“Fuck my chakras, they’re too needy.” Tabby’s expression grew serious. “Nix, are you sure—“
“If you ask me if I’m okay again, I will give you a backhander.”
Tabby raised her palms. “Fair enough. Check you later, food poker.”
Nicole waited until the moment she was gone and plunged the spoon back into the chicken. Food poker. How dare she? At least she cooked actual food. The last thing Tabby made was hard candy and she was pretty sure she’d put THC in it.
She set the meat on a paper-towel lined plate and stir-fried kale, carrot and baby corn into the wok. She was adding ginger marinade when the landline rang. Frowning, she headed for the hall. She’d half-forgotten they had a landline, let alone that people might call it. Yet there it was, on the little table, still covered in Tabby’s Barbie stickers. She’d get some eucalyptus oil and clean them off later. She picked up the receiver. “Hello, DaSilva residence?”
Nothing. Nicole could hear music playing in the background.
“Hello?”
“Yeah, uh, it’s Noah.”
Nicole had the bizarre urge to giggle. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Yeah. I’m still downstairs.”
“Okay…?”
“I need help with the new system. I can’t get my client’s card to swipe.”
A girl laughed in the background. The sound like nails down Nicole’s internal chalkboard. Danielle Bright, no doubt. She had a brief, insane urge to hang up then took a deep breath. “You need to open up the PayWave program—”
“I’ve tried all that,” Noah interrupted. “Look, I’m confused as fuck. Can you come give me a hand? Please?”
She looked at her pink t-shirt and cotton shorts. “I’m not dressed properly.”
“Please?”
“Um, sure. I’ll be there in a sec.”
She turned off the burner and headed for the door, pulling her hair out of her sloppy ponytail. This was a good test of her mettle. Even without makeup and clothes, she could still be professional in front of Noah. Shewouldbe professional in front of him.
She found him behind the counter fiddling with the card machine, and next to him was a girl with shiny ash-brown hair and amazing eyebrows.
“Oh hiiii!” she said. “Thanks so much for helping us!”
If Nicole had a wish, just one wish, she’d have granted herself a pencil skirt and a face full of makeup. This was sonota good test of her mettle. “N-no problem. I live upstairs. I’m Nicole DaSilva.”
The girl beamed. “I’m Daniella.Noahand I stayed back so he could finish my kitten tatt!”
Nicole felt legitimately sick. “Great, so uh, what’s the problem?” She looked at Noah, but he was staring at the computer, refusing to meet her gaze.
“I need to pay by card,” Daniella said. “I didn’t bring any cash even though I knowNoahlikes it better that way.”
God, the way she said his name made Nicole want to dive into a vat of battery acid. She bit the insides of her cheeks. “It’s okay, either I’ll get the machine working or we can arrange a money transfer.”
“Great!”
She moved to the counter and Noah stepped aside. The tension emanating from his big body was palpable. Was he embarrassed he’d called her to help? Or was he awkward because Daniella was making googly eyes at him and saying his name weird? Feeling slightly better, she restarted the payment program and reconnected the studio account to the payWave device.
“Is it okay if we run through your client details?” she asked Daniella.
The younger woman beamed. “Oh,Noahhas all that stuff already.”
“Here.” Noah shoved a post-it note at her. It read;Daniella Bright, 3”x4” tortoiseshell kitten. Five-hour session. $700.