Page 96 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

I feel her shrug in the air, but more pressing is the hand she rests on my neck as she uses the other to move the comb. “That. Alex and Jules’ baby. Our trip. Life in general… life is kinda scary.”

“I’m not scared of you messing up my hair. Not really. It can always be fixed.”

“And our trip?”

“Is going to be something else.”

“Yeah…” Her belly presses against my back and sets my heart to a wild gallop.Can she feel that?“A week away from my brother, away from everyone else, away from everything we know. It’ll be like a new beginning.” Without warning, she takes the scissors and makes the first cut.

Jesus, we should’ve talked length.

“Um…” I swallow and pretend I’m okay.It can be fixed. It can be fixed. It can be fixed.“It’ll be weird to be away. I haven’t gone on vacation in a long time, so it’ll be strange to not have to rush out of the house each morning because I’m running late for work.” Another snip results in long locks landing on my dirty concrete floor.

“To your shoulders?” She pulls my hair forward so her hands are in my peripherals. “We should discuss this before I go too far.”

“Yeah… maybe to my shoulders. Somewhere between shoulder and jaw would be okay.”

She lets out a soft whistle and goes to work hacking at my hair. “It’s been long since high school, so I might jump out of my skin tomorrow when I forget what you’ve done and I don’t recognize you.” And yet,snip, snip, snip.

“I’ll shave and tidy up tonight, too.”

“Really?” Leaning around me, her blue eyes sparkle with humor. “Geez, you’re really working it, huh? Trying to impress a girl?”

I turn back to the front and grunt. Because that’s all I’ve got for her.

Picking up my cell, I open the text chat and scroll the hundreds of messages.Hundreds. “Jules is still ages away from having her baby.”

Laine snickers. “I know. He’s gonna be so exhausted by the time she pushes. She’s gonna kill him when she finds out he’s texting us a live play-by-play.”

“Bets on boy or girl?”

She hums under her breath as though it helps her think. “Girl. I think a baby girl will bring Alex to his knees, and he deserves a mini-Jules after all the bullshit over the years. Someone’s gotta make him humble.”

I read the constant stream of texts. “You think girl, I’ll say boy. Ten-dollar wager?”

“You still didn’t pay me the ten from the manual bet. I don’t see anySupermanuals lying around, Angelo.”

“It’s coming. Give the man time.”

“It’s been ages!”Snip, snip, snip.“Post takes like, a few days at most. Let’s allow for a sec, maybe this owner was around when the car rolled off the production line, so he’s like seventy now,at least, so I’ll allow another week for him to shuffle his saggy ass to the post office…” She giggles. “No. You were so fleeced. You owe me ten bucks, then I’ll take another ten because Jules will have a girl.”

“I’m doubling down.” Stubbornly, I shake my head and nearly lose an ear. “The manual’s coming, and Alex created a monster boy that’ll probably arrest us all at some point.”

“Fine. Let’s double down on your original double – I have no problems taking your cash – but it’s like a fifty dollar bet now. Are you sure you can handle that heat?” Spinning my chair, she leans forward until our eyes are level, and before I can process my new position, she pulls my hair forward and works to even it out. “I say baby girl, and I reckon she’ll be named after family. He’s too sentimental not to name her after Britt.”

“You think?” I open my legs when she steps closer. Her thighs touch mine, and my heart seizes. “I say boy, and maybe he’ll name him after Oz or something. You’re right about him being sentimental.”

“Maybe he’ll name him Ang?” She nibbles on her bottom lip and shows far more cleavage than I can comfortably handle. “How would that feel? Surreal, right?”

“Angelo’s a shitty name,” I grumble. “I don’t know a single decent guy with that name.”

Her brows pinch. “You’re a good guy. You’re one of the best, actually. And your daddy’s gone, which means it’s not his name anymore.” Before I can argue, she stands tall and cuts me off. “Done.”

“Done?”

“Uh-huh.” Dropping the scissors on my desk, and the comb beside them, she brushes loose strands of hair from her shirt and studies her work. “Yeah, I think it’s done. I didn’t take too much off, but it’s enough to make this summer easier for you. You got a mirror in here?”

“Nah. Let me go to the bathroom and check. I’ve been busting to pee, anyway.”

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