Page 18 of No Place Like Home (Orlinda Valley #3)

Summer

W hat the hell was that about? Jamison and Lilly were talking about us?

I leaned on the sink and stared through the window onto the parking lot at the back of the salon.

A robin perched on the branch of a nearby Bradford Pear tree, and I watched him for a while to give my mind something else to think about.

But then he flew off, and my mind was back on the gossip.

Fucking hell. There was no us as far as Rowan and I were concerned—or there shouldn’t be an us .

An us would destroy the friendship we’ve always had, not that we could go back to that if we wanted to. Not after last night.

Warmth spread through my body and my nipples got hard just thinking of the things Rowan did to me. His lips, his fingers, his . . .

“Hey,” Rowan was right behind me, thankfully interrupting my thoughts. I felt his presence hovering close, and my body went rigid. I stood tall and pushed back my shoulders. Keep your thoughts and feelings in, Summer. It’s what you do best. Don’t get soft now.

“Summer, you okay?”

I tried hard to keep my feelings in check, yet even as my stomach started to churn with anxiety, my body was still reacting pleasantly to the memories and Rowan being right here in the room with me. Shit. I leaned back onto the sink.

“Summer, don’t be upset or angry. Darcie was just repeating what she heard.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t good at relationships and sure as hell didn’t want to get hurt by Rowan—or hurt him, myself. My family’s history with relationships sucked, to say the least. And, most of all, he shouldn’t be with me. I was not a good choice.

He touched my arm and the zing that went straight to my heart was impossible to ignore—but I sure as hell had to try. I pulled away from his grasp.

But in typical Rowan style, he couldn’t read the room—or wouldn’t—and he touched my arm again. “Summer! Look. At. Me.” His voice took on an I’m-in-charge tone I was used to hearing from him. “I’m sorry. I know how much that must have bothered you, but don’t shut me out.”

“Who all knew you liked me?” I asked, my voice thick with emotion.

And I hated that too—I don’t do emotion .

I grabbed a cup from the sink, filled it with water, and took a long drink before I continued.

“You told me it was only Trevor.” I turned to face him and leaned back against the sink.

His eyes were shrouded in hurt, concern—and something else—but I ignored it. I had to.

He raked his hands through his hair and breathed out heavily before he answered me. “Just Trevor, I swear! Jamison was guessing and teasing. It’s no different than when Darlene and Kora have teased you about us all these years. My brothers have done the same with me. That’s all. He had no clue.”

I searched his face for any hint of a lie. “Fine.” I knew Rowan better than he knew himself, and one thing he could never do was lie. Even after all these years, he still couldn’t. I let my anger deflate, and a smile ticked at the corner of my mouth. “I believe you.”

He returned my smile with his own.

That damn sexy smile—well it wasn’t that sexy until two days ago. Fuck . Who was I kidding? It made me tingle all over, go weak in the knees. He stepped forward, and before I could stop him, he kissed me—sweet, soft, no tongue—and I returned it willingly.

Wait, what the hell? I came to my senses and pushed him away, my eyes wide and my heart stuttering in my chest. “Rowan, someone might see. You know the book club is nosy as hell.”

He put up his hand. “Sorry.”

I stepped away. “It’s okay. I’ve got to get back to work.” I grabbed a can of Diet Coke and strolled out of the kitchen as casually as I could, despite the feelings deep in my gut. I needed to get my mind back on work and off Rowan. I’d have plenty of time to think about him tonight.

“Summer, Uncle Rowan and I came here so I could get my nails done.”

I looked down at Darcie, her hands on her hips and her red curls in her face. Tonya stood right behind her, her eyes studying me. “Okay, Darcie. I think I have enough time before my next client.” I then glared at Tonya. “Problem?”

She glanced at me, then over to Rowan, then back at me, and tsk ed her tongue.

Damn, that sound annoyed me, grating deep into my chest—and she did it so much . I braced myself for a comment from her. I’m sure that the comments from the onlookers about me potentially hooking up with her baby boy ate away at that small, somewhat cold heart that hid in her chest .

She opened her mouth to speak.

“Mom,” Rowan broke in, placing his arm around Tonya’s shoulders. “Don’t start. That was just talk.” He glanced at me, winked, and turned his mother around. “Let’s go for a walk. Summer has to work. I’m sure there’s plenty of people who you would love to show me off to.”

Rowan mouthed “Later” to me and led his mother to the door, saying bye to Diane and Kaye as he went.

“My nails aren’t going to paint themselves,” Darcie reminded me in a sing-song voice, wiggling her fingers in the air.

