I’m still in pieces! Jarrid wanted to yell out but didn’t. He had to find a place in himself that was emotionally neutral about her.
“Kenny, you’ve got to promise not to tell Marie,” he said. “I don’t want to spoil her plans. I’ll work this out. It won’t affect meeting her friend.”
Kenny’s eyebrow lifted. “You’re still hooked on Becky, aren’t you?”
Jarrid quickly got up from the computer. “I don’t know, Kenny, I don’t know.”
Kenny put a brotherly arm around his shoulders. “I know you well, Jarrid,” he began. “Ever since Mom and Pop died in that car accident when you were seventeen, you’ve been looking for a girl to love. Don’t worry. It’s gonna happen for you. Your future wife is out there. Just trust the process.”
Jarrid nodded, trying to absorb his married brother’s wisdom. He knew that seven years ago he’d held on too tightly to Becky because of his desperate need to love and be loved. He had emotionally paid for his overwhelming need when she eventually broke free of him. He didn’t want to make that same mistake twice.
“Hey, Jarrid, how about a quick one-on-one basketball game before you go?” his brother asked.
“Sure,” he replied, hoping the game would help get Becky out of his mind.
As Jarrid shot for the hoop, Becky’s strawberry hair and green eyes flashed through his head. Suddenly, he made a clear basket. A slow grin crossed his face. He couldn’t help but wonder if that perfect shot was an omen of good luck for him and her.
At the Nouveau Hair Salon in Beverly Hills, Becky quickly stuffed her hair dryer, hair spray, gel and scissors into her bag. She was already a few minutes late for her appointment at the Beverly Hills home of Mrs. Gwen Fuller, who preferred having her hair styled in privacy.
Becky didn’t mind doing house calls. Most of her clients at the salon were upscale, wealthy women who had busy schedules to keep.
As Becky packed her bag, she made sure she also had her swimsuit along. Mrs. Fuller always insisted that Becky swim in her pool. However, when she learned of Becky’s fear of drowning, Mrs. Fuller made sure that Becky relaxed in her Jacuzzi after Becky did her hair. Becky couldn’t refuse because she knew Mrs. Fuller was a widow who enjoyed sharing the lavish home she lived in by herself.
Becky anxiously glanced at the clock on the salon wall. She couldn’t even think straight, knowing she would be seeing Jarrid at his store in several hours. First, she had to go to her meeting with Charlotte about her sister’s job.
She still hadn’t talked to Pam about how she should act with him to be convincing. Her twin had left a message on her home answering machine saying she was overloaded with work and couldn’t call back until later.
However, her sister said she’d sent her diary special delivery, and she’d come up with other super-cool ways to help her get over her shyness with Jarrid.
Becky was so blind with worry that she accidentally knocked over her bag. Her favorite pink satin blouse fell onto the linoleum salon floor—the pretty blouse she wanted to change into before seeing Jarrid.
Sherry quickly picked up her satin blouse and smiled. “Are you going out with Jarrid Browning?”
“Yes, I mean, no. He wants to show me his store.” She wished she could tell Sherry about Pam’s scheme, but she couldn’t break her sister’s confidence.
“How wonderful!” Sherry said. “He’s opening his life to you. That’s a true sign that he cares.”
“Do you really think so?” Becky asked, momentarily forgetting she was going to see Jarrid because of her sister.
“Absolutely,” her friend said supportively. “When a man wants to show off where he works, you can be sure he’s very interested in you.”
Becky’s stomach was jumping with butterflies as she gathered up her bag and hurried to her car in the parking structure. She felt so jittery and unsure about herself that she wondered if she should call him from Mrs. Fuller’s and postpone seeing him until she got more advice from Pam.
With her mind in a frenzy about what she should do, she drove as if on automatic pilot along Sunset Boulevard and turned onto a street lined with vast estates and palm trees. The gates were open to Mrs. Fuller’s property, and she saw the gardener putting a lawnmower into his pickup truck, getting ready to leave.
As she parked her car, she was in such a rush that she barely saw a van parked at the far end of the driveway. She grabbed her hair supply bag and ran through the side entrance which took her straight to Mrs. Fuller’s private bathroom.
As Jarrid adjusted the wires behind the projection television screen in Mrs. Fuller’s spacious living room, he felt excited about Becky’s meeting him at his store.
He couldn’t wait to show her the business he’d started. He wanted her to see the work space he was renting and meet Pete, his competent and loyal technician.
He planned to show her the high-tech audio/visual equipment he was selling. But most of all, he wanted to show her the sketches of home theater systems he’d designed in the hopes of getting future customers interested in the work he really wanted to do.
As he fine-tuned the picture on the television screen, his shoulders and back suddenly started to ache with tension. Doubts about re-entering Becky’s life rose up in him with tornado force. Would he start wanting her so much again that he would set himself up for another rejection from her?
“Jarrid, could you do me a favor?” Mrs. Fuller said from behind him. She was wearing a hair salon smock and had rollers in her hair.
“What would you like me to do for you, Mrs. Fuller?” he asked, packing up his tools.
He had met Mrs. Fuller a few years ago when he worked for another store. She’d remained a loyal customer when he got his own place of business and called him periodically to upgrade her equipment so that she could entertain her married children and grandchildren when they visited her.
“Could you check out the television sets in the three bedrooms in the guest house?” she asked. “The remote doesn’t work on any of them.”
“Sure, no problem,” he gladly replied, thankful to have her as a steady customer.
“By the way,” she added. “After you finish, feel free to take a swim in the pool before you go. My housekeeper will leave swim trunks for you in the guest house.”
He was about to politely decline since Pete would be waiting for him at the store, but he didn’t want to hurt Mrs. Fuller’s feelings. Besides, a few laps in the pool would be just what he needed to relax his tense body.
“I might take you up on it, Mrs. Fuller,” he replied with a smile.
“Terrific,” she said. “My hairdresser is finishing my hair. Then I’ll be leaving, so I’ll say goodbye for now.”
As Jarrid headed outside toward the guest house, which was a short distance from the main house, he noticed the shimmering blue water of the oblong swimming pool and the swirling foam of the hot tub.
He could feel the tension in his shoulder and back muscles already easing knowing he’d be taking a short swim and maybe even hop into the Jacuzzi.
He wanted to feel comfortable when he was with Becky. He wanted to show her that he didn’t need her love as desperately as he did when he first knew her. He wanted to start a gradual friendship with her. Nothing too heavy. In that way he wouldn’t set himself up to be hurt again.
Becky spread the floral-scented