“I just lost my eyebrow girl, and I haven’t found a good replacement yet.” Teri studied Allie’s face. “You did your own eyebrows?”
Allie nodded.
“That’s good enough for me! They look great. You might be too busy with Misu’s place, but if you want a job...” She raised her glass as if a paycheck were inside.
Allie’s first impulse was to jump at the offer, but then the small voice in her head told her she ought not to get too comfortable. She wasn’t putting down roots. Here or anywhere else, she vowed.
“Oh, I’d love to, but I’m not sure how long I’m staying, actually.”
“You’re not staying?” Minnie asked, surprised. Teri and she exchanged a quick glance. “You’re just going to let Dallas run Misu’s place?”
“Or sell,” Allie said. “One Realtor told me it was good land for condos, maybe.” The mixed feelings that passed across Minnie’s and Teri’s faces told her they liked that idea about as much as Dallas did when he first heard it. “But I haven’t decided yet,” she finished quickly. Both women looked relieved.
“No need to rush something like that, honey,” Teri agreed. “Take your time. And hey, stop by the salon anyway. You want to just work something totally temporary until I can find a permanent replacement, that would be great. The tourists wait for no one! Just think about it, okay?”
“Sure, I’ll think about it,” Allie said, realizing it would be the perfect way to make a little extra cash while she waited to get her ducks in a row to sell. But only if Teri didn’t expect her to stay long-term. She was still planning to sell and get out—quickly.
“By the way, how are things going with my boyfriend, Dallas?” Minnie asked, her eyes bright.
Allie felt a ripple of shock. “Your boyfriend? Dallas... Uh, I didn’t know...”
“Don’t listen to her,” Teri quibbled, giving Minnie a shove. “That’s how she talks about Dallas, but they aren’t...”
“Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? Besides, my boyfriend is the best kind imaginable: hot and completely imaginary. If I ever had a real conversation with him that wasn’t a passing hello, it would ruin the whole fantasy. So how is it living next to one of the hottest guys on the island?”
“He’s got an ego to match,” Allie grumbled, feeling a flash of annoyance at the mere mention of the man’s name.
“Ha! Lady after my own heart.” Teri grinned her approval. “Thank God you didn’t fall for that Texas charm. Dallas is bad news.” Teri rattled the ice cubes around her mai tai glass.
“Why bad news?” Allie asked, interest suddenly piqued.
“He’s a player with a capital P,” Teri said. “He’s not a one-woman man.”
“He can play me any day,” Minnie echoed in a dreamy, far-off voice. “Have you seen those abs? And that accent! I mean, ‘Cowboy, Take Me Away,’ you know what I’m saying? When he goes kayaking out of the bay, women just line up to watch and see if he’ll take his shirt off. I mean, a guy who looks like that? Maybe he should have more than one woman. We ought to share him, for the sake of the sisterhood.”
Teri laughed. “Minnie!” she exclaimed, giving her friend a shocked pat on the shoulder.
Allie had to admit he did have a nice chest. She could see why women would follow him around. Not this one, though.
“How do you know he’s a player?” Allie asked, curious now.
“Besides the fact he takes a new tourist home every Saturday night?”
Allie gulped. Every week? Not that she ought to be surprised. She knew Dallas was proud of his body. Why wouldn’t he want to show it off naked to a new woman weekly?
“An expensive proposition,” she said, thinking aloud.
“Oh, Dallas can afford it. Rumor has it he’s rich. Big sale of a family’s ranch back in Texas,” Minnie said. “He owns tons of stuff around here.”
“Like what?”
Minnie shrugged. “Real estate. Stores. Whatever. I’m surprised he’s not married already. He almost was last year.”
“Until he cheated on his fiancée,” Teri muttered, frowning as she held up her cup of mai tai in a grim toast.
“He cheated on her?” Allie asked, feeling suddenly angry for the woman. She knew what that felt like. Poi nudged her leg, and she absently bent down to give him a soft pat.
“Yeah.” Teri took a sip of her cocktail, as if to wash the truth of it from her mouth. “They made a really pretty couple, too. She had this beautiful little girl from another relationship. They were a pretty little family, even moved in together, until she had to work longer hours, and Dallas took advantage.”
Allie didn’t like that. Not one bit. How could he do that to his girlfriend? Or to her little girl? She felt a surge of new anger. She’d been right about him from the start, the jerk. He was just like Jason. His nice-guy, aw-shucks demeanor was just a cover for the womanizer beneath.
“Longer hours?” Minnie scoffed, gesturing with her hands and nearly tipping the edge of her plastic cocktail cup. She saved the mai tai just in time. “She was gone for weeks at a time filming that real estate show. What is it? Hawaii Living?”
Allie knew Hawaii Living. That was Jennifer Thomas’s show.
“Wait, Jennifer Thomas was his girlfriend?”
“Yeah, how did you know?” Minnie asked.
“I invited her over to the estate,” Allie confessed, awkwardly rubbing her arms. “To look at the land.”
Minnie and Teri stared at one another and then broke out laughing. “I bet Dallas loved that.”
“Well, it explains why he was so mad,” Allie confessed sheepishly. First, Kaimana and then Dallas and Jennifer—she felt at every turn like the new girl constantly stepping in it. She had a lot to learn about the island. Not if you don’t plan to stay, that tiny voice in her head pointed out.
“Well, well, speak of the devil,” Teri declared, as she looked at the back patio door.
Allie followed her line of sight and saw Dallas McCormick walking into the backyard. If he’d looked good without his shirt on, he looked even sexier now wearing a pressed white linen button-up and khaki shorts. His sharp blue eyes were hidden by expensive-looking sunglasses, but his thick blond hair was perfectly styled, and his broad chest just begged to be stroked. She saw him and her body instantly reacted, as if there was a magnetic pull straight to his navel. He pushed up his sunglasses, and she observed his clear blue eyes find hers in the crowd. For a full second, she froze, unable to move. He gave her a brief nod, and Allie felt a shiver run down the back of her spine. She hated that he looked so good. It made her even angrier.
Allie mentally shook herself. Was it something about her? Was she just destined to be attracted to unfaithful men?
“I’m surprised he came alone,” scoffed Teri, as if it were a bad word. “The man can’t do without female attention for ten minutes.”
“Why shouldn’t he? He’s gorgeous and rich. What else do you want in a man?” Minnie exclaimed.
“Fidelity?” Allie offered, which made Teri burst out laughing.
“Oh, I like this one.” She gave Allie’s arm a playful squeeze.
“You two are insane. Or blind,” Minnie chided. “I’m going to go stand at a discreet distance from my boyfriend and hover awkwardly. See you!” She made a beeline for Dallas, dragging