“Lauren!” he whispered.
She ignored his appeal and went to the cash. Paolo was smiling at her as if he was proud of her. Lauren didn’t know whether she would cry or not. She was shaking as she unpacked her basket, but Paolo began to clap.
“Brava, bella,” he said with low approval. “Brava.”
Slowly, the other patrons in the shop began to clap as well. Lauren felt a hot flush rise over her face as the volume of applause grew.
Mark swore and flung himself out of the shop, slamming the door behind himself.
Lauren exhaled shakily once he was gone and found herself gripping the counter to steady herself. She’d just made a scene, and she had no regrets.
Honesty was potent stuff.
She felt so much better.
Paolo beckoned to his grandson. The boy was about fifteen and often helped in the shop. “You will carry the lady’s groceries to her building,” he said, then winked at her. “Mr. Bernard will ensure that you are not troubled again, bella.”
Lauren smiled and thanked him, knowing it was true. She hoped she had a couple of dollars to tip the boy, but she was glad to have company until she got back to the building.
There was no sign of Mark on the street or in the lobby. By the time she entered the elevator, she doubted she would hear from him again soon.
It was a tremendous relief.
* * *
Ingrid was already waiting outside the salon when Lauren arrived on Tuesday morning. She’d been sorting clothes the night before, as well as rearranging the apartment. It had been really satisfying to shed Mark’s idea of how she should look and how their home should be, and to assert her own vision.
She was going to get her hair cut, too.
“Sorry. I slept in a bit,” she said, hurrying to unlock the door.
“No problem.” Ingrid was younger than Lauren, a striking blond who dressed in dramatic black and white. Since coming to work at the salon, she’d made steady progress on her full sleeve of tattoos, a fascinating composition that covered her left arm in shades of gray from fingers to shoulder. Her right arm had only three or four tattoos so far, but Lauren knew that Ingrid had a plan. “I thought Marie would be here already.”
“I’m not sure whether Marie will be back.”
“Really? Isn’t she paying you on time?”
“She was sleeping with my ex, and she’s pregnant.”
Ingrid sat down hard in the waiting area. “No shit.”
“No shit.”
“So, you threw her out?”
“No, but I did decline to encourage him to do the ‘right thing.’” Lauren rolled her eyes and Ingrid started to laugh.
“She actually thought you would?”
“Apparently.”
Ingrid laughed and laughed. “My mom would say it takes all kinds to make a world.”
“I guess it does. Do you think you’ll have time today to cut my hair?”
Ingrid sobered. “Ah, time to take a quarter inch off the ends?”
“No, I want it short.”
The other woman straightened with interest. “How short?”
“I don’t know. I want a new look. What do you think?”
“Honestly? I’ve always wondered why you kept it long. I mean, it’s great and healthy, wonderful hair, but you have such good bones. It’s almost like you’re hiding behind it a bit.”
It wasn’t the hair she was hiding behind. It was the conservative look Mark preferred. Lauren realized as much as soon as she heard the words and knew it was time to mix it up a bit. “Then go ahead and cut it however you see fit.”
“Seriously?” Ingrid’s eyes lit in anticipation.
“Seriously. Show me your stuff.”
“You might hate it.”
“I might love it.” Lauren shrugged. “And if I hate it, I’ll just grow it out again.”
“You’re on. Let’s do it now before you change your mind.” Ingrid spun her chair and invited Lauren with a gesture.
“I’m not going to change my mind.” Lauren grabbed a gown and took a seat. “Do you know any good charities around here? I’m wondering what to do with all the stuff that I want to get rid of.”
“What have you got?” Ingrid asked and Lauren told her. She nodded. “Well, it’s not around here, but out in Queens, there’s a place I go on Mondays. They try to help women start again after abusive relationships or just bad choices.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Ingrid cupped Lauren’s hair as if it was bobbed.
“Shorter,” Lauren said.
“Yes!” Ingrid smiled and wet down Lauren’s hair before she started cutting. “This place sells what they can’t use, but they like to get good clothes, so the women can go to job interviews looking their best.”
“I have a bunch of stuff that would be perfect for that. I don’t think I’ve worn any of those things more than once.”
“Excellent. They also sell basic furnishings cheap to the women so they can set up their own places, but then sell the rest.”
“Why do you go there?”
Ingrid smiled. “Makeover Mondays. I do haircuts. My friend Sherry is a make-up artist and she comes, too. Sometimes another friend of ours comes to do nails. We donate our time and bring supplies, too. It’s pretty amazing to see the change in people, and it boosts their confidence before a job interview. We have fun with it, too.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Lauren said, liking the idea of her fresh start helping other women make new beginnings of their own. “I wish I had a car. I’d take everything there.”
Ingrid paused and met Lauren’s gaze in the mirror. “Sherry has a car and we drive out there. We could take your stuff with us next Monday.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Lauren said. “Do need another pair of scissors? I’d close the shop for the day and come along to help.”
“That is a good idea,” Ingrid agreed. “There are always more people needing haircuts than I can get done. You’ll see—it’s a lot of fun. Now, close your eyes. I have a plan and I want to surprise you.”
