Page 32 of Beauty and the Bayou

“It’s in the way.”

“Don’t overreact.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Braid it,” he said, lifting a shoulder.“A French braid would keep it at the back of your head and out of the way.”

Juliet blinked at him.“You know about French braids?”Sure, she supposed he’dseenthem.His grandmother’s hair had been braided that morning.He had a sister.But she didn’t think men paid all that much attention to hairstyles or at least what they were called.Or realized that sometimes they were just functional and had nothing to do with the men looking at them.

“I do know French braids.”He stepped closer.“I know lots of things.”

She couldn’t help her grin.He was flirting with her.Again.He also seemed a little startled by it.Again.It was as if it was happening accidentally.

“Well, that’s not a bad suggestion,” she told him.“But I can’t French braid.”

She knew the basics.She understood how French braids were formed.Shemighthave been able to do it on someone else.Maybe.But the problem doing it on herself was two-fold.Her right hand struggled a little with fine motor movements at times and without being able to see the back of her head, she was unable to go by feel.

“I do.”

Again, she just blinked up at Sawyer.That seemed to happen a lot.This man surprised her a lot.“You know how to French braid?”

“I do.”He studied her hair.“I mean, we could just put it up in a twist and secure it with that pencil, but you seem to need that pencil.”He gave the board she’d been drawing on an amused look.“A lot.”

“Measure twice, cut once,” she said.“That’s a well-known rule in construction.”

He nodded.“Where’s the measure five times come in?”

He’d apparently been watching her.She’d been tryingnotto watch him—unsuccessfully—but she hadn’t noticed him watching her.That gave her a surprising tingly feeling.She was used to people watching her, actually.Her parents had downright hovered, especially when she was handling sharp objects.But Sawyer hadn’t hovered.He’d let her work.This whole thing with her hair was the first thing he’d really commented on, period.And he wasn’t wrong about it.

Her parents, on the other hand, were also pros at the What-If game.It wasn’t like she’d fallen into that habit on her own.After Juliet had fallen off the slide at the water park, broken her arm, and nearly drowned, Patricia Dawson had become an expert at assuming the worst would happen.It was what had created Juliet’s penchant for safety and protective gear and her elaborate planning ahead.Those were the only things that had made her mother back off even slightly.

Juliet decided to ignore Sawyer’s comment about her measuring repeatedly.“You could put my hair up in a twist and secure it with a pencil?”she asked.That seemed very practical and yet something that she was surprised Sawyer would even think of, not to mention be able todo.

He nodded, studying the top of her head again.“But that would make that hard hat not fit.And I assume you want to keep that on?”His amused gaze was on her face now.

“I do,” she said.“Head protection is important.”

“Especially when everything you’re working with is on the ground.”

“Something could happen,” she protested.“What if I’m cutting a board and a bird suddenly swoops in and startles me and I jerk the saw and bump into the board and it goes flying?”

Sawyer shook his head, almost as if amazed by her What-If scenario.“The board is going to flyuprather than falling to the ground?”

“If I jerk and bump it just right.”She wasn’t saying it waslikely.But it was possible.

“Okay.So, the hard hat stays on,” Sawyer said easily.

He wasn’t going to make fun of her or argue.She liked that.

“That means a French braid,” he concluded.

It wasn’t abadidea.In fact, it was a pretty good idea.But he was going to have to do it.Suddenly she realized that meant Sawyer was going to put his hands on her.Tingles tickled down her spine and she swallowed hard.“You’re going to braid my hair?”

His eyes darkened slightly.Was the whole his-hands-on-her occurring to him, too?And affecting him?

“Guess so.”His voice was a little gruffer.

“Well, okay then.”

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