Page 17 of Sloth
She’d give him that. Itwastrue. Luna had been mimicking Sloan over the past few days. She slept when Sloan slept, moped when Sloan moped. Whatever.
“Why are you here, Wyatt?” She pouted at him.
It was Misha who answered brightly. “I’ve made us an appointment at my salon. You and me. Girls morning. Yay!”
“Really?”
Misha nodded excitedly, and Sloan couldn’t help connecting with that excitement, just like she had every time she watched someone get an answer right onJeopardylast night. Damn it. The flood of Misha’s endorphins rushed Sloan awake, pushing out the worry coating her thoughts. She supposed she could go outside. Staying locked up would only cause her more problems. She should expose herself to strangers and test out her new emotional limits.
“Come on, Sloan. You did say you wanted this, right?”
Thinking back to how she’d felt so inadequate around Max and his new buff physique, she nodded.
“I’m coming too.” Wyatt folded his arms. “You still failed to put Max down first.”
In other words, she wasn’t good enough. “Technically, I did. But, fine, whatever.”
“Speaking of Max, um—koteczek, can you give us a minute?” Misha asked.
Wyatt moved to stand outside Sloan’s room, but she could faintly sense him somewhere near the kitchen. Her sin sensing capability gave her the power to know when someone was still, relaxing, or remained unmoving. Sloth was a strange sin. She could feel it like the ghost of an illness in her stomach, almost there, until it became a sickening pain when the sin became deadly. She’d often lamented over how their creator should have made their sin radar something fun, like a tingling in her loins instead of a sickness. But then, where would be the urge to stop the sin?
“I heard about what happened with Max at the gym,” Misha said quietly. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” Sloan pushed her blankets away. She wanted to avoid thinking about Maxi-Pad and the intense feelings he provoked.
“How about we do a few Asana poses? Banish the brain fog, and—”
“God, no.” Sloan was not a yoga person. “Just let me get dressed, and I’ll come. I’m feeling better now.”
“And you’ll feel much better once Angelo gives you an extra long Ayurvedic scalp massage.” Misha wiggled her brows and Sloan couldn’t help smiling. Yep. She’d definitely been cooped up way too long if that sounded appealing.
* * *
After sitting nextto the happy-go-lucky woman on the ride to the salon, most of Sloan’s jitters had abated. Relentlessly, Misha had chatted away, while Sloan brooded out the window.
Wyatt dropped them off at the door with strict instructions not to go anywhere until he arrived after parking the car. By the time Sloan followed Misha to the big glass doors of the modern salon, she was almost back to her old, feisty self.
“I’m sorry about my attitude earlier,” she said to Misha while they waited. “I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
“Oh,” Misha laughed. “Trust me, I get it. No woman wants to change appearances just because an arrogant man tells her to. Believe me, I get that. Just say the word and we’ll go home.”
Sloan guffawed.Arrogant. “You know Parker so well.”
“Do you know he forced my yoga studio closed once? Didn’t even ask. Just assumed he knew better and refunded my customers their tuition fees. As if money can solve all problems. I had to do some major damage control customer service after that.”
“I hope his mate is someone who says no to him. A lot.”
“Now, I’d pay money to see that!”
The two of them chuckled until they fizzled out, looking through the glass doors into the salon. Despite the warm summer breeze tickling her skin, Sloan hugged herself. Inside, the decor was clean and white. The only splash of color came from the beauticians’ and hairdressers’ outfits. And the horde of customers.
So many people. So many emotions and feelings.
Her heart pounded in her throat. She put her hands in her pockets to avoid fidgeting. “You’re right. I need to do this; I’ll feel better afterwards.”
“Awesome.” Misha linked arms with Sloan. “And we can have a proper sister gossip session. I’m dying to rant about my darling brooding—oh hi Wyatt. Back from parking so soon?”
He glared at them with suspicion.
