Standing at the front counter after saying bye to Hope and Ellie’s husband Jax an hour later, I watch Chris come to the front window and put his forehead to the glass, making a funny face. Laughing, I move to the front door and open it then squeak when he picks me up and swings me around.

  “Put me down, you idiot.” I smile down at him, hitting his shoulder.

  “If I must.” He drops me to my feet and follows me into the salon. “Are you off soon?”

  “No. Well, kind of, but not really. I have a client who should be here any minute, and then I need to get to the grocery store. And after that, I’m going over to watch the kids for Elizabeth.”

  “All right, I’ll hang with you here then we can go to the store together. I need to get some stuff for my place anyway, so that will give us a little time to chat.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I agree, right before I turn to watch my client walk in. “Hi, Mrs. Ethel.” I smile at her as she picks up her tiny dog and puts him in the bag she’s carrying.

  “Kim.” She doesn’t smile, but that doesn’t surprise me. Mrs. Ethel never smiles. Ever. The only time I’ve ever seen what could be described as happiness on her face was when she told me that her son was getting a divorce from the ‘floozy’ he married.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Would I be here if I wasn’t?” she asks, and I press my lips together as Chris turns and heads for the back of the shop, with his shoulders shaking in silent laughter as he goes.

  “I guess not.” I smile, taking the bag holding her dog. Knowing the drill, I carry him over to my station, set him next to it, open the side pocket, pull out the small collapsible bowl there, go to the sink, and fill it with water. Then I take it back, setting it inside his bag, while Mrs. Ethel removes the scarf around her neck along with her ever-present pearls. Once she’s seated, I drape a cape around her then turn her to face the mirror. “Are we doing the usual?” I ask, and she rolls her eyes.

  Taking that as a yes, I spend the next two hours trimming her hair, coloring it an off shade of grayish purple, and then teasing and hair spraying the crap out of it. By the time I’m done, she looks the same as she always does, just a little more refreshed.

  After paying, she hands me a three-dollar tip, takes her dog out of the bag, and leaves without so much as a thank you. Cleaning up my station so I can leave, I listen with one ear as Chris recounts his run-in with Sage to Ellie, Selma, and Sejla, who ooh and aah over his story. You would think by the way he describes it that it was the most amazing night of his life and that he didn’t get punched in the face.

  I don’t care that he’s telling them about what happened, since Ellie knew from the beginning that Chris and I have never been anything more than friends. And Selma and Sejla are cool, but I don’t know them enough to feel embarrassed that they know I lied about Chris being my boyfriend.

  “So what now?” Selma asks, and I hear a pause in the conversation and turn to find all eyes on me.

  “What?”

  “What now? What are you going to do now that he knows the truth?” Selma clarifies.

  “Nothing,” I say, and Sejla frowns.

  “Nothing?” she repeats, studying me with a disbelieving and disappointed look in her eyes.

  “You need to at least give him a chance!” Selma cries, spinning around in the chair to face me, dislodging Ellie’s hands from her hair.

  “I agree. You need to at least hear him out,” Sejla says, and I know she and her sister mean well, but it’s so easy for them to say I need to just give him a chance, because their hearts aren’t on the line here. Mine is.

  Seeing both Selma and Sejla waiting for my response, I mutter, “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Good,” they say in unison, and I smile at the happy and relieved looks on their faces. Pulling my eyes from them, I look at Chris.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yep.” He stands from the chair that he has been sitting in then goes about giving the girls air kisses and farewells. Saying goodbye to everyone, we leave the salon, and I head to my car while Chris goes to his, telling me he will meet me at the store.

  “So how was work?” Chris asks as we grab a cart and walk into the grocery store fifteen minutes later.

  “Good.”

  “Anything happen?” he continues, and I look at him and narrow my eyes.

  “Why?”

  “Just wondering. Ellie said that Sage stopped by the salon today.”

  “He did.”

  “And?”

