Chapter 49: Heartbreaker
Ella sat on the velvet stool in front of the ornate vanity, watching her reflection with growing anxiety. Her hair was clipped up in sections, the scent of lavender-infused hair mist hanging in the air. Loose strands fell across her forehead, and she kept trying to tuck them behind her ear, only for them to bounce back.
Nicholas was behind her, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and that irritatingly smug grin tugging at his lips.
"Stop staring at me like I’m a science experiment," she muttered, narrowing her eyes at him through the mirror.
"I’m not," he said easily. "Science experiments are dull. This is more like watching a masterpiece unfold."
Ella rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help the slight upturn of her lips. "You’re laying it on thick today."
He stepped forward slowly, casually, like a big cat circling its prey—though in this case, the prey was currently having mousse massaged into her scalp.
"I just think it’s a crime," he said as he came to stand behind her, "that you’ve hidden all this under baseball caps and ponytails for so long."
Ella bristled slightly. "It’s practical. I don’t have the time or the money to—"
"You don’t need excuses," he interrupted gently, his tone softening. "You’re beautiful however you are. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a little magic sometimes."
One of the stylists—a cheerful, middle-aged woman named Marnie—smiled between them like she was witnessing something sacred. "He’s not wrong, sweetheart. You’ve got the kind of hair women bring photos of to salons and say, ’Make me look like her.’"
Ella blinked. "Really?"