Page 51 of Untethered Heart
The sun lingers in the sky, casting a soothing orange glow around us. The string lights over the dining table are lit up, and it feels like a completely different world in the centre of my grandmother’s garden.
“What’s everyone got on this week?” Grams asks once we’re all seated and starting to fill our plates. She has a glass of rosé inone hand while the other rests on the shoulder of a still-sulking Mason.
“My friend, Lee, has a new girlfriend. She’s opening a salon on Main Street on Friday, so I’m going to the launch party,” says Mason.
“Oh, what kind of salon?” Beth asks, loading her plate with Grams’s nectarine salad.
“I dunno. Beauty? It’s called Parlour Tricks.”
My heart stutters, causing a sharp burn. That’s Claire’s salon. “What time is the party?” I ask.
“Six-thirty. I was hoping to check out that house beforehand.”
“What house, Mason?” Mum asks.
“Sounds great. We’ll check out the house, and then we can go to the party together.”
Anywhere Claire is, Lex will surely be. And I’m not finished with her. Not after earlier this week. Not since that first night.
“Cool. Thanks, man.” Mason smiles.
“My pleasure.” I smile back.
My fucking pleasure indeed.
***
The Parlour Tricks opening party started twenty minutes ago, but Mason had endless questions for the seller of the house we looked at. He inspected it for over an hour, and the second we got in my car to leave, he said, “It’s not the one.”
I don’t know what my brother is searching for, but I’m sure he could’ve figured it out in a more timely manner, so I wasn’t late to see Lex.
When we walk into the salon, it looks completely different from when I saw it a few weeks ago. When I drove Claire and Lex after the place flooded, it was still the bare bones of wall framesand electrical wires. Now, the space has been transformed into a refined palette of pinks, warm gold and white. Wallpaper with large, blooming peonies decorates one wall while the rest are painted in a pale blush. Grand chandeliers hang in the front foyer and all throughout the space.
“Hey, why don’t you ask your friend Lee to help you find a house?” I ask Mason. “He did a great job with this.”
“He does more commercial stuff, but you’re right. This place looks pretty cool. Even if it is pink as fuck.”
I search the room for a gorgeous redhead, feeling flutters in my stomach just knowing the moment is coming. It happens anytime I’m in her presence. The excitement. The contentment. The undeniable attraction I feel for her.
I see a blond head above the crowd, and elbow Mason. “Hey, isn’t that Lee?”
It was only the other week I saw the guy waiting on Lex’s front porch. Thank fuck he was waiting for Claire. It was dark, but as he reminded me, I had met him a few times before. I recognise him easily now.
Mason smacks the back of his hand against my stomach. “Yeah, that’s him. Let’s go say hi.”
As we make our way through the crowd, my heartbeat thunders when I notice Lex hiding between Lee and Claire.
Her beautiful red hair is curled and swept over one shoulder. A pastel pink dress is painted to the curves of her breasts and waist, with dainty straps high on her tanned shoulders. It flares out and over her hips with a flirty hemline that touches just above her knees. I nearly swallow my tongue when I see the gold high heels on her feet. Cute little toes painted in white, and the ankle straps wrap a good twenty centimetres up her calf.Have mercy.
Lee brings his arm from where it rested over Claire’s shoulder and the Lex sandwich they were creating, extending a hand in greeting to both Mason and me.
“Mase. Caleb.” He nods and looks at Lex’s best friend. “This is my girlfriend, Claire, and the owner of Parlour Tricks. And I think you both know Lex.”
“Hello, Siren.” The nickname slips out.
Claire moves behind Lex and snuggles into Lee’s side, then whispers something in Lex’s ear. Lex throws her shoulders back and lifts her chin. “Hello, Mason. Caleb.”
I smile when she says my name. Every way she says it is like a mark upon my skin.
