Flirting With Fire (Hometown Heroes) Read Free Page B

asked, his gaze never leaving Dawn’s.
    Yesterday. “Monday?”
    “Perfect. Be
here Monday at eight a.m. Dress code is comfortable but presentable. No tank
tops, no flip flops--”
    “Xavier!” Dawn swatted
at him. “You can’t expect Ms. Williams to take the job before she gets a chance
to see where she’ll be working!”
    “Oh, what was I thinking?”
    I knew darned
well what he was thinking. It had nothing to do with me, and everything to do
with his after-hours intentions with the petite vixen before him. Not wanting
to piss off my new boss before I’d even started, I took a step back.
    “That’s alright.
I’m…sure it’s great.”
    Xavier started
to nod at the same time Dawn spoke up. “Heavens, no! I’ll show you back there
now. It won’t take but a minute.”
    She came around
from behind the front counter and took me by the elbow. Her fiancé watched us
go with narrowed eyes. I shrugged and offered him a sheepish grin, to which he
responded with a shake of his head and a heavy sigh.
    The grin on my
face widened as Dawn led me into the depths of the Spa del Sol. Unless I did
something really stupid in the next five minutes, I’d done it—I’d landed a new
job in the big city. It seemed my luck was finally turning around.
    * * * *
    “Have you been
here before, Liz?”
    I shook my head,
trying to free it from the hallelujah chorus ringing between my ears. A new
job! So much to do, so many clients to tell.
    “No, actually I
haven’t.”
    “Ah, then you’re
in for a wonderful surprise.”
    We stepped
through a wide entryway skirted by thick, chocolate-colored curtains, and
stopped.
    “Welcome,” she
said, “to the Spa del Sol.”
    The spa was much
larger than I’d imagined, and appeared to take up the whole southwest quadrant
of the second floor.
    “Our suite is
divided into three sections. The first is for hair,” she said, gesturing toward
a brightly lit area that contained four spacious, earth-tone decorated
workstations. Three stylists, two women and a man, appeared to be in the
process of cleaning up for the day. Dawn continued forward, forgoing
introductions.
    “The next area
is dedicated to nails,” she said, offering a wave ahead as we passed through
another curtain-framed divide. “We have some of the best nail techs in the
city, honest to God.”
    I nodded, taking
in the view. This was my kind of room, with comfort clearly the intended
result. It was quiet here, all staff and clients already gone for the day. In
the far corner of the room, two large, overstuffed leather chairs in mocha hues
stood with pedicure soaking tubs at their bases. Closer to where we now stood
were four sparkling clean, sandy-toned manicure tables with two backless beige
leather stools on either side of each. The soothing aroma of eucalyptus begged
me to stop and stay awhile, and the subtle sounds of another water feature only
added to the allure.
    Dawn, however,
tugged at my arm yet again, intent on bringing me to the third section. I made
a decision then and there to make my own appointment next week at this nail
heaven. How long had it been since I’d treated myself to a pedicure?
    The answer was
easy: far too long. Probably because these last few boyfriends hadn’t even
lasted long enough for me to worry about showing them my neglected piggies. Mr.
Abs popped into my head suddenly, and my cheeks warmed like those of some silly
schoolgirl. For him, I’d drop everything and schedule a pedicure today…among
other things.
    “And this,” Dawn
said, as we passed beneath the last divide, “is my baby.”
    Here, warm earth
tones were replaced by a palette of cooler, calming colors. But instead of
making the décor seem colder, the hues seemed to tug at my senses, begging me
to take a seat on one of the slate-colored leather couches in what I assumed
was a waiting area. Across from us was a smaller doorway, hidden behind a
curtain of floor-to-ceiling iridescent silver beads.
    The room, the
colors, the