Page 5 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

CHASE WAS TOOstartled by Katie’s abrupt departure to stop her. He hadn’t meant to upset her; he’d only been playing around. He looked over the list again, and could see why she was so spooked. A surprised smile spread across his face as he read:

One. Get purple streaks in my hair.

Two. Get a tattoo.

Three. Steal something.

Four. Say the first thing that comes to mind.

Five. Go skinny-dipping.

Six. Go to a sex shop.

Seven. Try handcuffs.

Eight. Tell Jimmy exactly what I think of him.

Nine. Drink and flirt too much.

Ten. Have a one-night stand.

Chase folded up the list and put it in his pocket. Who would have thought little Miss Play by the Rules would make such a naughty list?

Smiling as he left the bar, he decided that first thing tomorrow he would call K.C.’s Salon and get an appointment with her. This was the perfect chance to satisfy his curiosity, and get over his crazy attraction to the uptight blonde.

If the only way he could get her undivided attention, and pitch his master plan to help her complete any and all of the items on her list, was to get a thirty-dollar haircut, then so be it. Besides, he couldn’t wait to see prim-and-proper Katie Connors get a little hot under her collar.

Chapter Two

KATIE ENJOYED HERlittle salon, loved the laughs that came from being in a room with a bunch of women. She’d rented a chair in a larger salon for years, which hadn’t been cheap but was a lot less than owning her own place. The problem with renting a chair was that you had no say about who would be renting next to you, and Katie had gotten tired of the backstabbing and client stealing. She wanted to be able to choose who she worked with. She’d always planned on buying a salon someday, but she’d also planned on being married before that ever happened.

So she’d saved every tip, every extra penny to pay for a dream wedding that never happened. Instead of using her money on the perfect dress, she’d put a down payment on her house and rented the salon space from Maeve Kettle, who’d done the rinses and styles of the ladies of Rock Canyon for forty years. Katie had done some painting and updated all the equipment, but it had been hard finding beauticians and manicurists who wanted to work in such a small shop, let alone a small community. After six months, though, she had two other stylists and two manicurists who were all easygoing and worked well together, and she’d just hired Kitty the month before to help organize their schedules. Overall, K.C.’s Salon was doing great.

Katie had a pretty light day on Tuesday and was just finishing up a cut and highlight when Chase walked in. Ducking down and slinking off to the storage room seemed like the best plan, but she couldn’t leave Daphne O’Neal’s hair wet, and with her luck, someone would ask her what she was doing, thus drawing more attention to herself. She didn’t know how she would face him, though, knowing he had probably read every word on her list and laughed at her expense. She was mortified and yet ticked off that he had the nerve to poke his nose into her business.

When Chase caught her gaze, he smiled with so much sexy arrogance her cheeks burned.

“Be right with you!” she called shakily.

Turning her back on him to finish blow-drying Daphne’s hair, her eyes kept straying to his reflection in the mirror. He had on a pair of loose jeans and a blue T-shirt tight enough to show off some very drool-worthy pecs. Jimmy had been short and stocky, whereas Chase was tall, with lean muscle. He leaned over to say something to Kitty, and Katie noticed that every female eye seemed to be watching him, and if the way he flashed that pearly white smile around was any indication, the cocky jerk knew it.

Bigheaded jerk.Showing up here with his charm and his hotness, all to tease her. Well, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of letting him fluster her. Turning off the dryer, she smiled at Daphne and said, “You’re set. See you back in a couple of months. Make sure the shampoo and conditioner you’re using is for color-treated hair, okay?”

Daphne turned her head from left to right and gushed, “Of course, Katie. You do such a good job on my hair. I love it!”

Katie smiled, although her eyes were on the hunk of juicy male resting against the reception desk, watching her every move. Turning away from the mirror and his blatant perusal, Katie grabbed her broom and started her post-appointment cleanup. Daphne left her tip on the station desk, and despite her resolve to not let him get under her skin, Katie looked over in time to see Daphne flashing him an inviting smile. Chase just nodded at her, ignoring her disappointment, and turned his unnerving gaze back on Katie. He gave her a knowing grin, and imagining what he must be thinking about, she swept harder.

When she couldn’t stall anymore, she put the small broom back and tried for casual, but it sounded a little squeaky to her ears. “Hey, Chase, what brings you by?”

Kitty, always so helpful, answered, “Oh, Chase is here for a haircut. He called this morning.”

Katie’s nerves went from frazzled to haywired. She eyed the already short strands and could tell that it hadn’t been too long since his last haircut. “Looks like you just had one.”

“Yeah? I did a few weeks ago.” He stood up and moved closer to her until she had to look up at him. She tried not to think about how good he smelled as he said, “Is it a problem that I like having my hair cut? For me, nothing feels better than having someone’s fingers run through my hair.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Well, almost nothing.”

At his suggestive words, her heart pounded like a hundred hoof beats and she tried to ignore the way his mouth tilted up in a small smile, a smile that saidI know exactly what I’m doing and you want me bad, don’t you?The guy thought he was so irresistible.

Well, he kind of is. I mean, between the eyes, chin, and that body, who wouldn’t go a little gaga over him?

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