* * *
Several weeks had passed before Lauren was next in Times Square. She was startled, and disappointed, to see that the billboard of Kyle had been removed. She’d made a point of avoiding the visual reminder of him but on this day, after hearing from Mark that he’d taken a job in Chicago, she’d been planning to treat herself to a view.
But Kyle was gone.
They were finishing the installation of a different billboard in the same place. Get Hard at F5. She knew the dark-haired and dark-eyed guy was another of Ty’s partners, Damon. A nice guy. Quiet and a bit intense was her impression. Women were stopping to take a good look at the billboard and making comments to each other, but the image didn’t do anything for Lauren.
She pulled out her phone and navigated to Kyle’s number.
It glowed on the display, tempting her to just press Call, filling her mind with memories and her body with desire.
She licked her lips, wanting.
But Lauren had been there and done that. It was time to look forward instead of back. She couldn’t call Kyle every time she wanted to feel alive—she had to find a way to heal on her own.
She wasn’t going to be dumb again.
She was going to make new and different mistakes now, instead of repeating the old ones. Mark was gone. Marie had given up her chair and moved in with her sister. The salon was closed on Mondays, for Lauren to do makeovers with Ingrid and Sherry.
Her new future had begun.
With a flick of her thumb, Lauren deleted Kyle from her address book. Her heart was in her throat when she dropped the phone back into her pocket and she blinked back unexpected tears.
It was over.
It had been over before it even started.
She’d known that from the beginning, but she still felt as if she’d lost something precious. No, he’d given her something precious in helping her to find herself again.
Maybe she should have taken his denim shirt.
Nine
A wave of heat and humidity had slammed Manhattan in late July and weeks later, it hadn’t broken. The streets were simmering, pedestrians were melting and patio bars packed to capacity. The usual contingent of summer tourists seemed larger on this particular summer, their numbers making the streets more congested and ensuring that tempers wore more thin.
The only good thing about it was that Kyle’s bad mood was less noticeable than it might have been otherwise.
There wasn’t a single woman in the entire city he wanted to seduce—except the one who didn’t want him.
In a better moment, he might appreciate the irony of that.
His apartment was no longer a private sanctuary. It felt empty, haunted by his memories of Lauren. He’d spent so much time on his rowing machine that he figured he could have circumnavigated the earth, if he’d been in the ocean instead of his dining room. He missed Lauren. No one else would do, and she wasn’t for him. He couldn’t think of a solution, especially as she was even harder to forget this time.
He was well aware that he was counting down the days to the night he could call her about Ty’s wedding. He’d wait until thirty days before the event, just as she’d suggested.
Kyle figured he’d need every minute to figure out what to say.
Or how to convince her.
He would not think about her dating someone else.
Just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, his family arrived.
Kyle had no idea they were coming to the city until they marched into the lobby of F5. He’d gone down to reception to wait for his 3:30 personal training appointment. Rick was always running late for his slot and Kyle halfway thought the other man was trying to weasel out of the appointments he’d booked and paid for. Whenever he met Rick in the lobby, they got to the weight room faster and lost less of the booked hour. Kyle knew that Rick would be more motivated once he saw results, but shortening each session wasn’t going to help that happen any time soon.
Sonia was at the reception desk, looking as sleek and gorgeous as ever, but before Kyle could think of recovering his usual mojo, he spied the small arriving party. Parading toward the desk was Kyle’s mom, his brother, his sister-in-law, and their two sprouts.
Kyle stared, incredulous that they’d traveled across the country together when Olivia was so obviously pregnant. All of them were wearing I LOVE NY T-shirts and foam Statue of Liberty crowns. They were grinning like maniacs and Sonia seemed to be taken aback at the sight of them.
When they spotted Kyle, they shouted his name in unison. They immediately formed a line and assumed stickman poses, tilting their heads, splaying their fingers, and freezing in position.
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” Kyle asked. He winked at Sonia, who appeared to be bewildered and rightly so. “I made fun of the stick people on the back of their minivan when I visited last year.”
“Oh!” Sonia said, then smiled politely.
She probably still thought that insanity ran in his family—or at least eccentricity—but Kyle couldn’t take issue as it was pretty much true.
There were hugs and kisses all around, as well as exclamations of surprise. Kyle didn’t think any of them had changed much since his visit to San Diego the previous Christmas, except that Sprout One was a good four inches taller and his voice was starting to crack.
Kyle’s mom looked as dramatic and dynamic as ever. Her silver hair was cut short, and she was dressed, as usual, in black. His half-brother, Dave, still reminded him of Clark Kent with his nerd glasses, although there was nothing nerdy about Dave’s build. He was a bit shorter than Kyle but just as fit. Kyle knew there was a resemblance between them but few people thought they were related, given Dave’s dark hair and eyes.
Dave’s wife Olivia was as cute as ever. She was a tiny redhead who looked delicate but was tougher than people expected. Given her size, her baby bump looked ready to overwhelm her—or tip her over—and she did appear to be tired. Kyle pulled out a chair from behind the desk for her and gave her a bottle of cold water. She sank into the chair with a grateful smile.
