Page 8 of His Forever

“Mmhmm, I can see that. Well, I won’t take long if you want to browse elsewhere. I know it’s not the most fun thing to do on a Saturday night. You could have gone off with friends but instead, two nights in a row, I am wasting your time.”

He stopped her and turned her around so she was looking at him. “Mi siempre hermosa, I never do anything I don’t want to do, okay? I am enjoying myself with you, even if it is at Walmart.”

“Y’know, I’m having a good time too. Thank you, Zeus.”

“For what?”

“Picking me up last night and bringing me here. I think this is going to be a good thing for me, all things considered.”

He smiled at her before he started walking again and she thoughtmaybe it’s not too soon. Maybe Colton wasn’t the one.

With their purchases made and loaded into the truck, they headed back home. While he missed her small hand in his, he didn’t reach for hers, thinking it was better to wait. She had had an eventful twenty-four hours and as much as he felt that there wassomethingthere, he wasn’t going to push the issue. He helped her carry her things upstairs, then showed her where the interior stairs were that led down into the garage, where a laundry room was set up. “Oh wow, that’s awesome! I was thinking laundromat with total dread, y’know?”

He laughed and then said, “It’s also nice during the winter because you can come down from the interior stairs instead of risking falling down icy stairs.”

“Good point. Since I have the ability to trip over my own two feet, this is very good.”

She told him what his mom had said about using his father’s car and he went and got the keys, telling her it was road-worthy. “Now you’ll be able to explore the town a little more,” he said.

“This is true, especially since it sounds like it’s going to be a few weeks before my car is fixed!”

“I will get the parts ordered Monday. It won’t take too long as long as there’s no national backorder.”

“No worries on my end. Y’know, I didn’t ask your mom what day or days the salon is closed. I know I can’t work every day.”

“She is closed on Sundays and Mondays. But it sounds like you set your own schedule, mi siempre hermosa.”

“Oh okay, good. I need to set up a new bank account and was trying to figure out where to squeeze that in, to be honest.”

“Mamá would understand if you had to take care of stuff.”

“I know, but this job is an unexpected blessing and I don’t want to take advantage.”

“I don’t think you could if you tried,” he told her as he prepared to leave.

“Thanks again for all your help today, and for taking me to dinner.”

“You’re welcome. Make sure you lock up, si?”

“I will. Good night, Zeus.”

Knowing it was too soon to even think about kissing her, he smiled as he said his good night and left, heading to his house.

***

With everything unpacked and the new sheets in the washer, Marleigh grabbed a cold drink and headed out onto the porch, which was on top of the breezeway that led from the garage to the main house. There was a wooden swing anchored to the top of the roof overhang and she placed her drink on the table that was next to the swing before sinking into the cushions. Thinking about how much the past two days had changed her life, she closed her eyes and just “let it go” as her former yoga instructor had taught her to do. She thought about her relationship with Colton and realized that it was highly likely that he had been cheating on her for a long time. While that thought made her sad, she was suddenlyveryglad that she had resisted his attempts to get her into bed with him. She shuddered to think of what could have happened; anything from an unplanned pregnancy to an STD, neither of which she was prepared to handle.

Almost without thinking, her mind drifted to Zeus. She knew from what he had already shared while they were riding home that he was single, almost ten years older than her twenty-four, had been married briefly to his high school sweetheart, and he owned his own business, having inherited it from his father. He didn’t seem to mind that she worked with her hands. Then again, he did as well and she didn’t mind that one bit! His muscles came from hard work, not the gym, and the way folks treated him while they were out with Paulie and Gray said a lot about his character and how he treated others. She smiled to herself thinkingI like him. Shaking her head finally at her musings, she went back in and finished up the laundry. Ithadbeen a busy two days with a lot of physical activity, work and of course, the emotions, and she was tired. Once she had the bed made, she poured a glass of wine and went in to take a long, relaxing bath.

Chapter Four

Tuesday

Walking into the salon, she said hello to the stylists already there and made her way back to the breakroom where she found María-Luisa.

“Good morning, Mija!”

“Good morning, María-Luisa. Thanks for helping me get the facial room set up on Sunday! I have a few more things I want to get, but the room is ready for me to start booking clients. I brought the flyer I created to see if you thought it would work,” she told the older woman. “I was thinking, too, that it might be best if I scheduled people according to what they wanted done. Like, massages on Fridays and Saturdays, facials earlier in the week unless there’s something special going on for them like a wedding or homecoming, that kind of thing. What do you think?”

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