Page 55 of Distant Shores (Stapled Magnolias #2)

IRELAND

“ N o.”

Delly reared back, meeting my eyes in the vanity mirror. “No?”

“No,” I repeated.

“But you’re a dancer. Dancers wear sequins.”

I swiveled in the salon chair to face her. “When I was seven, sure. But as a twenty-seven-year-old woman, it is now within my rights to say no to it.”

With a pitiful frown, Delly put the sequined top back on the rolling rack.

“There’s no reason for me to have an outfit, Delly.”

“There are a million reasons,” she retorted as she flipped through the garment rack. “Oh, you’d look awesome in this.” She plucked an acid-washed jean jacket from the rack and waved it at me. “With only a cami so it looks like there’s nothing underneath, ya know?”

Standing up from the chair—we were at the Zinnia House salon, which boasted exactly one chair and one sink—I took the jacket from her. After a quick glance to make sure no one was passing by, I shucked off my T-shirt and slid the jacket on.

Delly lit up at my interest, and damn if this girl didn’t have me under her spell.

The glamor shots were starting in a little over an hour, and Delly had grabbed me from breakfast at the cafeteria with Dad to come see her setup.

I was more than impressed.

The vanity was full of makeup, curlers, giant cannisters of hairspray, and more lipstick than I’d ever seen. The rack held a variety of clothes for men and women, ranging from vintage to ridiculous, with a bag full of accessories hanging on the end.

I turned back to the mirror, adjusting the sleeves before checking it out from a few angles.

A familiar figure appeared in the mirror, his steps so light and graceful that it almost seemed like he was floating as he came into the room.

“Liem!” Delly squealed, hurrying over to him.

He met her enthusiasm with a huge smile, pulling her into a hug.

And just like yesterday, Cody followed him, arms crossed as he propped himself on the doorjamb.

“Ire,” Liem said, stepping up beside me. “You look lovely in that jacket.”

“I don’t hate it,” I admitted. “Your outfit is working for you too.” He was wearing a faded purple T-shirt with the collar torn open so it hung off one shoulder. Against the vanity lights, his eyebrow and ear piercings gleamed.

“Thank you.”

I caught Cody’s gaze in the mirror, and he gave me a nod of greeting before turning his focus back to Liem.

There was a concerned edge to how he watched him today that hadn’t been as strong yesterday .

“How are you?” I asked Liem softly, looking him over with subtle glances as I fussed with the sleeves of the jacket.

He shrugged, but it seemed heavy, the light that’d shone in him yesterday considerably dimmed. The contrast took my breath away, and even more so when he answered, “I’m happy to be here.”

There was only sincerity in his dark eyes as he held mine.

I nodded and gave him a soft smile. “I’m happy you’re here too.”

“Oh, yeah,” Delly said as she joined us and adjusted the collar of the jean jacket. “That definitely works.”

My black bralette had crisscrossing straps in the front, and I had to admit, it looked pretty cool underneath the acid-washed jean jacket. She fussed with my hair, dousing it with so much hair spray that I had to cover my face with my hands.

But it smelled like backstage at the local auditorium before a recital, and I took small inhales, microdosing the nostalgia.

Liem took over and fluffed my hair while Delly applied some light makeup to my face, discussing poses and lighting as if I were a mannequin.

I didn’t mind.

“She needs earrings. Big ones.”

The three of us all froze, then looked at Cody in surprise. He was still leaning against the doorjamb, but a small smirk was playing on his lips.

“This is a 90s thing, yeah?” he asked.

“Loosely,” Delly said.

He shrugged. “I’ve watched every 90s show known to man with my best friend. So, you need earrings. ”

Delly hummed and rifled through a bag on the vanity, then held up two pairs for the room to inspect.

Cody uncrossed his arms and walked up to us. “The hoops.” He flicked his gaze to Liem. “Yeah, Ti Bet?”

Liem practically lit up, his eyes bright as he smiled. “Yeah, Dezi.”

Dezi ?

Delly cleaned the earrings before handing them to me. I slipped my regular ones out and dropped them into my jacket pocket, and as I was putting in the second one, a knock came from the open doorway.

We all turned at the sound as Cole sauntered into the room, his camera hanging from a leather strap on his shoulder. The huge grin he’d been wearing slid right off his face as his gaze traveled over us.

“Ho-ly hell,” he said thickly. “The bi panic that just entered my body is extraordinary.”

Cole’s knee abruptly bent, sending him stumbling. Shouting in surprise, he reached for the doorframe, clinging to it for balance.