Sprout One, Jason, was Olivia’s son from her first marriage. She’d been widowed after her husband was killed in action. Dave had known him, both of them being in the Navy, and things had developed between him and Olivia. Kyle had always thought that Jason kept his distance a bit from Dave. The boy had only been four when his dad died, so obviously remembered him. Kyle couldn’t even imagine navigating that emotional minefield but Dave seemed to be doing well. Olivia clearly adored him, their son Noah followed Jason around just the way Dave had followed Kyle, and now there was a girl on the way.
Jason was a serious kid, very tall and thin, with his mom’s red hair, a lot of freckles, and glasses that were always sliding down his nose. The kid was a math genius. Noah was shorter and chunkier, but Kyle knew he’d slim out in adolescence when he got his height. He resembled Dave at that age, and Kyle expected he’d continue to do so.
“My brother, Dave,” Kyle said to Sonia. “His wife, Olivia. My mom, Florence, and the sprouts, One and Two.”
Olivia patted her bump. “Don’t forget Sprout Three.”
“Have you named her yet?”
Dave and Olivia shared a glance. “It’s still a secret,” Olivia whispered. “For luck.”
Kyle didn’t know the details of the long gap between pregnancies, but he did know that Olivia was a couple of years older than Dave. He gestured. “This is Sonia, one of our fabulous receptionists.”
“More than one receptionist?” Dave asked. He looked around the lobby and appeared to be impressed. Kyle always went to California to visit and his brother hadn’t seen F5 since the very early days. “I didn’t realize the club was so big.”
“Swishy,” Kyle’s mom agreed with a critical eye. “Excellent real estate.”
“There are three of us on reception, because of the long hours that the club is open,” Sonia explained. “I’m here weekdays. Raylene is here weeknights and Christa is here on Saturday and Sunday.”
“What do you do?” Sprout One asked. This kid had questions for his questions. The first time Kyle had met Jason, “why?” had been the only word he’d said—at least once every ten seconds. It had nearly driven Kyle insane and he’d told Dave that Olivia’s son was a walking advertisement for vasectomies.
Dave and Olivia had thought it was a joke.
Kyle was glad that Jason’s vocabulary had moved on to questions that were more readily answered.
“Answer the phone, answer questions, sign up new members, book people into classes and private sessions, help in the store.” Sonia smiled at the boys and shrugged. “It’s busy.”
“Sounds boring,” Jason replied.
“No! I never get bored. I don’t have time. And I get to use the club facilities, too,” Sonia confided, then leaned over the desk. “Don’t tell me your name is really Sprout One.”
He shook his head. “It’s Jason, but Uncle Kyle doesn’t like kids.”
“That’s not true,” Kyle’s mom said.
“It’s definitely true,” Kyle said.
“Someone will change your mind,” Olivia murmured.
Jason rolled his eyes at his mom’s comment. “He says we can be friends after we turn eighteen.”
“Then he can lead you astray with a clear conscience,” Dave said.
“My conscience is always clear,” Kyle said and his brother laughed. “Besides, I don’t think Sprout One needs any ideas.”
“I heard that!” Jason cried.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“Can’t we come to visit you?” Olivia asked.
“It’s never happened before. And given your pregnancy, I’m surprised.”
“I met a man,” Kyle’s mom said.
That didn’t explain anything to Kyle. “So, why are you so far from California?”
“Because I met hi
m online, dear, and when we decided to meet in person, Dave and Olivia insisted on coming along. Isn’t that sweet?”
“Was it sweet?” Kyle asked his brother.
Dave grimaced. “We drove because it’s not a great idea for Olivia to fly. I’d choose ‘painful’ as an adjective before ‘sweet.’”
“I am a delightful travel companion,” their mom insisted. “Five of my seven husbands have said as much.”
“Seven?” Sonia whispered.
“Not counting the more casual liaisons,” Kyle said. “The total has got to top a dozen.”
“Well, since you were born, at least. I have a healthy libido,” his mom said, sounding defensive. “Kyle came by his inclinations honestly.”
Sonia bit back a smile and pivoted slightly on her chair to answer the ringing phone.
Kyle had a horrific realization. “Wait a minute. You mean your new man lives here?”
His mother smiled up at him. “He does! And if all goes well, I’ll be moving east. Won’t that be wonderful, Kyle? We’ll be able to see each other all the time!”
“Wonderful,” Kyle agreed without enthusiasm.
Dave was no help. “Your turn,” he mouthed, then gave Kyle two thumbs-up behind their mom’s back. Olivia swatted his shoulder and Kyle pointed a finger at him, mimicking a gun. Dave just grinned.
Florence turned and looked between them, then glared at Dave. “You’ll miss me terribly. You’ll see.”
“Of course,” Dave agreed, all innocence.
Sprout Two was tugging at Kyle’s shirt. “We found a sticker for you, Uncle Kyle. We can add it to the van when you visit.”
Kyle eyed the stick figure of a smiling man. He was lifting two dumbbells high over his head as if they weighed nothing. “There’s an inducement to stay home,” he said. “I’ve been reduced to a stick man sticker.”
“Why does it say Rocky under it?” Two asked.
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