Page 17 of Safe
She made a grand sweeping motion, and for a second, I almost forgot that Danielle was going by Stacy now. I leaned against the wall, waiting, keeping my expression neutral even as something restless stirred in my chest. Nothing serious—probably just curiosity. Or nerves. Hard to say.
When no one appeared, the stylist's flair faded. She reached behind the curtain.
"Oh, right, the cane. Sorry. Come on, get out here, you sexy looking, half-broken thing!"
Danielle stepped out, nervous, stiff in her movements, as if she were hoping she would disappear behind her own hesitation. But no one was disappearing. Not now.
I blinked. The transformation was... jarring.
She looked like a different person—same features, but everything sharpened. Clearer. Louder. It was like the floodgate holding all of her emotions had burst free, releasing this new personality. There was a quiet magnetism to her now, something that pulled at your focus before you realized what was happening. It wasn’t just the hair or the makeup or the new clothes. It was something else. Something that had always been there, buried under all her defenses.
And, yeah, she looked incredible.
My jaw tightened. I crossed my arms.
This wasn't helpful.
The last thing I needed was to start noticing her like that. Alex would have my fucking head. Plus, she was still the same sharp-tongued, unpredictable, emotionally walled-off girl I'd been tasked with watching. My job wasn’t to appreciate how good she looked. And yet, for one too-long moment, I did. Icaught myself staring.
She smiled—really smiled—and it hit harder than I expected. Absolutely visceral. A gut-punch of attraction that came out of nowhere and pissed me off for existing at all.
She was beautiful. And I needed to get my head on straight before that fact became a problem.
"Well... how does she look?" The stylist nudged me for a response, her prompting a little more than subtle.
Get your shit together, Cody.
"Oh, you look good. The red suits you, she-devil." I forced a laugh, trying to maintain our usual dynamic. I was lying to myself if I thought I had accomplished that.
Danielle exchanged a knowing look with the stylist. "See, I told you."
"Told her what?"
"Nothing. Pay the lady, let's go." She turned to hug the stylist. "Thank you again."
Danielle made her way to the car, struggling to do it on her own, leaving me at the counter with the stylist; another silent rebellion against me being her caretaker, which I heard loud and clear. The stylist, who waited until she was safely outside, suddenly leaned in with a smirk on her face.
"I saw the way you looked at her." The stylist's voice held a teasing edge that fit well with the sly smile and knowing wink she gave me.
I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
I knew exactly what she meant. But just in case Alex had chosen this place because he knew her, which wouldn’t surprise me, playing dumb seemed safer.
She leaned in close, lowering her voice. "You think she’s hot. It's sweet."
Heat crept up the back of my neck before I could stop it. I forced a small shrug. "You're reading into it. She can’t stand me,believe me. I'm just here to take care of her."
She chuckled under her breath, clearly unconvinced. "Mmm. Sure."
I gave a polite smile, mostly to end the conversation, and thanked her on my way out.
Back at the car, I opened the passenger door and helped Danielle in. She didn't say much, and neither did I. Once she was settled, I shut the door and circled around, slipping into the driver’s seat.
Before starting the engine, I glanced over.
The change was still jarring. Not just the hair, but the way she carried herself. There was a softness now, underneath the guarded posture. Something raw and unfiltered that hadn’t been there before.
And yeah, she looked good. More than good.
