Silas grinned. "Great," he said, stopping in front of his building. "I'll send a car for you tomorrow morning."
Joy hung back near the curb as he made his way inside, all the while wondering if she'd made one of the best decisions of her life or one of the worst.
Chapter 2
Joy sighed and zipped up her suitcase. She'd finished up most of her packing the previous night, but a few things ended up falling to the wayside and having to wait until morning. Glancing up at the clock, she saw that it was only nine-thirty and that she still had a good twenty minutes or so before Silas was set to arrive.
Taking a moment to unwind, Joy sat at the foot of her bed and looked around her room. Both of her roommates had left earlier that morning to catch flights back to their respective hometowns, and the apartment was already too quiet for comfort. It was a reality that made her all the more grateful for Silas's offer to accompany him home. While they might not have been the best of friends, at least someone in her inner circle was there for her when she needed them.
A knock at the front door tore Joy from her thoughts. Going to open it, she found Silas standing in the hall holding what appeared to be an empty trash bag. "Morning," he greeted, entering her apartment without being invited in.
"I thought it might be a good idea for you to bring anything that reminds you of you Dallas," he explained when he caught her staring at the bag. "My dad has a fire pit. I figured we could scorch it all. It's supposed to be therapeutic or whatever."
Joy gave him a look that was half skeptical and half amused. "Oh yeah? How do you figure?"
"Beats me," Silas said with a shrug, thrusting the bag out at her. "You don't have to do it if you don't want, but pack it all anyway. That way you at least have the option should the urge arise."
Joy didn't see any harm in that idea. It occurred to her that it might even be kind of nice to see Dallas, or at least some of his most cherished belongings, go up in smoke. "Okay," she agreed. "Give me ten minutes."
Silas nodded, taking a seat on the couch to wait for her. Joy appreciated that he seemed to understand that she didn't want anyone witnessing her stuffing the past four years of her life inside a trash bag. It wasn't, after all, her finest hour.
"Okay," Joy said once she was finished, resurfacing with both the trash bag and her luggage in hand. "I'm all set."
Silas got up and grabbed it all from her, hoisting it off the ground as he made his way to the door. "Come on then," he said when Joy didn't move. "It's a long drive into Maryland."
Pulling herself from her trance, Joy took a moment to lock up before following Silas outside, where a black town car was waiting for them at curb.
"Wait, your dad seriously sent a car for us?" Joy questioned, visibly taken aback. She'd honestly been under the impression that he was joking about that.
Silas chuckled. "Hey Vincent!" he called out, nodding past her. Joy followed his gaze over to an older gentleman with salt and pepper colored hair and a lanky build. He also had kind eyes, which settled on hers when he came around to open the door for her.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Price," he said, holding it open for her.
Joy stared at him like a fish out of water for a moment before remembering her manners. Snapping her lips shut, she gave him a cordial smile and shook his hand. "Likewise."
Climbing inside the car, Joy pulled the door shut before Vincent had a chance to close it himself. Silas might have been used to the royal treatment, but she wasn't. Quite the contrary, she found it somewhat unnerving to have someone waiting on her.
Sensing this, Vincent backed off and went to toss her and Silas's luggage in the trunk before climbing back in the car himself and starting off towards the freeway. Most of the two-hour car ride into Ocean City passed quietly, neither Silas nor Joy feeling the need to break the silence.
Joy, for the most part, was lost in her own thoughts. So many things had transpired in the past twenty-four hours that she was grateful for the chance to just sit and think. Of course, keeping with the current trend, whenever she wasn't distracted by outside events, her traitorous mind turned to Dallas.
Joy turned to Silas rather suddenly. "Can I ask you something?"
Realizing that he was being spoken to, Silas turned away from the passing scenery to look at her. "Sure," he said, his deep blue eyes glowing with curiosity. "Shoot."
"Do you think I'd look good with short hair?"
She blurted it out so quickly that it took Silas a moment to process her words.
"Uh … "
"I was just wondering if you thought I could pull it off," she continued, rambling. "I mean, not that it really matters, I guess, I was just-"
Silas held up a hand to cut her off. When she was finally quiet, he replied, "I think you'd look great with short hair."
Joy's entire face lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Joy shrugged and looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting in her lap. "Dallas loves my hair," she said, reaching up to touch a strand. "Therefore … I was thinking I should cut it."
Silas grinned. He'd always thought she was kind of cute when she got like this. "Well in that case, you should let my housekeeper do it," he suggested. "She goes to beauty school at night. I'm sure she wouldn't mind squeezing you in."
"Really?" Joy exclaimed, pausing to consider it.
Silas nodded. "Yeah, and from what I hear she's pretty good. I'm sure she'd make sure it's done to your liking."
Intrigued by the prospect of getting a new look without having to dish out a ton of money, Joy agreed, smiling to herself as she looked back out at the passing landscape.
"For the record," Silas said, bringing her attention back to him. "I think you'd look good with any hairstyle."
***
Joy and Silas were greeted by Silas's father, Peter Sullivan, and an attractive black woman someone in her early fifties when they arrived in Ocean City.
"That's Roberta," Silas told Joy, nodding towards the woman. "She's usually only here during the week, but I texted her letting her know to come by today just for you."
Joy frowned. "And you're sure I'm not putting her out?"
"Positive," Silas said, turning to face her. "Best you get it done right away. You know, before you can change your mind."
As true as that might have been, Joy still felt like a bit of a diva for making the woman work on a Saturday just for her. Hopping out of the car behind Silas, she followed him up the driveway, where Peter stepped forward to greet them.
"Kids," he said with a nod, pulling Silas into a tense hug before extending a hand for Joy to shake. "It's nice to see you again, Joy. Welcome to our home."
"Thank you," she said, returning his smile with one of her own.
Peter turned and gestured to Roberta. "And this is-"
"Roberta," she interjected, taking hold of Joy's hand and shaking it as well. "You must be by newest client."
Joy flushed under the woman's gaze. "Yeah, that's me," she affirmed, dropping her arm back down to her side.
Roberta's smile was infectious, so much so that Joy could feel herself smiling back despite how nervous she was. "Well, you already look good, so I'm not sure there's going to be much for me to do." She leaned in closer to her then, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Tell you the truth, I'm beginning to suspect that the Sullivan's don't think I can handle a challenge."
Peter laughed at this. "Or maybe we just don't want you to work too hard," he corrected, looking down at his watch. "Well, I've got to run. I've got a meeting with some investors, but I should be back in time for dinner tonight. Oh, and Silas?"
Silas turned to his father. "Yeah?"
"Try not to drive Vincent too crazy, alright?"
Silas smirked. "Can't make any promises."
Behind them, Vincent rolled his eyes, which made Joy wonder if this was always what it was like when Silas came home to visit. Before she had a chance to think about it any further, however, Roberta clapped her on the shoulder and gestured to the house. "Shall we?"