Page 33 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

Chase pulled up a picture on his phone of a guy with long wavy hair on top and a much shorter fade on the sides. “Something like this.”

“That’s pretty basic,” Lauren said. “You don’t want something trendier?”

“Put your own trendy spin on it. Whatever you think will look good with the shape of my face.”

Lauren nodded, staring at Chase’s reflection in the mirror before them. He met her eyes in the mirror and smiled. She blushed, and his eyes twinkled like he’d caught her embarrassment. She wasn’t so sure what she was embarrassed about. It wasn’t like she hadn’t cut an attractive man’s hair before. But it was hard to look at Chase for too long. He was painfully gorgeous. And for this job, she had to study him, take in the shape of his face, feel the texture of his hair beneath her fingers.

“Wait.” Chase pulled out his phone. “I almost forgot to take my before shot.” He held up his phone and took a selfie. “Posting these before and after pictures ought to stir up the reporters. Are you sure you can handle that?”

“I’m not going to complain too much about people posting about my salon on social media. I could use the free publicity.”

“Just be careful what you wish for,” Chase said. “I’ve seen them destroy lives before. They will stop at nothing to get the hottest story.”

“And they think you coming to my salon is a hot story?”

“They haven’t been aware that I was from Maple Creek before this. Aaron said the wrong thing to the wrong person. He was trying to set up some publicity for the event, and he let it slip to one of the assistants that the event was located in my home town.”

“How else were you going to get people to the event?”

“They didn’t have to know it was my own high school reunion.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“I’ve kept Maple Creek a secret from the press for a long time.”

“Why go through all that trouble?” Lauren asked, running her hands through his hair. She buried her hands in his thick brown hair, feeling the fullness, the waviness of it.

“To protect my family. Just because I have to deal with the media, doesn’t mean they do too.”

“I guess I can see that.” Lauren ran her fingers through his dark locks. “You have really good hair. Most women would kill for hair like this.”

“It’s hard to manage,” Chase admitted. “I have to use three different products to get it to look this good.”

That would explain why his hair felt like silk beneath her fingers. She’d never seen such well-cared-for hair, in fact. But it wasn’t the biggest surprise. Chase had the money for the best salon in the country. It boggled her mind that he trusted her with his hair. She spun his chair around until he was facing her. She took his chin in her hand, and the rough stubble bit softly into her hand. She tilted his head so she could see him from every angle. She put her hand on his shoulder near his neck, and she could feel goosebumps rise on his skin.

She kept him faced away from the mirror, and she got to work. She snipped and combed and snipped again. The more she put her hands on him, the closer she felt to him. She’d cut lots of men’s hair before, but she’d never experienced anything like this before.

She used the clippers on the sides, brushing her hands along the back of his neck, her hands caressing him every inch of the way. Goosebumps rose on the back of his neck beneath her touch.

He was the canvas, and she was an artist. She channeled her inner creativity and felt it flowing through her fingertips, shaping his hair into a work of art. She stepped back to inspect her work. She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully and snipped a few more spots. Finally, she swept the loose hair from his shoulders and removed the cape.

She spun him around to the mirror so he could see his reflection. His eyebrows rose as he took in his reflection. He turned his head from side to side as he inspected her work. “This might be the best haircut I’ve ever had.”

Lauren blushed. She knew she could have done better, but she was afraid she’d cut too much, and it was too late to fix it. So she’d made it work. She knew it looked good, though. But she wouldn’t say it looked like his best haircut. But who was she to question Chase’s opinion? She didn’t think he was the type to lie just to spare her feelings, either. So he must have truly thought the haircut was his best. She struggled to wrap her head around it. How could she possibly compete with Hollywood stylists?

“My last stylist was pushing me to be too edgy. It didn’t quite fit my personal style. This look feels more like me,” Chase said.

That made sense to Lauren. “That was what I was going for. I wanted something authentic looking.”

“Well, you nailed it. I’m highly satisfied. I’m surprised your salon isn’t packed.”

“I think it’s because so many of the clients were my grandmother’s clients. So the place got the reputation of being for older people. And many of them have died off. The décor is dated, so the older clients who come in here don’t mind it, but the younger clients don’t like it. They want something new and fresh-looking.”

The door jangled open, and Lauren looked over to see Mrs. Wheaton coming toward the counter.

“Looks like my next appointment is here,” Lauren said.

“Yoo-hoo!” Mrs. Wheaton waved at them, the fat beneath her arm jiggling. “Chase, she just made you look even more handsome than you were before, and I didn’t think that was possible!”

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