Page 15 of Only If You Dare

“So what’s this latest assignment of yours?”

The warm water that washed over my scalp ran into my earlobe muffling the sound of Laney’s voice.

“It’s not breaking news; traveling to get exclusive photos from an international photo spread.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“I hope to have a little fun.”

“You should find enjoyment in everything you do. Life if short, honey. If I were in your shoes, I’d ask my boss to send me traveling all the time.”

“If only it were that easy.”

I closed my eyes again as Laney massaged my scalp, but that proved to be a mistake. It was bad enough Julian had been on my mind since leaving Chicago. Now, with this new development and after yesterday’s fiasco, getting him out of my head was difficult. I needed to go out, on a date or two. Maybe it would stop me from becoming too engrossed with thoughts of him. I smiled to myself as if I’d come up with the brightest idea in the world. Then, realized quickly, that I loathed men for the womanizers they were and scowled.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” Laney asked.

“Uh? Oh, nothing in particular.”

“Sounds like you’re holding out,” Laney sang.

It was no secret that hair salons were the bed and breakfast of gossip shops for just about everything under the sun. But I didn’t plan on making what I was thinking or feeling about Julian known.

“Turn that TV up,” Natasha yelled.

The ladies sitting at the front desk elevated the volume, and a picture of Julian flashed across the screen as if I’d conjured him up by just a thought. The reporter held a bright smile as she spoke into the microphone.

“International male model and owner of A Few Good Men, Julian Alexander Rose was spotted in Houston today coming out of Dan’s barbeque on Jackson and Milling Street.”

The reporter switched gears rolling to footage they’d recorded moments ago. A video of Julian strolling from the front door to his Bentley Bentayga played across the screen.

“We caught up with Mr. Rose and he willingly gave us a moment of his time.”

The camera switched to the recorded interview.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Rose. I’m Milly Washington with WGTN. What brings you to Houston today?”

Julian slid one hand into his pocket and held the other out for a friendly shake.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Washington. I’ve been here for a week now, visiting a friend.”

The timber in his voice sent chills through my spine. I resisted the urge to pull my hand up, and fanned myself as a layer of heat spread across my skin. He was just as beautiful if not more so than he was the day before. Dressed like a prep boy, Julian’s navy blue Brook Brother’s button down clung to his muscular arms and broad shoulders like it were made for him.

“He is so fine!” Natasha said.

“Sssh, I’m trying to hear what the man’s saying, girl,” her friend sitting next to her quipped.

“Could there be a budding romance with this friend?”

A slow grin spread across his amazing mouth.

“I’m working on it.”

He winked at the reporter and strolled away, offering a final wave as his long frame ducked off inside the car.

“You heard it first, Houston,” she said. “Some lucky lady has the attention of the one and only Mr. Julian Alexander Rose. Maybe sooner rather than later, we’ll find out who the lucky woman is. Back to you, Sherri.”

As much as I wanted to believe Julian was referring to me, nothing about his visit indicated such. We were working together. Besides some sexual chemistry, I wasn’t even sure Julian and I were friends. We’d been haphazardly thrown into the same world because his brother was marrying my sister. But he did come all this way to do an exclusive report with you. I invoked another image of Julian cutting his eyes at a beautiful woman dressed in some lingerie in the privacy of his suite. Exhaling a heavy sigh, I worked double-time to shuffle my thoughts.

Laney blow dried my hair and added a hot oil treatment. Just as I started to imagine Julian’s lips on mine, a melodramatic scream resonated from my phone and the familiar ringtone made me cringe. That was it. I was resigning tomorrow.

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