Most Irresistible Guy
* * *
Three-time Super Bowl champion and Renegades starting quarterback Jeff Grant announced his retirement today.
“It’s been an amazing run and I am lucky to have played for my hometown team and for such amazing fans. I know the team will be in good hands with the new starting quarterback, Cooper Armstrong.”
* * *
I squeal out loud. Excitement and effervescence run through me. I’ve just drunk a glass of champagne, devoured a mouth-watering truffle, watched a friend win the lottery.
One of my stylists turns to me, asking, “Everything okay?”
I must look like I’ve been dipped in a paint can of glee. “Everything is amazing,” I tell her.
My heart skips and I want to jump for joy. I can only imagine how incredibly happy Cooper is, and I can’t wait to congratulate him myself—this is what he’s worked for his whole life. This is what he’s wanted more than anything.
I start to tap out a text to him, when the receptionist sets her hand on my arm. “Violet, your next appointment.”
“Thanks, Sage.”
I tuck my phone away, and honestly, I’m glad I didn’t have time to fire off a text. This calls for more than a text. I need to give him a phone call later.
I settle in at my booth and work on auburn highlights for Marissa, who tells me she’s desperately trying to figure out why her husband is suffering from headaches. “They tend to get worse if he’s in the kitchen, but they’re fine when he’s elsewhere in the house. Isn’t that crazy?”
Today I’m playing the shrink.
“Not entirely. Is there anything in the kitchen that could be making him sick?” I ask as I wrap a section of her hair in tinfoil.
“My cooking,” she mutters.
I laugh. “Maybe there’s something going on with the stove. Perhaps something needs to be fixed with it.”
And now I’m an electrician and a diagnostician.
She arches a brow. “You think that might be it?”
I smile at her in the mirror. “I think you look amazing with red highlights, and I have no idea why he’s not feeling so great. But maybe check it out? Sometimes the answers to problems are under our noses and easier than we think.”
An hour later, her hair is redder and she’s tracked down a stove specialist, promising to update me in four weeks when she’s back for her regular appointment.
I twist my index and middle fingers together. “My fingers are crossed,” I say as I walk her to the door and hold it open.
I swear I’m seeing a mirage.
Cooper is at the door. His arms are raised in the air. His smile is as wide as the sea, and he strides to me, picks me up, and lifts me in the air.
5
“Did you hear the news?”
I nod as his strong arms hold me tight. “I did. I told you so!”
He smiles as wide as the sky. “This is the one time I don’t mind hearing ‘I told you so.’”
“Then I’ll say it again. Told you so.”
He sets me down and grips my shoulders for emphasis. “Three years, Vi. I’ve watched every single play from the sidelines with the exception of two games I started when Jeff sprained his ankle. Three. Whole. Years. And come September, I finally get my chance to start the season.”
That champagne feeling when I read the news? It has nothing on the rocket ride I’m on now. It’s not even my news. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve rooted for Cooper my whole life. “I couldn’t be happier for you. This is so amazing.”
His hands curl tighter around me. “I wanted you to be one of the first people to know.”
“You did?” This information sends a dangerous thrill through me.
“Hell yeah. You’re one of the most important people in my life. I told my mom first, and I had to see you next. I knew you’d be excited.”
“I’m glad you came here,” I say, my voice a little softer, and even though I want to believe he’s telling me because he harbors the same crazy, lifelong crush as I do, I know better. That wedding dance and the closeness I felt that night was a sliver in time. It hasn’t been repeated, but our friendship has grown even stronger.
Now that my brother’s married and busy with his wife, Cooper and I talk more. He’s here every few weeks for his haircut, and when he comes by in the evenings, we usually grab dinner after. That’s why he stopped by today. Because we’re friends. Great friends.
I give his hair a quick once-over. “I don’t think you have an appointment for a few days, but if you’re going to be the starting quarterback, we need to give you a haircut.”