I expel a sigh, then kiss him back. “Let’s eat.”
“And then?”
“And then, we’ll spend the day in bed, watching movies, spooning, and fucking,” I say bluntly, watching his expression.
“What do you want to watch?” he asks, looking amused for some reason.
I shrug my shoulders and jump down from the table. “I don’t know. I’m sure there’s something on Netflix.”
Ardan chuckles and raises his eyebrow at me.
“What’s so funny?”
“This is my first ever Netflix and chill,” he says, making me groan and cover my face with my hands.
“You’re way too old to even know that saying.”
He chuckles some more and finishes fixing his plate. When he hands it to me, I look at him, surprised. He served me first?
“Sit down,” he says, grabbing another plate. “I’ll bring you something to drink.”
I sit down and wait for him to join me, thinking how crazy it is that things can change so drastically in such a short period of time. The tables are always turning, and I just hope I get to stay in this happy period for as long as possible.
I think I deserve it.
Two weeks later
“What do you think?” I ask Sally, running my fingers through her now short blond hair.
“I love it!” she squeals, turning her head from side to side. “I think the short cut suits me.”
“So do I,” I say, framing her face with the longer ends at the front. “It looks stunning on you.”
Sally stands up and looks at me. “Thank you, Tina. I really love it.”
“You’re welcome,” I reply, beaming. I watch as she walks to reception, where Lin is waiting to take her payment.
“I’m going on my break, Jess,” I call out, since I don’t have any clients booked for the next hour anyway.
“No problem,” Jess replies. “Can you get me a coffee while you’re out?”
“Sure,” I tell her, grabbing my bag and leaving the salon. I cross the road and walk to the café, ordering two coffees and a muffin. While I wait, I send Ardan a quick message, telling him I can’t wait to see him after work. He replies back instantly, saying that he can’t wait either. I smile like a lovesick schoolgirl who hasn’t yet been burned by the world, then send another message, this time to Lacey, asking how she’s been and saying that I hope she’s doing all right. Then, coffees and muffin in my hands, I return to the salon and pass Jess her coffee.
“Thanks, doll,” she says, eyeing it eagerly. “I don’t know how I’d make it through the day without coffee.”
I’m about to reply when a tall, bulky-looking man walks into the salon. Looking extremely out of place, the man comes straight for Jess and smacks a kiss on her lips. I’m pretty sure he grabs her ass too.
“Trace, this is Tina,” Jess introduces. “Tina, this is my husband, Trace.”
He studies me in a way that has me shifting on my feet. “Nice to meet you, Tina.”
“You too,” I say, smiling at him.
He doesn’t smile back, instead looking at Jess. “Any way you can leave here early? We got something going on tonight.”
“Sure,” Jess says, turning and glancing at the schedules. “I can leave in an hour. I love the rare occasions when you drop by here, babe.” She steps closer to him and wraps her arms around his waist.
Trace whispers something in her ear while I slowly back away to eat my muffin in peace in our staff room. I’m halfway through it when Lacey sends me a reply, and her words make all the happiness around me disappear.
I’m good, honey. How are you? No one has seen Darren around here for a week. I hope he’s not searching for you, but be careful.
Just because no one has seen him doesn’t necessarily mean he’s out looking to make my life miserable. However, Lacey is right to warn me. I need to keep my eyes open and my guard up. If Darren really wants to find me, he can. He has the resources, and he isn’t above using them.
I send her a quick reply, then throw the rest of my muffin in the garbage, suddenly not hungry. I do finish my coffee, though, thinking about what exactly I would do if Darren found me. I don’t want to leave. I love it here, and I can’t hide from him forever. Something has to give. When is he going to leave me alone? I close my eyes and cover my face with my hands. It’s so unfair that after everything I’ve gone through, the past is still following me and he’s still trying to control my life. He doesn’t care about me, never did—he just sees me as a possession to fuck with. I don’t know how I ever loved someone like that; I don’t know what I ever saw in him. How could I be so wrong about a person? I just hope that I’ve learned my lesson and that I’m not wrong about Ardan. Isn’t the saying second time’s the charm? No, wait, that’s third. Dammit.
I stand up and get ready to return to work, telling myself over and over again that things won’t always be like this. One day, I won’t have to worry about Darren, and Ardan is nothing like him. Yeah, I think I chose a good man this time, and Darren isn’t going to get in the way of that. I broke the curse. Sure, Ardan isn’t the boy-next-door type—he’s rough around the edges and delves into shades of gray more than anyone I know, but he has a good heart, and more than anything, he makes me happy. He makes me feel good about myself; he makes me feel protected and safe. I deserve to be happy.