Page 28 of His Weekend Wife

“Forgive my manners. I owe you congratulations.”

Ash opened one eye to a slit. “Congratulations?”

“On your marriage to Declan.”

“Oh, yeah, thank you.” Oops.

“If you have any secret tips on how to land a man like him, please share.” She had lowered her voice. “The last man I dated turned out to be a toad.”

Ash almost chuckled. If she told the other woman the true story, she’d probably laugh. Would she believe that Ash had been a waitress at a greasy diner when Declan walked in. Most people wouldn’t think it possible that a man like him would find interest in a mousy girl who had given him the cold shoulder…at first. “Sorry, it was just fate.”

“I bet it was a romantic story. I must admit, none of us at the shop ever thought the Declan Knight would settle down. I’m glad he has though. Time to stop flowering every woman’s garden.” Realizing what she’d said, her eyes widened and her smile fizzled. “I’m sorry. That was out of line.”

Ash would be offended if she’d heard anything she didn’t already know, or guess. “No worries. All men are waiting to be caught, they just need the right woman to do the catching.”

“You’re right.” She fluffed up Ash’s hair. “Okay, how do you feel about golden highlights to bring out your coloring? We could throw in a few blonde strands too, give it some depth.”

Analisa’s words were a foreign language. Ash had never cared about things like highlights and bringing out her coloring. “Whatever you think will work, I’m up for it.”

The woman’s eyes lit up. “Best client ever.” She went to work mixing and measuring, but Ash’s mind traveled back to her major issue at hand.

How would she fight her emotions for Declan?

Unfortunately, she still found him irresistible. Still wanted him. Her cheeks warmed remembering how she’d undressed in front of him with no questions asked. No hesitation. She’d fallen into his trap as easily as a hungry mouse wanting a bite of cheese.

“I’m going to give you long bangs too. You have amazing eyes and we want them to pop.”

Okay. If you say so

“Hello?” A female’s voice came from the bedroom.

“Ahh, there’s my assistant now. In here,” Analisa practically squealed. “Ash, meet Tamryn. She will be helping me today.”

I’m so bad it’s going to take two women? “Okay.” She greeted the pretty Asian woman who didn’t say a word as she rummaged through a small bag.

“She’s our best manicurist,” Analisa said as she started applying a thick cream to Ash’s hair with a small brush.

Ash wanted to deny the manicure, after all, once her vacation was over, she’d be back to waiting tables and breaking every nail. What would it hurt, though? Yet, when Tamryn lined up bright colored bottles along the sink and asked Ash to pick one, she was overwhelmed. Understanding her silence, or maybe the wrinkling of her nose, Tamryn winked, dipped back into her bag, and pulled out a pale pink. “Now we’re talking,” Ash said.

Both women worked on her relentlessly and Ash wanted to enjoy the gentle tug of her hair, the soft touch of the manicurist, but she couldn’t stop fretting over her sister. Worrying if she’d gotten the money to the right hands. Abby had promised she wouldn’t give the money to Phillipe, but could Ash trust her? These days it seemed Abby couldn’t think of anything, or anyone, but the one man who was bringing her down.

Although Ash and Abby had always been different, they were best friends, but it seemed they’d drifted apart in the last six months. Ash wanted to place all the blame on Phillipe, but fairly, Abby had started to change way before he came into the picture. She’d gotten involved with a group of friends that were into heavy drinking and drugs, and Abby had slipped right into peer pressure. Losing several jobs hadn’t helped. Ash wanted nothing more than to see her sister get stable on her own two feet, go back to college, or even find a job that made her happy.

In the meantime, Ash had to stay strong and deny herself the desires lingering in her body for Declan.

An hour later, after she’d been rinsed, dried and brushed, Analisa pulled off the cape. “Done.”

Ash stared at herself in the mirror. The finished product was magnificent. Her hair was soft and shiny. The color was just as Analisa had promised. It brought out Ash’s features, especially her eyes. She was only filled with disappointment realizing that she could never afford to keep the look up, and that most of the time as a waitress, she had to keep it in a bun or ponytail.

“I have something else for you too.”

“More?”

“Oh, trust me, honey. We’ve only just begun.” She set a large, colorful square box on the sink and motioned for Ash to lift the lid. She did and peeked inside, her mouth falling open. There was a huge selection of makeup products. Not over the counter products she could pick up at the drugstore while she was grabbing other necessities, but products with names that she knew were expensive and had seen in ads in beauty magazines.

“You’re doing my makeup, too?” Ash asked.

Analisa smiled. “I will help show you a few techniques, but you don’t need much. You’re naturally beautiful. Declan asked me to bring you the best products for your coloring. These are yours to keep.”

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