“Nothing. He raised his gaze to hers once again, and she lowered hers to the middle of his chest. She couldnt look in his eyes and think at the same time. “I cut hair sometimes just for promotion. She turned to her station and straightened a jar of sanitized combs. She heard his footsteps behind her but kept her attention on her work.

“She also told me shes the one who left those threatening notes.

Delaney looked up into his reflection in the mirror as he moved toward her. He unzipped his jacket, and beneath it, he wore a blue flannel shirt tucked into his Levis and a leather woven belt. “Im surprised she told you.

“After you cut her hair, she started feeling so guilty she broke down and confessed last night. He stopped directly behind her. “I dont think she should be rewarded with a free hair cut.

“I didnt see it as ... a .. . She locked at him through the glass and forgot what shed been about to say. He was so bad for her mental health. He was so close, if she leaned back just a little, she could press herself into his big chest.

“You didnt see it as what?

The smell of crisp morning air clung to him. She took a deep breath, pulling the scent of him deep into her lungs.

“Delaney?

“Hmm? Then she did lean back, her shoulders into his chest, her behind pressed into his groin. He was solid and fully aroused. He brought one hand around to her stomach and he drew her tight against him. Delaney followed his gaze to his long fingers splayed wide across her abdomen. His thumb brushed the underside of her right breast.

“When is your first appointment this morning? he asked close to her ear. He pushed the edge of her turtleneck and kissed the side of her throat.

Her eyes drifted closed, and she tilted her head to one side to give him better access. He cared about her. He had to. “In about twenty minutes.

“I could give us what we both need in fifteen. His fingers brushed her sensitive flesh through the cotton of her shirt.

She was falling in love with him. She could feel it happen like a fierce undertow, pulling at her, sweeping her feet from beneath her, and there was nothing she could do about it except maybe save herself a little pain. She looked into his stunning face and said, “I dont want to be just another of your women, Nick. I want more.

He raised his gaze to hers. “What do you want?

“While Im here, I want to be the only woman youre with. Just me. She paused and took a deep breath. “I want you to make love only to me. I want you to get rid of your other women.

His hand stilled and he studied her for several long moments. “You want me to get rid of all the women Im supposed to be screwing to make some sort of commitment to you for what... six months?

“Yes.

“What do I get in return?

Shed been afraid hed ask that question. There was only one answer she could give him, and she was aware he might not think it enough. “Me.

“For six months.

“Yes.

“Why should I?

“Because I want to make love with you, but I dont want to share you with anyone.

“You say the word love a lot. He straightened and dropped his hand from her abdomen. “Do you love me?

She was scared as hell she did and afraid of what it meant. “No.

“Good, because I dont love you. He took a step back and zipped his jacket. “You know what they say about me, wild thing. I cant be faithful to one woman, and you havent said anything that would make me want to try. He took a few more steps backward. “If you want hot, sweaty sex, you know where to find me. If you want someone to beg for crumbs at your table for a few months, find someone else.

She didnt want him to beg for anything and didnt really know what he meant, only that she wasnt enough for him. After he left Delaney wanted nothing more than to curl up in a tight ball and cry. Maybe she should have taken those fifteen minutes he offered, but she was more selfish than that. She didnt share. Not men, and especially not Nick. She wanted him all to herself. Unfortunately, he didnt feel the same. Because of the risk hed taken to be with her, shed been so sure he cared. She guessed not.

Now she didnt have to think about what loving Nick meant. She didnt have to consider the repercussions or what to do about them. All she had to do was get through the next six months.

Chapter Sixteen

The holiday parade kicked off the Truly Winter Festival and started a scandal that would last for decades when the man chosen to play Santa, Marty Wheeler, got so wasted he took a header out of the sleigh and knocked himself unconscious. Marty was short, as stocky as a pug dog, and as hairy as a primate. He overhauled engines at the Chevron on Sixth and was an instructor at the kung fu dojo—a real mans man. The fact that Marty got tanked before and during the parade shocked no one. His choice of underwear, however, left the crowd speechless. When the paramedics opened his Santa suit and revealed his bright pink merry widow, everyone was stunned. Everyone but Wannetta Van Damme, whod always figured the forty-three-year-old bachelor was “a mite queer.

Delaney was almost sorry shed missed seeing Marty in his underwear, but shed been busy at the Grange hall decorating for the fashion show. She helped decorate the stage with silver stars and tinsel and the runway with pine boughs and Christmas lights. Backstage, she set up lighted mirrors and chairs. She brought gel and mousse, big cans of hair spray and little sprigs of holly. She figured the people of Truly werent ready for anything as extreme as style show hair. No rose bushes or birds nests for these ladies. She brought pictures of braids and twists and ponytails she could arrange in ten to fifteen minutes per head.

The show was set to start at seven, and by six-thirty, Delaney was deep into her work. She braided hair into ropes and knots, turned them inside out and upside down. She twisted and tucked and rolled and listened to the latest dish, secretly relieved Marty had taken her place on the menu.

“One of the nurses at the hospital told Patsy Thomason who told me that Marty had on one of those lace thongs, too, the mayors wife, Lillie Tanasee, informed Delaney as she braided a coronet in the womans auburn hair. Lillie had decked herself and her young daughter out in matching red and green taffeta. “Patsy said the merry widow and panties were from Victorias Secret. Can you imagine anything so tawdry?

Delaney had worked with many gay hairdressers over the years, but shed never met a cross dresser—not that she knew, anyway. “At least he isnt cheap. I dont mind tawdry as much as I mind cheap.

“My husband bought me one of those nylon crotchless numbers, confessed a woman waiting her turn in the chair. She covered the ears of the little girl dressed as an elf standing next to her. “It was three sizes too small and so cheap I felt like a low-rent prostitute.

Delaney shook her head as she wove a few holly berries into Lillies hair. “Nothing like cheap lingerie to make a woman feel like a hooker. She grabbed a tall can and sprayed down Lillies head. The mayors daughter Misty jumped into the chair next, and Delaney styled her hair to replicate her mothers. Several women whod done their own hair stood away from the others; Benita Allegrezza was one of them. Out of the corner of her eye, Delaney watched Nicks mother speak with a group of her friends. She figured Benita was in her mid-fifties, but looked a good ten years older. She wondered if it was genes or bitterness that had etched the lines in her forehead and around her mouth. She glanced around for her mother and wasnt surprised when she spied her in the middle of the action, her hair already perfect. Helen was nowhere to be seen, but Delaney wasnt surprised by her absence.