Chapter 4

4

Lachlan

"Ah, fuck." I yank the covers over my head to avoid whatever's poking me in the cheek.

"Good, you're alive."

I frown. That is not the gorgeous voice who looked after me. Eyes squinting open, my frown deepens. Chloe's no longer in my bed, and to make everything worse, Dom is hovering over me. "What do you want?"

He stabs me in the cheek again and jerks back when I fling my arm out. "Taking over for Chloe." He thrusts silver packets at me. "Here's some medicine." My mind is foggy, thoughts coming slow.

"Where is she?" I pop the pills and swallow them with the little water left from the glass Chloe filled for me. She better be in the lounge.

"I told her to go home. You were clutching her like a teddy-bear and she looked uncomfortable. Tired."

My chest clenches at the thought of her being tired because of me. Or tired of me. And because I didn't get to see her asleep in my bed. I fell asleep before I could savour the image. Before I could carve it into my brain.

I swing my legs off the bed and wait for the room to stop spinning. "I need to fix her water." When the dressing table's in the usual place, I stand with minimal difficulty and head to the bathroom. Need to shower and get there before the meds wear off.

"You sure you're up for that?" Dom yells.

"Yep." I avoid looking in the mirror knowing it won't do anything for my ego, and hop in scalding water to rub the sickness away. I better not have given Chloe the flu. I'll be annoyed if I got her sick.

When I finish in the shower, I shave and drag on clothes, then I notice my phone charging on the bedside table. I know for a fact it wasn't me who did that. I grin. She charged my phone.

Now it's my turn to look after her, and I need food for that. The scrunchie on my wrist is damp, but I leave it there and rub the excess water out of it. "You're still here?"

"How come one of your guys didn't go to the salon?"

I avoid his gaze and put bread in the toaster. I feel mostly normal after the shower, clean at least, with the sickness washed down the drain, leaving only aches behind. "Didn't put it in the system," I mumble.

Dom barks a laugh. "Seriously?"

I shove toast in my mouth and chase it with coffee Dom made.

"You don't trust any of them? Just ask her out, mate. She comes to the bar and sees you. And she looked after you?—"

"I didn't want anyone to ruin her salon."

Dom rolls his eyes. "They wouldn't have. You hire good guys."

"I couldn't take the chance." I grab my keys from the kitchen bench. "See you later, Dom."

I slam the door, leaving his laughter behind, and jog down the steps to street level to unlock my truck with all my tools. I will fix her water if it kills me.

It's another sunny day driving down The Esplanade, tourists heading to the beach and clogging the road, but it means more business for Chloe, so I'm glad. I don't know if she'll be at the salon, but I need to try. I won't let her do something for me without returning the favour, especially since it gives me an excuse to see her.

I park the truck, grab tools from the back, and walk to the freshly painted door. The renovated salon has more windows and a shiny new sign, and I can see plants near the reception desk as I peer through the glass. A light's on in the store, but there's no movement. I tap on the glass carefully, cringing when I leave fingerprints. Gonna have to clean that.

Maybe she isn't here. Disappointment heavy in my chest, I turn for my truck. Someone needs to fix her water and goddamnit, it will be me. She doesn't need to figure out the pipes or worry about them, not while I'm here.

I ignore the disappointment and tug out my phone. I have her number from when she originally booked me. Should've called before showing up. My teeth clench, and I rub my chest when I see the missed calls I received from her yesterday.

The image of her waiting for me, with no reply, makes me want to rip out my heart and hand it to her so she knows I'm hers. She can do whatever she wants with it—stamp on it for all I care—as long as she knows I would have showed up. Why didn't I keep my phone charged? I would have dragged my body here to help her if it hadn't died and hidden her messages from me. I cannot believe I wasn't there when she needed me. "Fucking idiot," I mutter.

"Who's an idiot?"

I whirl around and see her standing on the footpath. The sun creates a halo around her hair, and my heart beats faster. She's holding coffee and staring at me with a small frown on her face. I fight the urge to smooth the crease away. "I am."

"You are, considering you have the flu and are here instead of in bed. Are you feeling any better?" She rests her palm on my forehead.

Her palm soothes the ache in my chest. "Yeah. Here to fix the water."

"Lachlan, you don't have to do that." She takes her hand back.

"I want to." I tuck a piece of her new fringe behind her ear. "Put your hair up, sweetheart. It's too hot and I know you hate having it on your neck." I tug the—now dry—pink scrunchie off my wrist and hand it to her.

She blushes and takes it from me slowly. "I can't believe you noticed that."

I take her coffee cup so her hands are free to put her hair in a ponytail, the fringe pieces falling across her cheekbones. She's going to hate it. Is it overkill to buy her clips? "As soon as your last customer leaves, you put your hair up. You never leave it loose in the bar."

