“I’m sorry I put you in a difficult position,” I mumbled into her lavender hair. She’d dyed it while I was away. It used to be the pink of cotton candy.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, releasing me.

“All the texts and the e-mails while I was gone.”

“Oh, that. I’m the one who harassed you, not the other way around, so you have nothing to apologize for.”

“Still, you’re Hayden’s friend. I didn’t want to jeopardize your relationship with him; it’s why I didn’t respond at first.” It took five days of nonstop messages before I messaged her back. If Hayden had done the same thing, I would have folded much sooner.

“Hayden’s like my brother. We’re pretty solid. Besides, someone needed to keep tabs on you.”

“Is that what you were doing?”

“You bet. You came back right on time. I already had my road trip planned if you hadn’t shown up by the end of this week.” While a hint of teasing was in her tone, I had a feeling she was serious about coming to retrieve me.

“How did he find out about the messages?”

“Sunday night we were checking your e-mail to Cassie, and he saw it. He wasn’t happy. He told us all to fuck ourselves and tried to walk home from her house.”

“Oh my God.” It put our recent conversations into perspective; the sense of betrayal would have been fresh.

“He’ll get over it.”

“I hope so.”

“You’re okay, though? Everything in Arden Hills is settled now?”

“I still have to deal with my parents’ house, but there’s no hurry and I’m not ready yet. But for the most part, things are taken care of.”

Frank had been in touch to assure me the business end of the house deal went smoothly. Trey hadn’t tried to contact me since I’d walked out. The bruises on my wrists had faded, and in a couple of days they’d be just a memory.

“I’m glad. If you want to talk about it, I’m here. In the meantime, I’ve got some stuff to show you.”

I appreciated that while Lisa had been persistent in keeping in touch, she hadn’t pushed for information or explanations. She only wanted to ensure I was okay. She led me out of the office and into the private piercing room. She locked the door before she pulled out a tray of jewelry.

“I just got back and you want to coerce me into more steel?”

“Coercion is hardly necessary with you.” She uncovered a wide selection of curved barbells.

I shook my head. “Oh, no. No way. Hood piercings take weeks to heal.”

“Four to six to heal completely—”

“Like that’s a selling point? That’s so not an option—”

Lisa held up a finger. “But healing time doesn’t dictate usability. As long as you take good care of it, you can start rolling your marble safely after a week.”

“A week?”

“Mm-hm.” Her smile and the gleam in her eyes were mischievous.

I glanced down at the tray of pretty silver barbells of varying styles and sizes. Hayden’s reasons for putting sex on hold were understandable. A piercing would put me out of commission and relieve me of the temptation to push him. That would be better for both of us. And this would be better for me when it healed, from what Lisa had told me. Not that I needed to worry about my ability to orgasm with Hayden around.

“When should we do it?” I asked.

“How about right now?”

“Now? But—” I glanced over at the closed door. Hayden was still with his client.

“It takes two minutes. All you need is to strip from the waist down.”

I released a puff of air. Connor would have blown a gasket if I suggested a genital piercing. Hayden, on the other hand, would lose his mind in a good way.

“Let’s do it. But we don’t tell Hayden.”

“My lips are sealed.”

I waited while she set up the chair. The stirrups reminded me of a gynecologist’s office. I expected this would be an equally unpleasant experience, with a more pleasurable result. When everything was set up, I dropped my pants and underwear and took a seat in the chair. Even though she was my friend, it was no more uncomfortable to have Lisa peering at my girl parts than it was an obstetrician, likely because she made it seem like no big deal. She walked me through each step of the process.

“This will be the most uncomfortable part.” She held up the clamp. “Take a deep breath.”

I did as I was told. The stinging pinch muted the quick stab of pain when she pushed the needle through sensitive skin. She followed with the barbell. Once it was secured in place, she released the clamp and blood came rushing back.

“And we’re done. In about six weeks you can start changing it up, see what gauge of ball you like best.”

I closed my legs for the sake of modesty. “Good to know.”

Aside from the dull throb, it wasn’t that bad. I dressed while she cleaned up. I had just buttoned my jeans when the doorknob rattled.

“Tenley? Lisa? Are you in there?”

“Just a second!” Lisa called out.

She tossed her gloves in the garbage and I opened the door. Hayden stood on the other side.

“Are you done with your client already?” My pitch was too high.

“Yeah.” Hayden looked from me to Lisa. “What are you two up to? Why was the door locked?”

We both spoke at the same time.

“Lisa was checking to see how my industrial was healing—”

“Tenley wanted me to look at one of her nipple rings—”

Hayden crossed his arms over his chest. His tongue poked at his viper bites and his eyes narrowed into slits. “Which one was it?”

“Both. I wanted Lisa to have a look at both,” I replied quickly.

“Your nipples looked fine to me this morning.”

I mimicked his stance. “That wasn’t your area of focus, though, was it?”

“I think I would have noticed if there was a problem. I’m pretty fucking familiar with your nipples,” Hayden shot back.

“I’m going to check and see if Jamie or Chris needs me for anything.” Lisa tried to squeeze by, but Hayden blocked the door.

“Oh, no, you don’t. I want to know what the hell is going on. I smell bullshit.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Oh, for God’s sake, Hayden. Back off. Girl nipples are different from your tiny little man nipples. Ours take twice as long to heal, and with all the friction Tenley’s got this morning hers are a little tender. She wanted to make sure they weren’t at risk of infection. Now look at what you’ve done.” Lisa flailed her hands in my direction. “You’re embarrassing her. Thanks for being a jerk.” Lisa shoved his shoulder and stalked off.

Hayden turned back to me, chagrined. I was beet red. Not because I was embarrassed, but more because I couldn’t believe Lisa had managed to pull off the lie.

He ran his hand through his hair and then down over his pecs, where his metallic barbells were. His gaze lowered to my chest. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that at all. . . .”

“It’s okay. I asked Lisa to look because of our talk earlier.” I was pushing the lie now, and I felt bad about it. But this wasn’t like my other omissions. This wouldn’t cause any harm.

“Right. Of course.” He nodded like a bobblehead. “I’m done for the night. Do you want to come up to my place and hang out?”

I tried not to get too excited. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

I doubted he meant hanging out in the way he used to, but I smiled, feeling suddenly shy. “I’d like that.”

On Sunday evening, Hayden asked me to come to dinner at Cassie’s. Everyone was going and he wanted me there.

Sarah and I had seen each other several times by that point. Her forgiveness came easily, which was a relief. She understood why I left better than anyone else, maybe because she’d been exposed to the nightmares that plagued me. Whatever the reason, her support was a blessing. While Lisa seemed to be another easy alliance, she would always have Hayden’s back over mine. Hayden pulled into the driveway, behind Sarah’s Tercel. I was glad she was here already.

As I gaped at the stately home, Hayden put his hand on the back of my neck. “You okay?”