Demons Prefer Blondes (Demons Unleashed #1)(8)

Mrs. Carlson blushed—something Lucy had never seen her do—ever. This man was a god. “I suppose a pedicure would be nice. I haven’t had one in a while.” She giggled like a young schoolgirl and turned to Lucy. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Lucy.”

Lucy? The old withered witch never called her Lucy. Amazing. She tossed a sidelong glance at Gerardo, who stood with mouth wide open.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Carlson. I got sidetracked and didn’t mean to leave the solution on so long. If you want me to flat iron it, I will. Then you can come back in a few days for a relaxer. No charge.”

Mrs. Carlson nodded and smiled. “Okay, Lucy. Thank you.”

Hot-Bod grinned, took a seat, and waited while Lucy and Gerardo worked on Mrs. Carlson, who chose the deluxe pedicure instead. Lucy wasn’t one to argue. Strangely enough, neither was Gerardo. Luckily for Gerardo, her feet weren’t near as bad as Mrs. Gunderson’s.

When they were finished, Lucy and Gerardo turned Mrs. Carlson around for her approval, which, ever since Mr. Universe appeared, seemed to happen more often than not. “I love it,” she exclaimed with glee. “I’ll send Larissa down to make arrangements for the wedding.”

Wow! She’d almost fried her head and Mrs. Carlson still wanted her to do her prospective daughter-in-law’s hair? Bonus! She should bring him home to mom and let him work his magic. Then she’d know for a fact if he was a god or just lucky.

“Sounds great, Mrs. C. See you on Saturday?”

Smiling, Mrs. Carlson nodded and slipped something into Lucy’s hand. “A little tip for your trouble, dear.”

Lucy glanced down at the money. A hundred-dollar bill? She must’ve been transported to an alternate universe where things were the opposite. Then again, she didn’t feel any different.

“Sorry, Mrs. C. I can’t take this.” Lucy handed the money back to her. “Not until you’re completely satisfied.”

She pouted but took back the money. “Oh, all right, sweetie. I’ll tell Joshua you said hello?”

“Please do.” Lucy smiled back, despite the weirdness. “And Larissa, too?”

“Sure.” Mrs. Carlson raised her hand into a friendly wave. With a spring in her step, she left the salon.

With a wide grin, Hot-Bod rose from his chair and approached the desk. “I hope you don’t mind my interfering?”

Hell no, she didn’t mind him interfering. He could interfere anytime he wanted. “Not at all. Like you said, you’re a very good negotiator.” Lucy smiled and her cheeks warmed. “Although, I admit, ‘very good’ is an understatement, Mr.…”

“Deleon. Rafael Deleon.” The man smiled, deep dimples forming in each of his cheeks. His silver eyes swirled like two giant pools. Beautiful in a completely masculine way. “You can call me Rafe.”

So, Rafe, do you want a job? She wouldn’t mind having some smooth negotiating for those hairy situations. “Thank you, Rafe. I don’t know how to repay you. I haven’t seen Mrs. Carlson that happy in a long time.” More like forever. “Right, Gerardo?”

She turned to Gerardo. If this were a cartoon, he would’ve had those animated hearts in his eyes. He batted his eyelashes and a giddy smile curved his lips. She’d never seen Gerardo this excited over a little eye candy. Maybe she was lucky Frankie had the day off. Then she’d have two enraptured gay men on her hands.

“Gerardo!”

He jumped about a foot in the air. “What?” He glanced around, a sheepish smile on his face. “Oh, my bad. Can I help you?”

Lucy shook her head. “Sorry, Gerardo’s a tad occupied with his new toy. So how can we help you?”

Rafe crossed his gloriously ripped arms. Fabio had nothing on this guy. His muscles bulged in places she didn’t know muscles existed. Yummy with a capital Y. “I came to search for something.”

“Something?” Lucy snickered. “What sort of something? We’ve got a lot of things here. How about a pedicure?” If his feet looked as good as the rest of his body, he didn’t need one. “Or some shampoo and conditioner. You seem like a guy who knows how to take care of his hair.”

“That’s for sure,” Gerardo chimed in. “I’ve never seen hair so shiny. Not a split end in sight. What brand do you use?”

Rafe arched a brow. “Brand?”

“Conditioner.” Gerardo leapt over the desk and reached for a strand of Rafe’s hair.

In a blink of an eye, Rafe spun around, grabbed Gerardo’s arm and pinned him against the desk. Elbow at Ger’s neck, he held firm, his gaze stony. “I did not give you permission to touch me.”

Great! Her fantasy come to life was a homophobe. Not that she had a chance in hell with such a fine specimen of man. Even if his gaze looked like he wanted to eat her up. And he was manhandling her employees anyway. “Let him go! He didn’t mean any harm. He just wanted to check your hair out.”

Loosening his hold on Gerardo’s feathers, Rafe lowered his elbow. Several crumpled feathers floated to the ground. Poor Gerardo. That was his favorite shirt.

He raked his fingers through his hair and backed away. “Next time, ask.”

Rubbing his neck, Gerardo nodded. He slumped against the desk. “?Ay Dios mío!” he murmured as he crumbled to a little ball on the floor.