Page 6 of Second Time Around

Three

Jenna glanced at her schedule on the laptop at the front desk. She skimmed down the list of names until she came to one that made her bobble her coffee cup.

“Something wrong?” Lexie asked.

Jenna pointed at the screen with her freshly manicured nail. “Maggie Montgomery. How did she get on my schedule?”

“Oh, yeah. I meant to tell you. One of your regulars canceled, so I slipped her into the time slot.”

“Did she specifically ask for me?”

“Yes, and she was very adamant about it.”

Jenna rolled her eyes. “He did this.”

“No. It was a woman I talked to.”

She shook her head. “Her brother put her up to it.”

Lexie looked confused, but Jenna didn’t feel like explaining. “Never mind. Just let me know when she gets here.”

“I will,” Lexie said as she walked away.

Jenna went to check on her client Suzi, who was sitting under a hairdryer. “Doing okay?”

Suzi nodded and went back to her magazine. Then, needing a distraction, Jenna straightened her workstation even though it was already clean.

A short time later, while she was putting the finishing touches on Suzi’s hair, Lexie’s voice came over the speaker. “Jenna, Maggie is here.”

Taking a deep breath, Jenna walked Suzi up to the front desk, said goodbye, and then turned to greet Beck’s sister. She’d barely opened her mouth when Maggie wrapped her in a giant hug.

“Ohmigod. It’s been so long! You look great!”

Jenna hugged her back, though not nearly as enthusiastically. She had nothing against Maggie per se; however, she was his sister, so Jenna had to deduct a few points for that alone.

“It’s nice to see you. Come on over to my station,” Jenna said.

Maggie practically skipped behind her and then plunked down in the chair. “I was so excited when Beck told me you were a hairstylist that I called to make an appointment right away!”

“I heard,” Jenna replied as she subtly assessed Maggie’s hair. It was the same rich brown color as her brother’s, and Maggie had the same soulful brown eyes. She’d always been attractive, but Jenna thought she’d look even prettier with a few tweaks to her hairstyle, which was obviously why she was there. Either that or Beck had sent her to spy.

“So, what would you like to have done?” Jenna asked, anxious to get to work. She planned to keep the small talk to a minimum, especially since Maggie was related to the enemy.

“I would love to have beachy waves like yours,” Maggie gushed.

She was only a few years younger than Jenna and Beck, but she still sounded like a teenager. The last time Jenna had seen her, she was a teenager.

“I’ll have to cut some layers into your hair,” Jenna said, running her hands down its length.

“Whatever it takes. I trust you.”

Ah, trust. Jenna had trusted Beck too, and look where that had landed her. This was different, though. She wouldn’t do anything to ruin Maggie’s hair, no matter who her brother was.

“It would also require you to use different styling products.”

“I’m a connoisseur of beauty products.”

Jenna laughed for the first time since Maggie had arrived. “Aren’t we all?”