Page 20 of Raised On It

That’s exactly how I feel right now.

Everything about the man should have me running in the other direction. He might as well have a big red circle with a line through it on his chest.

But then there all those other attributes he has with his charming ways that most men don’t.

He listens. Like really listens.

He isn’t threatened by my success.

He wants to know the way my brain works and about my writing process.

He wants to know what makes me tick.

But the jaded part of me can’t help but think all of this could just be the way he thinks he can get in my pants?

Will the other side of him, the side of him he hasn’t shown me yet, come out once he gets what he wants?

I park Katie’s Honda in front of the salon and silently thank God that I’ll finally have something to do to take my mind off Miles.

The salon is adorable, adorned in pink and red lips that go with the theme of the name out front. There are several employees as well as two clients, and I can’t help but feel as if I’ve interrupted their conversation when the room falls silent and all eyes are on me as I approach the front desk.

“Welcome to Tell Me About It. You must be Mason?”

“That’s me. I have an appointment with Cara for a mani/pedi. I’m so sorry I’m late.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Cara and don’t give it a second thought. We’re gonna sit right over here in the open chair. These are my friends Emmett and Amelia, and they were just telling us about their crazy trip to Vegas. They were there during the big blackout last week.”

Both women say hello and welcome me. I haven’t met a person I didn’t like in Eastlyn. I have a feeling it’s gonna be hard to leave this place.

Hating to interrupt, I urge them to continue their storytelling and the petite redhead Cara introduced as Amelia continues her story.

“So as I said, we weren’t just in Vegas during a blackout, but we were with Nicolette Gwen when it happened. And I don’t mean she was across the room or in the building. We were backstage! In. Her. Dressing. Room!”

“How in the world did you end up in the same dressing room as Nicolette Gwen?” Cara asks the question we’re all thinking while she removes the old polish from my toes.

“This one arranged it,” she says, aiming a painted thumb in Emmett’s direction.

I’m pretty sure that was her name. She looks so familiar to me, like really familiar. Only I cannot figure out why. Tall, thin, and with a head full of foil. “Emmett and Josh are besties with ‘Nikki’ as Em calls her.”

Cara and her co-workers squeal and fangirl over Emmett and start asking questions about what the famous pop star is really like. Emmett answers a few questions but graciously steers the conversation back to Amelia.

“Honestly, you guys, it was a little scary. Not only did the lights and power go out but there was also no cell service. Twelve hours with no cell service had some people ready to blow a gasket. Not to mention, Reece and Rachel were stuck in an elevator. Twelve hours did the two of them plenty of good, and now they’re back together, she’s going to Africa with him, and all is right in the world. He even delayed going back right away so he could fly back with her. They leave in two weeks.”

“Aw, it’s good to hear the two of them are back together after all these years. It’s nice to know second chances really do exist,” the woman doing Emmett’s hair says. “But tell me, who freaked out the most? Was it you, Amelia?”

“I would have thought so too, but it wasn’t our sweet Melly. It was actually the one and only Josh West who started to have a minor meltdown. You would have thought his phone was keeping him alive, and without it, he might just die on the spot. I think he might even be a little afraid of the dark. But if you tell him I said that, I’ll deny it.”

The moment Emmett says the name Josh West, I know exactly why she looks familiar. She’s dating the biggest movie star on the planet, Josh West. I’ve seen her all over the tabloids the past couple of weeks.

Eastlyn, Oregon, keeps getting more and more interesting.

“Josh didn’t freak out for long, though,” Amelia, apparentlyalso known as Melly, chimes in. “Miles did what Miles does and calmed him down.”

“I bet he tried to calm Nicolette Gwen down too,” Cara says, confirming it’s my Miles she’s talking about.

My Miles?

What in the world is wrong with you? He is far from yours, Mason. You don’t want him anyway. Remember?