dreams last night, took him home and showed him all the ways I could make his dreams come true, and then this morning, his ex messaged him to say he wanted him back. He sat in my bed and had a heart-to-fucking-heart with his ex and then promptly told me he had a great time with me, but he had to skip breakfast because he was now having it with his ex.” His eyes widened and he placed his hand on his hip. Waving his other hand in the air, he continued, “So, I promptly replied and told him to get the fuck out of my bed so I could torch my sheets, along with my memories of him.”
Poor Bobby. He always fell fast and hard, and I couldn’t keep track of the number of times he’d had his heart broken. “Better to find out now that he’s an ass, rather than down the track when you’re committed to him, right?”
He pursed his lips together as if he really wasn’t convinced. “I know you’re right, but hot damn, this guy had it. And it’s not often that comes along.”
“I hear you, Bobby, and I totally get it. I met a lot of guys with it, and in the end, it turned out to be a false promise. Keep looking; eventually the right man will sweep you off your feet.”
“Pfft, it’s easy enough for you to say that, when you’ve got the Coleminator warming your fucking bed. Just for the record, I would take that man any which way he comes.” He waved me away. “Roxie’s in the back room. You should go because I don’t want to look at that happy face of yours today.” And with that, he looked back down at the paperwork he was filling out, and proceeded to block me out.
I laughed. Leaning across the counter, I whispered, “FYI, I’m marrying the Coleminator. I’ll be sure to send you an invitation so you can drool.”
His eyes snapped to mine. Pointing to the back room where Roxie was, he bossed me. “Go! If I hear one more word about Scott Cole, I can not be held accountable for my actions.”
Roxie appeared in the doorway of the back room. Narrowing her eyes on Bobby, she said, “Is he whinging about that douche from last night again?”
“Yeah. Poor Bobby,” I replied as I walked past her into the small room.
“Poor Bobby?” She turned to face me and watched as I stored my handbag in a safe place. Crossing her arms over her chest, she said, “That man throws his heart at guys. He needs to get over that shit and start being more selective.”
I shook my head at her. “You and your cold heart, Roxie.”
“No, me and my practical heart. He’s worse than a schoolgirl with a new crush every day. I swear, I’m going to lock him up for a couple of months and teach him some new ways.” She came to me and reached for my hair. “What are we doing today? You only just had it coloured.”
A huge smile made its way across my face. “I’m getting married,” I announced, a little breathless with excitement.
In typical Roxie form, she didn’t even bat an eyelid. “It’s about time.”
“Yeah, it really is.”
She let my hair go and started rummaging through a cupboard. “So this is why you’ve got all the girls coming in today. I was wondering.”
I’d asked Madison, Velvet and Layla to come today so I could get their opinion on my hair for the wedding. But that wasn’t my real reason. I figured after everything that had happened with the club recently, we needed some girl time. The club had to rebuild, and I truly believed that involved their women. We had to be strong so they could, too. Men would never fully grasp this, but girl time was more than just talking girl stuff and hanging out. It was soul time.
“Oh, my God!” Madison screamed from behind me. “Did I just hear that right? You and Scott are getting married?”
I turned with a grin. “Yes!”
It was like her whole body was lit up. Her happiness shone from her. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight. “I am so happy for you both!”
She held me for a long time, and when she finally let me go, I said softly, “Thank you. And thank you for coming today. I’m excited, but I’m also nervous. I need my girls around this week.”
“I’m here for you, honey. Whatever you need. And - ” she stepped aside, “ – I brought Sophia with me. I figured it was time for her initiation.”
I welcomed Sophia with a smile. “We’re throwing you in the deep end today. Sorry about that.”
She returned my smile. “Congratulations on your engagement. And I love being thrown in the deep end.”