I almost forgot she was there. But it was Darcie. She made sure no one ever forgot her. “You’re correct, school-skipper. What does the princess want done today?”

“I’m not skipping school. I’ve been sick. I can go back tomorrow, and I’ll have pretty nails to match Madeline and Lena.” She walked to the wall of nail colors and tapped one finger to her lips, placed her other hand on her waist and popped out her hip.

I shook my head and held in a chuckle. Jamison was going to have his hands full.

“Well, Madeline and Lena already got a pink on their nails.” She said as she stared at the line of pink polishes and pursed her lips in concentration. “But I forget what color they said it was.” She looked at me, her hazel eyes wide. “I need to match them, you know.”

Yes, I knew that quite clearly. The three “Orlinda Valley Princesses” needed to do everything together. “Why don’t you go ask Kaye. I’m pretty sure she painted their nails.”

Darcie held up her finger. “Be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

My eyes darted to the ceiling, and I planted my feet dramatically for her, demonstrating my inability to move. She nodded once and walked away toward Kaye. For fuck’s sake, this girl is bossy, I thought. There’s no doubt she’s Tonya’s granddaughter. Bossiness must be genetic.

“It’s flamingo pink, Summer,” Kaye hollered from across the salon.

I gave her a thumbs up, picked up the flamingo pink nail color, and sat at my station to do my weekly pampering of Princess Darcie McKendry.

It didn’t take long to color ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes flamingo pink. I sat her under the drying lights and turned the television on to a channel with silly pet videos. She was laughing heartily while I cleaned the station and waited for my next customer.

“Hey, Summer,” Lilly greeted me as she sat in my seat.

Lilly—just who I needed to see, and she was my next customer.

We were going to give her hair a trim and play with different styles to decide how she wanted it for the wedding.

Right now, I wanted to cut it all off out of spite and call it a day.

Instead, I nodded, put my cape around her shoulders, and said, “Hey. Do you want me to grab you a drink? Sweet tea or water?”

“A water would be great,” she answered.

“I’ll take a juice box, please,” Darcie chimed from the drying station.

I wasn’t asking Darcie, but it was only a juice box. When I came back, Darcie had her ass perched on my station. “Can I ask what you think you’re doing up there, missy?”

“My name’s Darcie, not Missy. Missy’s a mean girl in my class. But Lilly said I could watch you. You know I’m going to be the flower girl. I’m going to wear a tiara, and I have to look pretty too, so I want to see how well you do Lilly’s hair to see if I want you to do mine also.”

Lilly snickered at me in the mirror while I silently willed glue to stick Darcie’s mouth together. “What will you do if you don’t like how I do Lilly’s hair?”

She shrugged. “Then Miss Kaye or Miss Diane will do mine. They cut my hair all the time, anyway. Red curly hair takes a special touch, that’s what my grandma says. And I don’t know if you have it.”

“Okay,” Lilly placed her hands on Darcie’s legs just as the bells on the door tinkled that someone came in. “Why don’t you run over and help your uncle and grandma bring in the boxes they have. It looks like they brought food for lunch.”

Darcie jumped from the counter. “Yay, pizza.” She skipped behind Tonya and Rowan. I made sure to look busy and ignored Rowan’s gaze.

“Kaye, Diane, I have pizza for all.” Rowan looked at the older women in Diane and Kaye’s chairs. “And you two don’t need to leave without grabbing a slice of pizza or a cookie I picked up from Cakes and More.”

“That bakery next door is my favorite,” said Mrs. Clowder, the eye doctor’s wife. “Rowan, honey how is it you’re still single? Such a good-looking young man, and such good manners!”

“I don’t know, Mrs. Clowder. I guess the right girl hasn’t taken notice of me.”

“Well then, girls your age must be blind.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Clowder. But none of the women my age are as sweet and as beautiful as you.”

Damn, he was so charming. Why couldn’t he be a jerk and unlikeable?

“Thank you for taking control of Darcie,” I said to Lilly. “I love that girl, but she’s a lot to deal with, and today it’s been almost too much.”

Lilly laughed. “You know, Summer, you’ve always been so good with Darcie, Madeline, and Lena. They love coming here and having spa days and getting their nails done by you. You know, you might make a good girl-mom one day.”

I puffed out a breath and stood straight before I pulled the brush extra-hard through her hair. “Bite your tongue, woman, and watch what you say. Remember your hair is at my mercy. You’ve already created enough chaos for one day.”

“Oww.” Lilly jerked her head out of my reach. “Can we not be abusive? And what do you mean I’ve created chaos?”