Page 100 of Average Joe

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“No friends today?” Ly asked, gesturing toward the chair.

“Not today. I’m sorry.” Con was out of town, and Frank had court, so I’d found myself alone for our standing appointment at Emerald Glow.

I stepped out of my shoes and into the churning water before getting comfortable in the chair. Twelve-hour shifts for the past seven days had done a number, and my feet were in dire need of Ly’s skills.

“How’s business?” I asked, playing with the settings on the chair’s remote.

“Good. Always good.”

Trudy emerged from the back room, shot me a wink, and said, “Hi, Joe.”

A grin cracked my face. The tiny woman held two white paper cups with the Average Joe logo stamped on the front. She set one at her mom’s nail station, then sat at her station and held the opening of the lid below her nose, drawing a deep inhale.

“Good?” I asked.

“Mmm,” she nodded.

Ly said something in Vietnamese to her daughter, and Trudy responded, then came over to fill the tub in the chair next to mine. The three of us exchanged small talk while Trudy got ready for her next appointment and Ly worked her wonders on my tired feet. I hadn’t even considered asking about the comings and goings at the coffee stand outside. Eventually, I closed my eyes and let my head fall back.

The bell on the door rattled. I was too exhausted and too damn relaxed to look.

“Hi!” Trudy greeted her customer.

“Hi, Trudy. Hi, Ly,” came a perky voice from the front door. “Thanks for fitting me in on short notice today.”

My whole body jolted awake. I’d missed that voice something fierce.

Ly responded, “We had two cancellations this morning.”

Marley came our way, stopped when our gazes clashed, then worked that killer smile like she was thrilled to be in my presence. “Well… now I know why your feet are so pretty.”

She wore black leggings, a Seahawks T-shirt that hung just below her hips, and mismatching flip-flops, one red, one blue with white stripes. That beautiful reddish-brown hair sat knotted on her head, and she wore no makeup on her face. She also, I noticed, wore zero animosity toward me in her expression and body language.

“Neighbor.” The greeting came out garbled, and I cleared my throat. Fuck. She was a sight. “Not working today?”

“I’m always working. Just sticking to office stuff today.” She made her way to the other chair, bent at the waist to pull the hem of her leggings up to her knees, then settled in.

I couldn’t tear my gaze away. Also couldn’t help but ask, “You think my feet are pretty?”

Her smile and laughter righted every wrong I’d ever suffered. “Very well groomed for a hardworking man.”

“Didn’t know you had a thing for feet,” I teased, shooting her a wink.

“Hard not to notice. You’re always barefoot or in flip-flops when you’re home.”

“Oh,” Ly cut in, “Marley is your neighbor?” Her wide eyes filled with too much joy.

Trudy snorted behind her mask, then shook her head, trying not to laugh.

“Small world,” Ly continued, curious gaze bouncing between Marley and me. “Joe talk about you all the time. Every day I see him, he go on and on about his pretty neighbor.”

“That so?” Marley looked my way, a damn adorable smirk on her face.

I was in the shit. No getting out.

“Oh, yes,” Ly said, then lifted my left foot to scrub my heel. She shot Marley a scowl. “Why you no like Joe? He good man.”

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