Jenna

jenna

T he emergency room was a war zone when arrived on Monday morning. A tractor-trailer had crashed into a school bus on the icy interstate, sending at least twenty elementary school children to the hospital with varying degrees of injuries. Dropping her belongings in the locker room, she went to work triaging patients.

“Nurse! I need you here, stat. We've got a kid hemorrhaging!”

scanned the examining rooms for the source of the barked orders.

A doctor she’d never seen before hollered, “You! With the mohawk! Do something with your hair and get over here now!”

Heat crept up ’s neck. In all the confusion, she’d forgotten to pull her hair back. Peeling off her surgical gloves, she tied her hair into a ponytail, washed her hands again, and tugged on a fresh pair of gloves.

Rushing to the doctor’s aid, she cast frequent glances at him as they worked to save the young boy’s life. With dark hair and piercing eyes that hinted at Italian descent, he possessed the smoldering good looks of a movie star—tempered by the volatile edge of a storm ready to erupt. He snapped at her when she made a mistake or was slow to respond. His harsh manner set her on edge, and when she knocked over a tray of instruments, he called her an incompetent idiot, bringing tears to her eyes.

“What is wrong with you?” he demanded. “Are you new to the job?”

’s hands trembled, but her voice was steady. “Not hardly. For your information, I’m up for a promotion to senior level. You’re the one who is new here. In this hospital, our doctors respect the nurses, even in crisis. Especially in crisis.”

Without waiting for him to respond, she called for another nurse to take her place and moved to the next examining room to assist another doctor.

But she couldn’t get the new doctor’s insults out of her head. You! With the mohawk ! You incompetent idiot. Are you new to the job?

During her lunch break, studied her reflection in the locker room mirror. Jake was right. Her hair looked awful. She would never find her soulmate if she didn’t start taking better care of herself.

She called her salon, requesting an appointment for that evening. Unfortunately, her favorite stylist was unavailable, and she had to settle for someone else. The receptionist, however, assured her Zoe had plenty of experience.

The pink-haired stylist greeted her with a lopsided smile. “Hey there! What are we doing today?”

“Getting rid of the blonde. Can you dye it to match my natural color?”

Zoe lifted a hank of hair, inspecting 's long roots. “Your natural color is gorgeous. I might get it close, but it wouldn’t be a perfect match. Have you thought about cutting out the blonde?”

gave the stylist an uncertain glance in the mirror. “Won’t it end up really short?”

Zoe nodded. “But you can totally pull off boy short with your high cheekbones and doe eyes.”

“ Boy short sounds so drastic. Maybe if I saw a picture.” She pulled out her phone and searched for images of young women with short hair.

Zoe pointed to a style with long hair on top, fringe sweeping over the forehead, and a shaggy, tapered back. “That’s what I had in mind for you.”

“I guess it’s kinda cute.”

The stylist hunched her shoulders. “What do you have to lose? It’s only hair. If you don’t like it, you can grow it out. At least it’ll be your natural color.”

“That’s true.” lowered her head, shielding her eyes. “But I can’t watch.”

The stylist giggled as she spun around, placing her back to the mirror. “Don’t worry. Short hair is my specialty. I have a feeling you’re gonna love it.”

A wave of nausea washed over as the stylist’s scissors snipped away at her hair, the offensive blonde locks tumbling to the floor around her.

After styling her hair, Zoe turned back to face the mirror. “Ta-da! What do you think?”

barely recognized the young woman staring back at her. The dramatic style exuded a bold femininity that gave an air of confidence she hadn’t felt in years. “Wow. You’re right. I do love it.”

As she exited the salon, she felt as though she were shedding the last remnants of her youth and stepping into a new, more mature version of herself.

Back at her building, spotted Max heading outside to the dog park. He walked right past her without so much as a glance in her direction.

called out to him, “Hey, Max!”

His gaze swept the lobby before landing on her. “Whoa! Is that you, ? You cut your hair.” Taking her hand, he twirled her around. “You look fabulous, girlfriend. All the straight guys in this city will be lining up to ask you out.”

She giggled as he let go of her hand. “I’ve just come from the salon. You’re the first to see. Do you really like it?” she asked, fingering the short hairs on the back of her neck.

“Like it? I absolutely love it. We need to show off the new you. If it weren’t a work night, I’d take you out on the town. How about Friday? Asher and I will show you a good time.”

“It’s a date! I can’t wait.”

’s spirits soared as she made her way up to her floor. Who knew a new hairstyle could have such a drastic effect on one’s demeanor?

Heads turned when entered the hospital the following morning. She even received a few whistles from the male doctors. She was reviewing charts for the current ER patients when Dr. Grumpy approached the nurses’ station with two Starbucks cups.

“Caramel macchiato with oat milk, just the way you like it,” he said, sliding a cup across the counter to her.

Her brow furrowed as she glanced from the drink to him. “How did you know that?”

“I asked around,” he admitted, a playful smile tugging at his lips. “It’s a peace offering—an apology for being out of line yesterday. It was my first day, and I hated seeing all those kids in distress. Plus, I didn’t know anyone, where to find anything, or how your department works.”

“For sure, you got thrown to the wolves the minute you arrived.” She lifted the Starbucks cup in a small toast. “Apology accepted.”

Tilting his head, he studied her more closely. “You cut your hair. Did you do that because of me?”

laughed. “Yes, and no. I’d been thinking about making a change, but your comment about my mohawk sealed the deal.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s definitely easier to take care of now.”

He paused to sip his coffee. “Since I’m new to town and haven’t met many people, I was wondering if you would take pity on me and show me around on Friday night.”

’s heart somersaulted across her chest. Was he asking her on a date? Was their heated introduction in the ER yesterday their meet-cute? Sparks had definitely flown, although not the right kind of sparks. “Why would you want to go out with me when you don’t even know my name?”

“Says who? You’re Collins. And I’m Gabriel Kane. My friends call me Gabe. Now that we’ve officially been introduced, how about Friday night?”

She hesitated, her pulse quickening. “Sorry, but I already have plans.”

Disappointment flickered in his dark eyes. “So you’re seeing someone?”

“No, it’s not a date. I’m going out with some friends—a gay couple who just moved into my building. They are new to town, too.” She watched him carefully for his reaction. Given their rocky start, she wanted to make certain he wasn’t prejudiced. Much to her relief, he didn’t even flinch.

“Cool! Maybe I can meet up with you somewhere.”

A broad smile spread across ’s face. “I’m not sure what we’re doing yet, but I’ll let you know once we figure it out.”

He nodded. “That’d be great.”

After swapping phone numbers, they returned to their respective duties, a quiet sense of possibility lingering in the air.