Second Chance at Love(70)

“I understand. But to be honest she was more concerned about my love and commitment to you.” Dom flashed a sexy grin. “Don’t worry, I assured her you were never getting rid of me.”



Karen chuckled. “You are so crazy.”



Shaking his head, he laughed. “No, this is crazy.”



Karen’s mouth hung open in disbelief as he replayed Kyle’s interrogation of the flirty waitress. “Shut up! No my child did not ask that woman that?”



She could feel Dom’s chest vibrate as he laughed. “I took care of it. I had a little chat with them both about respecting adults regardless of their behavior.”



“Good,” Karen said wrapping her arms around his neck. “Enough of that. Now tell me how much you missed me.”



And that’s exactly what he did.





Chapter 31




Morning of the Wedding



Karen’s home was a flurry of activity as she and her girls excitedly buzzed about preparing for her big day. Their pampering had begun before sunrise. Lisa, Karen’s longtime manicurist, had opened her nail salon at five forty-five to accommodate the bridal party.



Thank goodness she didn’t have to deal with cranky children this morning. Donna had picked them up after school the day before. She and Ashley had gone to have their manicures and pedicures done yesterday. Patrick had taken Kyle to the barber for a cut.



Karen was completely blown away when they arrived. The salon was decorated with black and violet balloons and streamers. A table of muffins, croissants, bagels, butter, jams, various juices and coffee had been prepared. Lisa even went a step further, bringing in a technician for each of them.



“Oh, Lisa this is so nice,” Karen gushed, not believing she had been so thoughtful as to make this day even more special.



The other women looked around the beautifully decorated space, agreeing with her.



Going to the petite Asian woman, Karen gave her a big hug. “You didn’t have to do all of this.”



“You stop. You know you my best customer.” And she wasn’t telling a lie. Karen had been one of her first loyal customers when she opened her doors some ten years ago. She had also helped Lisa to study for the U.S. citizenship test. With Karen’s busy schedule and Lisa running a business, it had taken them six months to prepare. But she passed the test the first time and was now a productive U.S. citizen.



Smiling and looking over at the other technicians, Lisa teased in her thick Vietnamese accent, “We got to get her ready for wedding night so she make baby.”



“Lisa! Stop it!” Karen playfully scolded, hitting Lisa with her fluffy scarf.



The tiny salon erupted in laughter. Lisa’s warm and comical personality is what kept Karen and most of her customers coming back.



After they’d divested of their winter gear, Lisa led Karen to a pedicure station. One technician led Summer to the other station, while the other two led Ava and Starr to the manicure stations.



Karen and Summer both sighed at the same time as their feet eased into the water just hot enough not to burn. Lisa and Summer’s technician took their places on the stools at the foot of the bowls.



Gently lifting one of Karen’s feet out of the water, Lisa said, “Tell me about this party you had,” as she began her ministrations.



It was Ava who groaned, “Oh dear God in heaven.”



Starr snickered beside her as she looked over her shoulder to see both Karen and Starr roll their eyes.



When no one said anything Lisa frowned. Looking up at Karen she tugged on her foot.



“Girl! What happen?”



Karen laughed. Lisa was a hot mess. If she wasn’t telling bits and pieces of her own gossip she was interrogating her clients for theirs.



“Well…what had happened was…”



Dropping her head, Summer laughingly muttered, “Oh boy, here we go,” as Karen began to tell the adventure of a lifetime.



The morning after meeting with the wedding planner, Karen gets a call from her mother telling her that she and the other ladies were taking her to Vegas for her bachelorette party.



“Mom, I have to work and what am I going to do with the kids?”



Karen could just see her mother waving her off as she said, “I talked to your boss and he agreed to give you the time off. And the men are going to take care of the children.”



“Mom, you did what?” she asked in disbelief.



Donna countered with, “Is something wrong with your hearing?”



Letting out a deep breath, “No Mom, but I can’t just pick up and go to Vegas.”



“Sure you can. If the other girls can do it, so can you. Now get off this phone and get packing. The limo will be there in an hour.”