  “And nothing. He came by the salon, asked if we could talk, my answer was no, and he left.”

  “What?” His eyes grow with surprise. “He didn’t demand you change your mind or toss you over his shoulder and speed away with you in his truck to hide you in a secluded cabin, where he could convince you of the mistake you’re making by not taking a chance on him?” he asks, and I stare at him, blinking.

  “I think you’ve been reading too many romance novels.”

  “You can never read too many romance novels,” he scoffs, making me smile. Chris is the only guy I’ve ever met who is more obsessed with romance books than I am. “So what exactly happened? Tell me everything.”

  “Nothing happened. Like I said, he came in, told me we needed to talk, I said no we didn’t, and he left.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You are. I’ve known you since we were five. I know your tell.”

  “My tell?”

  “Yeah, when you lie, your nose twitches.”

  “My nose does not twitch,” I say, touching my fingers to my nose.

  “It does.” He smiles, pulling my hand away from my face.

  “Whatever,” I mutter, picking up a bag of oranges and dropping them in the cart.

  “So when are you going to talk to him?”

  “Never.”

  “He apologized. Don’t you think you should do the polite thing and at least hear him out?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know, or you’re just too scared to find out what will happen if you do?”

  “Do we have to do this right now?” I sigh, and he tosses his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side.

  “We’ve been doing this for months now. I’ve seen the way you look at him when you think no one will notice, and I see the way he looks at you, not giving a fuck if everyone sees. Even when he thought you and I were a thing, he still made it perfectly clear to those who were watching that if by some chance he got a shot, you would be his.”

  “I really think you are reading way too much into this.”

  “Am I?”

  I want to say yes, but that would be a lie. Every time I’ve seen Sage out, it’s taken everything in me to keep my feet from moving in his direction, and when I’m not carefully watching him, I can feel his eyes on me like a physical touch.

  “We don’t have time to talk about this.” I decide to say. “We need to finish shopping, and I have to get to the house. Elizabeth is meeting Jelikai in Nashville for dinner, and you know she can’t leave the boys alone for more then ten minutes without someone ending up in the hospital, so I can’t be late.”

  “Fine,” he grumbles, but I know Chris. He may have given up for now, but he has not given up forever, and he won’t until he gets his way, and I admit there is still something between Sage and me. “Just so you know, I’m reserving the right to tell you ‘I told you so’ when this is all said and done.”

  “Fine.” I roll my eyes at him then grab the shopping cart from his grasp and finish up my grocery shopping.

  “Elizabeth, I’m here!” I shout into the house as I toss my bag on the table near the front door. Hearing no reply over the boys yelling and the sounds of a video game being played, I head up the stairs. Stopping at the door of the theater room, I watch Jimmy, the oldest at fourteen, as he tosses Aiden, who is three, onto the couch, making him laugh, while the other two, Mickey who’s six and Hayden who’s nine, sit on the floor with headphones on and controllers in their hands.

  “Hey, guys!” I shout over the sound of the TV, and all four heads swing toward me.

  “Kim.” Aiden smiles, running toward me, while the other boys grin and wave before going back to what they were doing.

  “Hey, dude.” I pick him up, and he wraps his tiny arms around my neck before dropping his head to my shoulder, making something deep inside me wish for a moment just like this with my own baby one day. “Did you eat dinner yet?”

  “No.” He leans back to look at me. “Can we have pizza?”

  “Sure,” I agree, and he looks to where Jimmy is now sitting with Mickey and Hayden, who are still playing a video game.

  “We get to have pizza!” he shouts. At that announcement, the boys all smile at me. Elizabeth is a health freak, so the kids love when I come over, because they know they will get some form of junk food before the night is over.

  “Where’s your mom?” I ask, carrying Aiden away from the fighting that has suddenly erupted over the controllers for the video game.

  “In her room, getting ready,” he says, so I head down the hall toward the master bedroom. Knocking on the door that is open, I smile as Elizabeth pokes her head out of the bathroom and grins.