Her eyes drift over my body, and she smiles. Fishing her key out of her bag, she unlocks the salon. "Do you want to come in?"

I would follow her anywhere. I'm like a vampire being invited in; she'll never get rid of me now. I step into the salon, the air-con barely cools the heat on my skin. Her ponytail bounces as she walks through her store, sandals clicking on the polished concrete.

"You sure you're up to this?"

"Show me the problem." I follow her to the staff room while she explains the issues. No hot water and a leak. Some other company fucked it up. "It'll take about an hour to fix, but shouldn't be a problem."

She lights up, a smile spreading across her face. "Really?"

I nod.

I freeze as she launches herself at me, wraps her arms around my neck, and tugs me into her. "Thank you."

Before she can let go, I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my head on hers, finally able to breathe in her light floral scent. I hold her longer than I should and release her only when I'm worried about my hands roaming too low.

"Anytime." I truly mean it. Anytime she needs me—for anything—I'm there. "You don't have to hang around if there are other things you need to do. I'll call when I'm done."

She's still standing close, our chests brushing when she bounces on her toes and brushes a kiss against my cheek before stepping back. Heat rushes through my body and I clench my hands into fists to stop from grabbing her. Clutching her to my chest and never letting go.

"Thank you for doing this. I'll be out front if you need anything." I watch her hips sway as she walks to the reception desk, leaving me in the staff room, a wall between us.

I finish as quickly as possible while fixing everything to my standard, so her salon runs smoothly. Hearing her move around in the front while I work settles something inside me, knowing she's near keeps a smile on my face.

After checking the basins have hot water, I glance at the desk where she's clicking away at something. Her hair's still up. She's changed it from a ponytail to a bun at the nape of her neck, the pink scrunchie peeking out. Good.

"All done."

She jumps and spins in the chair, clutching her chest. "You scared me."

I tower over her while she's sitting in the chair, but she makes no move to get up. I tuck hair out of her face and apologise softly.

She smiles, waving away the apology. "Is it fixed?"

I nod, and she stands to hug me. This time I'm quicker to wrap my arms around her and brush a kiss on her hair.

"You're the best." Her face tucks into my shoulder, and I shiver when she rubs her nose along my neck. She pulls back abruptly and spins to the desk. "I bought lunch for you." She slides a sandwich and cold drink across the desk to me—she must have ducked out when I had to find something from my truck—and hands me cold and flu medicine. "In case you still feel sick."

I brush a finger down her nose. "I feel fine, sweetheart. But I'll take it if it makes you feel better."

"It will." She crosses her arms.

A smile spreads over my face at her protectiveness. I sit on the chair she dragged over for me and swallow the pills, grinning when she looks satisfied.

"Why'd you leave this morning?" I bite into the sandwich she gave me, all the more delicious because it's from her.

She fiddles with her food, pushing it around instead of eating. "I didn't want to be in your way. You didn't ask me to be there. I figured you'd prefer Dom."

Why would she think that? In what world would I prefer Dom jabbing my cheek when I could be curled against her soft body, her hair tickling my nose while I run my hands through the blonde strands as we watch Friends together? "You're never in my way."

"You wanted me to stay?"

"See you in my bed? Caring for me and getting to spend time with you? I wanted you there." I nudge my heavy work boot against her foot, careful not to hurt her. "I fell asleep in the middle of an episode." I wink.

She gasps dramatically. "Well, we'll have to rewatch it then."

Finally she eats her food and my heart jumps because I'm sharing a meal with her, watching as her eyes roam over all her hard work.

"What's your favourite part of the salon?" I ask.

She sips water. "I love the plants. It feels like home with the greenery?—"

Note to self: buy plants for my flat so she feels at home.

"—I love the basins as well, seeing clients finally relax and trust me." Her eyes widen and dart to my hair. She leans forward and rests her hands on my shoulders, vibrating with excitement. Something clenches deep in my gut, being this close to her enthusiasm. "Can I cut your hair?" Hands drift up and start to sift through my hair. I bite back a groan from having her delicate hands brush through my hair, moving it every which way.

I reply quickly, "Sure." Anything to keep her hands on me.

She stands and claps her hands together. "This will be so fun. You'll be my first customer since the renovation!" She grabs my hand and pulls me upright. Tugging me to a mirror, she pushes on my shoulders, forcing me to sit in the chair.

My eyes crinkle at her obvious joy.

She opens a drawer and straps a bag around her waist full of scissors and combs, and wraps a black cape around my neck. Chloe's right in her element, sweeping my hair in different directions as she chats through her vision. She doesn't let her hair down like she usually would, but keeps it in a bun.

"A little shorter at the back with more left in the front, some light layers. Sound good?"

I'd let her dye it green if she wanted to. "Sounds perfect, sweetheart."

She grins and we head to the basin.