Begin Again novel Chapter 33

Franco's was everything Eden would never have imagined—well, the exterior at least.

As she gaped at the concrete structure, located on the east side of Forrest Creek, the industrial part of the neighbourhood, she thought she might have taken a wrong turn somewhere, but her trusty GPS— with Siri's help, of course—had followed the directions to the T.

There's no way she was lost, no way she's at the wrong place.

But the flat-roofed, single-story building, with its murky windows and rusty steel door, was—Underwhelming. Disappointing. Not at all what Eden expected from a revered hairstylist.

The inside though was a different story, Eden could swear she'd stepped into the grandest hotel in town. The decor was exquisite, the furniture lush, and the service top-notch.

As a smiling hostess placed a complimentary mimosa in her hand and showed her to one of the few empty armchairs lining the room, Eden understood why the man charged so much even for a haircut. The overhead expenses to keep this place afloat had to be insane, and he had to cover up the cost somehow.

She'd barely had time to take in her lavish surroundings when the hostess returned with a clipboard and pen in hand, "I'm Naomi, Franco's assistant. Could you please complete this for our golden boy?"

It was a style profile questionnaire, designed to help Franco figure out what to do with Eden's "oh so gorgeous hair," as Naomi gushed, touching her locks.

Ordinarily, Eden would have slapped her hand away. She didn't like random strangers touching her. But she was still dazed by all the luxury she's swimming in.

Cassandra, dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, an old university hoodie, and combat boots, her helmet tucked under her arm, chose that moment to walk in.

"Sorry I'm late, the bike's giving me trouble again," her friend grumbled as she pulled her in a fierce hug, clinging to her like they haven't seen each other in years even though they'd spent last night bitching about Liam over Chinese takeout.

"Maybe it's time to let it go?" Eden suggested. Even though Cassandra had a fairly new Jeep, she still preferred her junk of a scooter.

"Would you let Aiden go as soon as he starts coughing?" Cassandra made a face at her.

"Not the same thing," Eden groaned and scrambled back to her seat when a fresh wave of customers rolled in and eyed her chair like it was the hottest commodity in town.

She understood Cassandra's reluctance though; her friend bought the bike herself after working countless part-time jobs, it's been with her since their first year of college.

"So, what do you think?" Cassandra asked as she perched herself on the armrest, her helmet resting loosely in front of her. There was no sitting room anywhere.

"It's insane," Eden said, her gaze gliding through the room, zoning in on Franco's clientele. They were all gorgeous, classy women and men dressed to the nines, and she knew they were all somewhat loaded. No way they'd even get an appointment with Franco if they were struggling to buy dog food.

"I feel a little overwhelmed. Why didn't you warn me about this place? Look at all that gold plating on the mirrors. It has to be real gold, right? And are those like real rubies?" Eden carried on, pointing at the gem-crusted chandelier on the ceiling, her eyes wide with awe.

"Stop it," Cassandra rolled her eyes, but a faint, amused smile tugged at her lips. "You're embarrassing me. And I wasn't asking about the place. Duh! I meant your new look."

"Right," Eden smiled sheepishly and returned her attention to the questionnaire.

"So? Have you decided yet?'

Eden shook her head, tapping the pen on the clipboard. She hadn't thought that far ahead and now that she's here, about to take the plunge, she was seriously starting to question her decision to switch up her look. And she had no clue what Naomi wanted from her; the style questionnaire meant to help narrow her options was only adding to her confusion.

"Maybe just a wash and trim," she decided, as she passed the mimosa to her friend. She was still off alcohol—for reasons still unclear to all of them—and there's no need to let a free drink go to waste.

Cassandra was horrified by the idea of a simple wash and trim, but she took the drink and gulped it down in one go.

Eden stared at her open-mouthed; it wasn't even 9:30 AM.

"What?" Cassandra shrugged, reading the look of horror in her eyes for what it is. "It's 8:00 PM somewhere."

"Right," Eden nodded, laughing at her reasoning; it's not surprising she and Lydia got along so well. They were two peas in a pod.

She stared at the form on her lap again and completed as much as she could while Cassandra dashed to the front desk.

Her friend was back moments later with an armful of magazines and newfound conviction, "if you're going to get a makeover, you gotta go all in. You can't be half-assed about it."

They spent a little while browsing through the different hairstyles and hair colours, and catching up. When the four of them are together, it's hard to keep up with everything going on in their lives, so it's nice to catch up one on one sometimes, as they were doing now.

"How are things with Skye?" Eden asked as she flipped through the pages of a Vogue magazine.

Skye is Cassandra's Norse god of a boyfriend with abs and muscles for days and the greyest eyes Eden's ever seen. He was sweet to a fault too.

"He's good." Her friend replied absently.

"But?" Eden nudged.