Page 43 of You Cake My Breath Away

Music softly plays in the background as the stylist applies a new color to my hair. I peek an eye open and catch Shantel staring at the ground as she sweeps up the remnants from Zevia’s haircut. Her face is relaxed, and she’s humming. If I found out my brother’s wife harbored a secret attraction to his best friend, I’d be upset. But Shantel? She’s living her best life, shaking her butt to Rick Astley.

“I love you, Seester,” I say.

“And I love you, Til.”

Surprised when a hand clasps onto mine, I squeeze back and look at her. “Always.”

“Forever,” she replies.

An hour passes while Shantel does a few more customers and chats with me while the stylist washes and blow-dries my hair. I’ve managed to not look into a mirror the entire time, but as the minutes inch closer, my heart rate moves into a dangerous territory. What color did she do? Will I look okay? What will Archer think?

I admonish myself for that last thought and let the stylist spin me around.

“Holy shit.” My breath rushes out of me, quick like a popped balloon. “I love it.”

“So do I.” Shantel stands behind me with a smile, snapping a picture of my hair.

The base color is a tad darker, more luscious than my natural mousy brown, and the dark blue to teal ombre makes my skin pop. Curtain bangs frame my face, and I can imagine how awesome it’ll look when I put my hair up in my signature space buns and add some funky earrings.

I look like…me.

Well, the me I used to be. The happy girl from college who wore funky clothes, danced everywhere, and sang karaoke as loud as possible.

“Archer’s tongue is going to be on the floor when he sees you,” Shantel says.

“Yeah, okay,” I reply. “Besides, it doesn’t matter what he thinks.”

She raises her hands in surrender. “I only want you to be happy, you know that, right?”

“So you tell me all the time.”

“You never listen though.”

I shrug. “How can you be happy that there’s a spark between us? That’s a betrayal to Jessie, and you’re his sister.”

“Which means I knew him quite well,” she interjects. “And he’d want the two most important people in his life to be happy, even if it meant being with each other.”

My throat closes, a chill sweeping up my neck. I hadn’t thought about it like that, hadn’t considered what Jessie would’ve hoped my life looked like without him.

An image of my mom and dad pops into my head, a slight nudging to talk to the one person who understands what it’s like to move on after a spouse passes.

I swallow the discomfort rising in my chest. “I’ve gotta go face my dad, so I’ll talk to you later.”

“Will do.” She winks at me. “And let me know how Archer reacts when he sees you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I laugh and walk to my car.

It’s been a long day, and I know the conversation I’ve been putting off with my dad is only going to drain me further, but it needs to happen.

Gloria pulls out of the driveway when I approach, and waves her hand out the window with a big smile. “Hi, Tilly. Sorry I missed you. Hope to see you next time,” she yells.

She seems sweet, and I feel bad for how I reacted the other day. It’s not her fault I was feeling betrayed by the men in my life. I wave and pull into the spot she vacated.

“Tilda,” Dad says when I enter the house. “I’m so glad to see you.”

The tension is made even more awkward when he puts his fist out for me to bump. I stare at it a moment. After Archer broke the touch barrier, everyone else’s touch doesn’t seem so…scary. I inhale a deep breath and put him out of his misery by bumping my knuckles against his.

“I love the new hair.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. It’s tentative, like he’s worried I’m going to bite off his head.

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