“I bet you’ll look just as pretty then, too.” Darius winked. “Evening, Ms. Novella.”
Novella waved her thin comb at him. “Save your attentions for the empty-headed young girls who want them.”
“All I did was say hello, Ms. Novella. Any hidden meanings are purely a figment of your vivid imagination.” Darius settled back on his chair.
Novella blushed as the salon filled with laughter.
Jack chuckled. “Still have all the town’s single women fighting over you?”
“If that’s your intel, you need to check your sources.”
“What are you two talking about over there?” Novella yelled to be heard over the dryers.
Darius raised his voice in return. “Ms. Novella, you know it’s not polite to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.”
The older woman gasped. “I’m not eavesdropping! I just want to make sure you talk some sense into Jack. That man is not leaving here looking like that. It could ruin the salon’s reputation.”
Darius’ silent chuckles shook his shoulders. “Jack can make his own decisions, ma’am. And Belinda doesn’t seem concerned.”
Jack lowered his voice. “Novella Dishy is just as mean as she’s ever been.”
“What are you saying, Jack?” Novella shouted.
Jack closed his eyes briefly. “Just catching up with Darius, ma’am.”
Darius watched him intently. “Man, I wish I could say you looked good, but . . .”
Not him, too. Jack scowled. “Don’t lose sleep over it.”
“The only reason it bothers me is that I know it would bother Zoey.”
Jack gave Darius a sharp look. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Don’t you know how scared she was to leave you alone? With her and Kerry gone—”
“Don’t bring Kerry into this.”
“This isn’t about her.” Darius shifted toward him. “It’s not about you, either. It’s about Zoey. She was worried you wouldn’t have anyone to take care of you.”
Jack looked away. It was killing him to hear how scared his daughter had been as she was dying. But she hadn’t been afraid for herself. She’d been worried for him. Hearing that made him feel worse. But Darius’s words kept coming.
“How do you think she would feel if she saw you now? You don’t look anything like her beloved dad.”
“Stop it.” Jack’s pulse raced.
“What would she think if she saw what you allowed to happen?”
“Stop.” Jack couldn’t catch his breath.
“How do you think she would feel, knowing her worst fear has come true? You look more like the Beast from her favorite fairy tale than her father.”
Jack jerked toward his tormentor. This was the second time someone had compared his appearance to the beast in “Beauty and the Beast.” “I know what you’re doing.”
“No one said you were stupid.”
Jack breathed heavily. “And you’re smarter than you look.”
“Don’t let that get around.”