  “Hey, I’m just about ready,” she says, putting a long, dangly earring in her ear. “Give me two then I need you to tell me how I look.”

  “Okay,” I reply as she disappears once more. Walking across the room, I take a seat in one of the chairs that are set up in front of the fireplace, with Aiden still clinging to me. As soon as I’m down, he stands on the tops of my thighs and takes hold of my hands.

  “Watch what I can do.”

  I grin right before he jumps and doubles back, flipping over. Narrowly missing getting kicked in the face by his tiny bare feet, I laugh at him as he stands, tossing his hands in the air. “Wow, that was awesome.”

  “Wanna see me do it again?” he asks with a bright smile as he starts to climb back up onto my lap.

  “Aiden, how about we don’t give Kim a concussion,” Elizabeth suggests as she walks out of the bathroom, putting on her heels. She is beautiful, with long brown hair that flows past her shoulders, skin that subtly announces her Spanish heritage, and hazel eyes that change to green when she’s happy, or brown when she’s frustrated with her boys.

  “What’s a concussion?” Aiden asks, climbing up onto the arm of the chair to stand there.

  “A head injury, honey,” she mutters before looking at me. “So what do you think?” She holds out her hands, spinning in a circle.

  “I think you and Jelikai are going to be late getting home,” I say truthfully. Jelikai, Elizabeth’s husband, is obsessed with her, and I have no doubt that as soon as he sees her, his jaw is going to hit the floor. She looks beautiful in the black heels and red wrap dress she’s wearing right now.

  “That’s exactly the look I was going for.”

  She grins at me and Aiden laughs, saying, “Mom, you’re funny,” before jumping off the arm of the chair, landing on the floor with a loud thud, and taking off out of the room.

  “I swear one of these days he is going to give me a heart attack,” I admit, watching him go.

  “I think the three boys before him got all the fear out of me.” She laughs, picking up a black clutch that is resting on the bed before turning to look at me. “You okay?”

  “Totally, and I already told the boys we are having pizza for dinner, so I will be filling them with lots and lots of processed foods while you’re gone.”

  “Fill them with whatever you like. You can make it up to me by staying late. I’m going to try to convince Jelikai to get us a hotel room in the city.”

  “I’m thinking that as soon as he sees you in that dress, there won’t be much convincing needed,” I say, standing. “You guys should stay out. I don’t have a client until eleven tomorrow, so I can stay the night if you want.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she tells me, walking over and giving me a hug then leaning back. “Are you sure you’re okay? How was your appointment yesterday?”

  “I swear I’m okay, and my appointment went great. I feel really good about my new plan.”

  “Good.” She touches my cheek before dropping her hand away. “You know where the petty cash is. Use whatever you need, and I’ll call you as soon as I know what we’re doing.”

  “Okay.” I give her a smile then follow her out of the room and down the hall to where the boys are hanging out. Standing in the doorway, I watch her give each of the boys a kiss goodbye, even the ones that fight her on it. Walking fully into the room, I take a seat on the couch then watch her leave with a wave and a wink in my direction.

  After that, the rest of the night goes by in a flash. The boys and I order pizza, watch a movie, and then go to bed after Elizabeth calls to say she and Jelikai won’t be back until morning, which means I go to bed with a happy smile on my face for my friend.

  Chapter 3

  Kim

  “WHAT THE HELL?” I glance around before looking back at the briefcase sitting on the passenger seat of my car. The large metal case wasn’t there when I went into work this morning, and I know I locked up my car, so I have no idea who it belongs to or how it got in my car.

  Feeling my heart pound, I reach over and touch the smooth metal. It looks like something out of a spy movie, like the kind of briefcase someone would deliver money in. “No,” I breathe. “No fricking way.” With the way this last week has been going, I forgot all about telling Sage I would go out with him for a million dollars. Not that I have forgotten about Sage. He’s come into the salon everyday, either bringing me flowers or demanding I talk to him. The flowers I took to the nursing home in town, and I’ve been working hard at denying his demands. But this—this is something else.

