And it broke her heart.
Her son shook his head, rubbing his eyes with the back of a chubby little hand.
“As soon as Uncle Griff gets here, he’s going to take you upstairs and set up the tracks. Won’t that be fun?” To save money, they lived out of her office. The downstairs salon had a dressing room and fancy full-length mirror, her desk, clothing racks, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The bedrooms were upstairs.
Again, Rocco shook his head.
Please don’t have a melt-down in front of my client.
This is exactly why I don’t mix work and family.
As he grew more restless, she knew she had to do something. Finding the holiday playlist on her phone, she skipped ahead to DMX’s “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” keeping the volume low.
As soon as it came on, she bounced along to it, relieved to see her son’s shy smile. He buried his face in her neck. “We love this one, right, sweet pea?”
Her client stepped out of the dressing room, beaming. “I love it.” Helen faced the ornate tri-fold mirror. “How do you do it?” The recent divorcée wore slim-fitting jeans for the first time, and she looked fantastic. “You always get it right. You’re magic, Sky. Pure magic.”
“Well, you’re easy to work with.” Skylar grinned. “You do exactly what I say.”
The woman laughed. “I do. And look at the results.” She turned to see her backside in the mirror. “I haven’t looked like this in twenty-five years. Eat your heart out, Craig.”
Her son squirmed, and if she didn’t let him down, he’d pitch a fit. Seamlessly keeping up the conversation, she lowered Rocco to the floor. “Who cares what he thinks? When was the last time he made you happy? Made any kind of effort at all?”
Helen gazed into the mirror with a thoughtful expression. “I’m not sure he ever did.” She drew in a breath. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I just wish…”
The woman’s pain was clear in the pinch around her eyes and mouth. Skylar had suffered her own disappointment, but she’d only been twenty when her boyfriend had left her. Her experience paled next to this woman who’d raised two children and devoted thirty years to a man who’d carelessly left her for a younger woman. “You wish he hadn’t turned out to be a cliché, but he did. He is. And now you’ve got a whole new future filled with possibilities. It can be whatever you want it to be.” She reached for another hanger on the rack. “Okay, one more shirt to try, and then I’ve got the perfect dress for your date.”
Helen’s smile flattened. “Remember when I said I was ready to date?”
“Nuh uh. No cold feet.” She watched Rocco toddle off to the bathroom. Leaving the door wide open, he pulled down his pants. Oh, brother. She didn’t keep a potty chair in the salon’s bathroom. To keep her client from noticing, though, she had to force herself not to look.
Come on, Griff. It wasn’t like her brother to be late. He owned a busy motorcycle repair shop, so he always had a dozen crises to manage. Usually, though, he’d call their mom or one of their brothers to step in. He’d never left her stranded.
“I’m just thinking,” Helen said. “Now that I’m looking so much better, maybe I’ll meet someone at Calamity Joe’s or the Tavern. I don’t have to go out with a stranger I met on an app.”
“Except that you’re only using the app to get experience, so that when you bump into the right guy, you’ll be comfortable and relaxed.”
Oh, God. Rocco aimed high, missing the toilet completely. Thankfully, Helen couldn’t see the yellow puddle forming.
“I hate when you’re right.” Grabbing the blouse, her client swept the curtain shut.
Skylar tapped out a text to her brother. Are you almost here? I’ve got a client and Rocco just peed on the floor! Before she even hit Send, though, the salon door opened.
“Oh, thank goodness.” She started forward to explain the situation but jerked to a stop when she saw it wasn’t her brother. “Jinx?”
The big, broody guy who did custom paint jobs at her brother’s repair shop was hot. Unruly, dark hair brushed broad, powerful shoulders, and his blue eyes had a way of studying her that said, I wonder what you taste like.
“I love, love, love this one.” Her client came out of the dressing room and did a little twirl. The silky blouse billowed out and then landed gracefully on her hips. She stopped when she saw Jinx’s imposing presence. “Oh, hello.”
Giving the woman a brief nod, he said, “Hey.” He scanned the room, doing a doubletake on the bathroom.
Where her son stood in a pool of urine.
God.
Before she could ask why he’d come by, Jinx headed for the bathroom. Had Griff sent him? Maybe her brother was in his truck…on the phone?
She had no idea, but she had to pay attention to her client. “Yes, I love it. It’s perfect for you.”
Except…what if Jinx called her son out for missing the toilet? What if he ridiculed him? Her body went hot, her skin prickly.
“Does it come in different colors?” Helen asked. “I’d love to see it in red. But, then, red might be too harsh for me. Maybe pink?”
She couldn’t let Jinx humiliate her son. If he made even a single crack about missing the toilet, or if he told Rocco big boys don’t pee on the floor, Skylar would kick his fine ass out—even with a client watching.
But to her surprise, Jinx dropped to a crouch, pulled up Rocco’s pants, and then lifted him into his arms. Turning on the faucet, he helped her little boy wash his hands, all while chatting quietly with him.
She was disappointed in herself for assuming the worst. The single, motorcycle-riding loner had spent plenty of time around her son and had always been kind.
Not all men are going to hurt my boy.
“Unless you think I’m too old for pink?” Helen asked.
“This is just my opinion, but...” She kept on eye on the bathroom. “I think the only thing that matters is how you feel when you’re wearing it. If pink makes you feel like your best self, wear it. Forget the rules or fashion advice. If you feel sexy and powerful in a shorter skirt, then wear it. You love long hair? Grow it out. It’s all about empowering you. As for pink, I think with your coloring, it might wash you out, but the only way to know for sure is to try it.”
Rocco’s giggle filled her with warmth. With one of her hand towels, Jinx mopped up the mess, as he talked to her son and made him laugh.
She didn’t know what he was doing here, but she couldn’t have been more grateful for the way he’d handled the situation and treated her sweet boy.
The swish of fabric drew her back to her client. “If you want to try pink, I can find you something,” Skylar said.
The faucet turned on, and Jinx washed his hands. A moment later, he dried them and reached for Rocco’s hand. “Come on, buddy.” He led him to the corner of her salon, where she kept a red tub filled with toys, a small white bookcase, and a little art table with two child-size chairs. “Show me what you got for Christmas.” Guess Griff wasn’t in the truck.
Rocco, no longer grumpy, squatted as he dumped out a bag of blocks.
Which let her know he didn’t have an ear infection, and he wasn’t getting sick. She knew the real reason he’d been grumpy. Tomorrow, he’d leave for a week to spend time with his father’s family. Eddie might have bailed on Skylar, but his parents loved their grandson and tried to spend as much time with him as they could. They didn’t make too many demands, but they did ask him to attend their twice-annual family reunions. One in the summer, when the family rented a beach house in San Diego, and the other between Christmas and New Year, when they skied in Aspen.