Midnight Madness. Karen Kendall

girl would have done all this, but they were, after all, trying to protect his privacy.

      She sat him back down in the chair, removed the towel and combed his hair neatly into a side part. She reached for a blow-dryer, but he put his hand on her arm. “No, thanks. I don’t want it all fluffy and sprayed into place like plastic.”

      “Okay. Then—I guess we’re done here, as long as you like the color.”

      “I like it,” Jack told her. “But you and I aren’t done by a long shot.”

      She eyed him coolly, saying nothing, even though his calm arrogance irritated her.

      “Will you have dinner with me?”

      “Jack, I’m honored. I really am. But…let me just say that your reputation precedes you.”

      He got that sheepish expression on his face once again. “I know they call me The Hammer.”

      “Yeah. And I’m sure you have no idea why. Sorry, but I’m not up for, um, a quickie. To put it bluntly.”

      “I keep trying to tell you that it’s not like that. Really.”

      She just looked at him.

      “Kiss me, Marly. If you don’t feel anything, then I’ll walk right out of here and I won’t bother you again. On the other hand, if you do—and I’m counting on you to be honest, here—then you go to dinner with me one night this week.”