  Letting out a breath, I put the keys in the ignition and start up my car. I don’t want to open the case where people could see, because if it is a million dollars—which I have no idea how Sage could get—someone could see it and then… I don’t know… track me down and kill me for it or something.

  Reversing out of my parking spot, I head to my house, and as soon as I get there, I head up the stairs with the briefcase held tightly in my grasp. Locking the door behind me, I place the case on the couch and get down on my knees in front of it. I inspect the latches, noticing a button on either side of the handle. Pressing down on them at the same time, the locks click open, sounding horrifically loud in my quiet apartment.

  I bite my lip, slowly open the lid, and my heart starts to go wild inside my chest when I see what’s inside. Monopoly money, lots of it. Stacks and stacks of it. Some old, and some new and still wrapped in plastic. Picking up a piece of paper that is folded on top of it, I fall to my bottom, unfold it carefully, and then start to read.

  Kim,

  It’s all here, a million dollars that you can count if you want.

  It took me a little longer than I thought it would to get all the money together, and some I will have to return to friends and family, since they let me borrow it.

  I laugh at that then pull in a sharp breath when I read the next line.

  In the twenty-four hours we spent together, you gave me a taste of something beautiful, and the memories of those moments have haunted me since I walked away from you. It’s something I have regretted doing since then, something I know I will always regret, because even if by some chance you forgive me, I will never be able to get back the time with you that I missed out on.

  If you accept my apology, meet me at my place tonight at seven for dinner.

  Xx Sage

  Seeing the address to his house scrolled along the bottom, I close my eyes and fall to my back, holding the piece of paper to my chest. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to do this with him. I don’t know if I’m courageous enough to put myself out there with everything I have going on. Sage doesn’t know about my illness, and I don’t know what he will do when he finds out. Will he take off on me the same way Kelly did? Will it be too much for him to handle?

  The what-ifs are enough to keep me from going to meet him, but it’s the idea of regretting something that has me opening my eyes to look at the clock on the stove. If I’m going to do this, I need to get up and get ready to leave now. The urge to call Chris to ask him what he thinks I should do filters through my mind, but I know what he’d say. He’d tell me that I’m an idiot for not already being in my car after seeing the money and reading the letter.

  I can’t imagine badass Sage Mayson going around borrowing Monopoly money, but he did that, and he did it for me. “Screw it.” If I get hurt, if I end up brokenhearted, at least I can say I gave it a shot, that I took a chance. Since the moment I was diagnosed with kidney failure, I have worked on living a life without regrets, and I know I will regret not showing up to meet him if I don’t go.

  Getting up off the floor, I start to close the briefcase then pause, take a five hundred dollar orange note off one of the stacks, and then pick up my purse, digging through until I find my wallet. Once I have it unzipped, I carefully place the note in the zipper compartment in the middle, and then drop it back in my bag. With that done, I close the briefcase and head for my bedroom, where I hurry up and get ready to leave.

  Putting a light pink lip gloss on, I lean back away from the mirror, and then turn my head from side to side. I don’t want it to look like I’m trying too hard, so I leave my makeup light, only adding a few more swipes of mascara. My hair is still in the same style I wore to work, which is down with wavy curls that end at the tops of my breasts. Leaving the bathroom, I shut off the light and go to my room, where I change out of the slacks and heels I wore to the salon today, exchanging them for jeans and a pair of ballet flats. Then I take off my blazer and slip on a long, gray, cashmere cardigan over my simple black tank.

  Looking at my refection in the mirror on the back of my bedroom door, I put a hand to my stomach that is filled with nervous butterflies since I made my decision to go meet Sage. Knowing I don’t have time to debate with myself about going, I head for the living room, grab my bag, my keys, and the briefcase, and then head downstairs to the garage to get in my car.