Love Starts with Elle(76)

“You overestimate my influence.”

“I hear you’re a praying woman. If you don’t have the influence, perhaps He does.”

He heard she was a praying woman? “Perhaps.”

“Thanks, Elle.” Danny exited the studio without looking back.

From her window, she watched him go, feeling for the first time the longing of his heart. “My own daughter calls me Mr. Danny.”





TWENTY-THREE

Julianne’s was busy when Elle entered the salon. The bell on the door announced her arrival. “What are you doing here?” Julianne clicked on the shears to shave the neck of the man sitting in her chair.

“Came to see you.” Maybe she should’ve waited until the salon closed, but hanging around the studio thinking of Danny’s confession had stoked a fire in Elle’s belly. She tried to settle down and paint, but when she rehearsed confronting Julianne for the hundredth time, she decided to talk to her in person.

“Afternoon, Elle,” Mrs. Pratt called over her shoulder from where Lacy polished her nails. “I hear Jeremiah’s back in your life.”

Julianne ducked her embarrassed cheeks behind her client’s head.

Big mouth. Talk about your own life if you want to gossip. Maybe coming in during business hours to confront her wasn’t such a good idea.

“He is, Mrs. Pratt.” It’s all the woman needed to know.

Julianne finished up with her customer, a young man dressed as a civilian but with the strut of a marine. She thanked him for coming by, then reached for the broom. “What’s up, sister dear?”

“Can I talk to you? In private?” Elle motioned to the break/storage room.

“Sounds serious.” Julianne swept brown hair into a dust pan. “Let me check on Miss Dora’s set first.” She walked over to the dryers, lifted the hood, felt the curlers, then told the woman five more minutes.

In the back room, Elle sniffed around the last of the morning donuts, but decided against eating one.

Jules yanked open the fridge. “Now that I have my own business, I can’t imagine how you sold the gallery.”

“Love is blind.”

“Maybe, but it shouldn’t make you stupid.” Julianne pulled out a bottle of water, letting the door swing shut. “What’s wrong? Is it Jeremiah?” She grabbed a basket of towels off the dryer. “I’m going to say this straight up, Elle. I know SB, MJ, and Candace agree—the man doesn’t deserve you. Do you really want to be married to him after what he did?”

“People make mistakes, Jules.”

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

“Is that why you won’t tell Mama and Daddy about Danny?”

Julianne didn’t flinch, but folded a towel, tucking her red lips into a tight line. “I don’t know why they have to know who I’m dating—”

“He told me.”

“Told you what?” Julianne snapped another towel from the basket. “Danny Simmons is used to getting what he wants and it burns my hide to have him sneaking around to the family, talking about my business.”

“He seems to think Rio is his business.” Elle picked up a towel to fold, keeping her voice low. I’m on your side.

Julianne thrust a folded towel onto the pile with such force the stack toppled to the floor. She swore as she stooped to pick them up. “Now I have to wash them all over again.”

“The floor looks clean to me. Isn’t there a five-second rule?”

“No, there’s not.” Julianne shoved Elle aside and tossed the fallen towels into the machine.

“Is he Rio’s daddy?”

“You with your questions.” She measured out detergent and poured it in, slamming down the lid.

“The irony is killing me, Jules. You won’t use a towel on a customer that hit a clean floor for two seconds, but you’re willing to let your family and friends believe Rio came from a one-night stand?”

“Towels and my personal affairs do not equate.” She trembled as she reached for the remainders in the basket.

“Jules.” Elle grabbed her hands. “Is it true?”

A light knock against the door and Lacy called, “Julianne, your four o’clock arrived.”

“Thanks, I’ll be right out.” Julianne eyed Elle, control replacing the tremors. “So what if he is?”

Why did she make everything so hard? “Then you can come clean, get married, move out of the dump you call home. Rio can have a daddy, Jules.”

“It’s not that simple.”

Elle smacked her hand down on the washing machine. Her bracelets clanked against the metal. “Why not? Why is everything so complicated? Do you know how relieved Daddy and Mama would be? Maybe a little weird about the age thing and the fact that Danny is Daddy’s friend and all, but, Jules, they’d be elated.”

Steely brown eyes held on to Julianne’s resolve. Elle knew her sister’s cloaked confession did not mean one brick in her wall had come down. “I’m not telling anyone anything. And you’re still under our pinky oath.”

“I’m sorry, that’s not good enough. Jules, you best give me a reason why you won’t come clean on this. You have a wonderful man who loves you and longs to do the right thing.”