Why did his voice sound suddenly . . . amused?
“Umm, okay, thanks. I’ll be in later today.”
“Perfect, see you then,” he says cheerfully, then hangs up.
I stare at my phone, feeling puzzled about the exchange, but then I shake my head. I don’t have time to wonder about it, because my lunch break is almost over and I have to go back to work. At least I hadn’t lost my license—that would have been a pain in the ass. Not only that, but replacing it would have been a sure way for me to be tracked, having to document my new address and city.
Knowing my luck, a cop will probably pull me over on the way to the bar.
I cross the road and head back into the salon, coffee in my hand.
“Tina,” Jessica says, smiling widely, before I can even take a sip. “Frieda loved the hair color you did on her today. You did well.”
“Thanks,” I reply, looking down at my coffee. “I think being blond suits her.”
“It does,” Jessica says, making me look back up at her. “So much so that she wants you to be her regular hairdresser.”
“Really?” I ask, my eyes flaring. “That’s great.”
Jessica raises her eyebrow. “Quite a feat, girl. You should be proud of yourself.”
I smile, feeling the heat hit my cheeks. “I am.”
“Good,” she says warmly. “Now get back to work. Lin, you can go on break now.”
“Okay,” Lin says, grabbing her bag and pulling out a packet of cigarettes. “Anyone want anything?”
“I’m good,” Jessica says, then looks to Molly. “Molls, Paula, you?”
“Nah,” Molly replies, looking up from where she’s sweeping hair off the floor. “I’ll get something on my break.”
“I’m good,” Paula replies, lifting her chin in our direction.
Molly turned out to be a pretty blonde in her midtwenties. She kind of reminds me of a Barbie doll, with big blue eyes and even bigger boobs. She is nice, though. All the women here make me feel welcome, and there is none of the bitchiness I’d sometimes experienced in other salons.
Two clients walk in, and I go straight back into professional mode.
But I can’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.
“Are you Ryan?” I ask the handsome blond bartender.
“Yes,” he says, dragging the word out.
“I spoke to you today about my license,” I say, sitting down on the stool. “Valentina.”
“Right,” he says, lip twitching. “Of course. Let me get that for you.”
I watch as he walks to the opposite side of the bar and picks up his phone, pressing keys and ignoring me.
“Ummm,” I say, my brow furrowing. “Are you going to get my license or not?”
He puts down his phone, then comes back over to me. “Yes, of course I will. But first, would you like something to drink? On the house. A beer fan, right?”
I narrow my eyes. “Why are you being weird?”
Ryan’s face goes blank. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Can you please just give it to me?” I say, puffing out a breath. “I’ve had a long day, and I’m tired.”
He gets me a beer and slides it over to me. “Exactly why you need a cold drink to help you relax.”
My gaze darts from the beer, then back to him, as I try to figure out what he’s up to. “Can I speak to your manager?”
His blue eyes flash with amusement. “Sure thing, sweetheart.” He pauses, then yells out, “Reid!” making me jump.
“What?” comes a deep voice from the back.
“Come here!”
I don’t know why Ryan’s grinning, but he is.
A man emerges.
Fuck.
“You have a twin?” I ask with wide eyes. That’s a fuck of a lot of hotness. I pick up the bottle and take a sip. Okay, more like a giant mouthful.
“What’s going on?” Reid asks his brother, barely sparing me a glance.
Ryan nods his head to me. “She wants to speak to the manager.” He pauses, then laughs. “To complain about me.”
Reid smirks, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “What did you do now?”
“Nothing,” Ryan says good-naturedly, sending a wink in my direction. “I was told to keep her here. So I’m doing just that, trying to buy time until Irish arrives.”
Reid now looks me directly in the eye. “This is Irish’s woman?”
I raise my hand. “I don’t know what the two of you are even talking about.”
But in the back of my mind, I kind of do. I spoke to Ardan in this very bar, and the dude has an Irish accent.
Coincidence? I really hope so.
Because why would he go to such measures to see me again? We didn’t even talk for that long. The thought both excites me and scares me. Did I make such an impression on him, like he did on me? Does it matter, considering my plan is to stay away from him?
I hold out my hand and try to use my puppy-dog eyes on Reid, since Ryan clearly isn’t budging. “I have things to do. Can you please just give me my goddamn license?”
When they both look over my shoulder, the hair on the back of my neck suddenly stands on end.
I turn around, and there he is.
Grinning.
His gaze roams over me, slowly, and when he comes back to my eyes, he holds my license up in the air. “I think I’ve got something that’s yours, darlin’.”