“Dude!” he yelled.

“Do not hit on Liem.”

My breath hitched, butterflies waking up in my stomach and fluttering wildly just from hearing his voice.

“I’ve met his boyfriend, and man….” Adair’s hands came into view first, gripping handlebars. “You’re fit, but I’m pretty sure that guy would ruin you.”

“Maybe I need a good ruining,” Cole shot back with a wicked smirk, already recovered from the dead leg.

I shared a glance with Cody, smiling at the barely repressed mirth in his gaze.

Cole ambled into the room then, and I sidestepped him when he tried to ruffle my hair before introducing himself to Cody and Liem .

With him out of the way, Adair finally wheeled all the way in.

His gaze was almost shy as it met mine before both of our gazes flicked down to the knee scooter he was using.

But that wasn’t what held my attention.

“You got your cast off.”

He gave me his big smile. “I convinced them. Got a new boot too.”

I glanced at it, smiling at his bright purple sock.

After two weeks of only seeing him at the house, it felt like a whole new world to have him here, to see him here.

Conversation was carrying on behind me, but their words were meaningless to my ears as I watched Adair look me over.

I said nothing, did nothing, as I devoured him in return.

He’d shaved his face clean, the stubble that’d scraped against me when he kissed me the last time I’d seen him gone, leaving his little chin divot on full display.

His black T-shirt was closer to form-fitting than any he’d ever worn, and his leg muscles flexed under the thin material of his sweatpants, which bunched up around his new boot.

When I made it back to his face, I gestured to his scooter. “Think you’ll be able to keep up with my board now?”

He raised his chin in mock pride, puffing out his chest as he patted the handlebars. “This baby is top of the line. All-terrain wheels, comfort grip bars, and a handy basket for personal items.” His large hand gestured to the little basket on the front, which cradled his phone.

“Where’d you get it?” I asked, running my finger over a faded, torn sticker on the side. “It doesn’t look new.”

His eyebrows drew down, and he gave me a serious look. “The mobility-aid black market. ”

A laugh escaped me, and he stood even taller.

“So, Jillie showed you the storage room?”

Sequins and feathers took him from my sight as Delly pushed the garment rack between us, Cole on her heels. She said some combination of words that I took as a goodbye, and then Liem and Cody followed, a coy smile on Liem’s face and a definite twinkle in his eye as he looked between us.

I pointedly ignored it.

The second it was just us, Adair reached for my hand and tugged me to him, just like he had yesterday morning. I inhaled in surprise, but sank into his familiar touch, soothed by the smell of pine as I pressed my body into his.

His lips met mine in a sweet, breath-stealing kiss. It didn’t last long, and when he broke away, I smiled at the taste of the rosemary and lavender lip balm.

Tilting my head back, I met his hazel eyes, heart stuttering at his sudden intensity.

“I missed you last night.”

I watched his mouth say the words, but I had no idea what to do with them. I didn’t know this dance, was clueless of the steps, but damn if his lead wasn’t one I was eager to follow.

When I didn’t say anything, he took my hand, kissing my knuckles one by one. With each kiss, I settled back into the knowing of him. Of how natural it was for us to touch.

How something I hadn’t had for so long was familiar now.

When he kissed the middle of my hand and glanced up at me through his eyelashes, the daydream from yesterday, the one from the dance with the Hammonds, flashed through my mind.

Adair kissing my knuckles just like this, at the beginning of a dance, just before he spun me around and wrapped me in his arms.

And then swept me away.

It wasn’t the first daydream I’d had about dancing with him, but one look at that scooter told me it’d stay that—a dream—for a long while.

“Where’d you guys end up last night?” I asked, grasping for the thread of conversation.

Delly and I had come home to an empty house yesterday after finishing up at the Locc and visiting Dad and Pops.

I’d fallen asleep on top of the covers, waiting up for Adair, and one time during the night I’d woken up and had almost knocked on his door.

But I wasn’t sure where Cole was, so I just turned toward his room and went back to sleep.

But only after restarting my music, which I’d sorely missed listening to with him.

It was concerning how quickly I’d fallen into a routine with him and how much I was thrown off when it didn’t happen.

He placed our hands over his heart, and I felt his answering sigh more than I heard it.

“Cole kidnapped me after my checkup and after a quick visit to Pops, he took me on a joy ride along the coast even though I told him I wanted to go home. But I guess word must’ve got around that I was pathetic, because he said I needed fresh air and sunlight. ”

I balked. “You’re the least pathetic person I’ve ever met, Adair Jacks.”