Sparks Fly with Mr. Mayor Read Online Free

me.”
    â€œIt’s okay, Lydia. You’re entitled to your opinion,” Dani assured the woman.
    â€œIt’s not that.” Lydia gestured over her shoulder to where Cole stood talking to Palmer and Wilcox. “They’re over there hatching plans on how to handle us women, like we don’t know how to make up our own minds.”
    â€œOh, surely they didn’t go there,” Mrs. Day huffed.
    â€œOh, yes, they did.” Lydia paced in front of the counter. She shook her head. “I expected better from Cole. He’s usually smarter than that.”
    Dani rolled her eyes. Why was she not surprised by Cole’s dismissive attitude? “That’s my problem with this whole controversy. The sports complex jocks aren’t even listening to our side. It’s as if we’re children and they have to protect us from ourselves. It’s insulting.”
    Mrs. Sullivan placed a warm hand over Dani’s. “You have the power to stop them.”
    Dani sighed and gave in to the inevitable. “I’ll think about it.”
    Â 
    When the door opened and closed again, all chatter abruptly ended. Cole Sullivan in all hismasculine glory sauntered up to the counter. He sent a smile around the room, touching each woman individually.
    Dani swore she heard a twitter and had to control an eye roll. Instead she pasted on her own anemic smile.
    â€œMayor,” she said, “can I help you?”
    â€œI’m here for a cut.”
    â€œOh.” She hadn’t expected that. She glanced at the three occupied stations. “It’ll be about twenty minutes before anyone’s free. Would you like to come back?”
    â€œI’ll wait.”
    Dani tried to outlast Cole, hoping he’d get tired of the female chatter and peel away.
    No such luck. And thirty minutes was all the proprietor in her would allow.
    Her second hope, that the shop would empty out so there’d be less of an audience for the impromptu performance, was also doomed to failure.
    Not only did nobody leave, new customers joined the crowd until her little shop nearly burst at the seams. The shop featured three hair stations, three pedi-massage chairs and two nail stations. Including her there were only four stylists, but no one seemed to mind. Every seat was occupied, plus two women wandered through the shop’s miniboutique in the sizable lobby.
    At least she’d profit from Cole’s visit.
    â€œMr. Sullivan.” She gestured for him to take a seat in her chair.
    He sauntered over, tall and lean and graceful. Dani swallowed hard but held her ground.
    Before he sat he leaned close. “Call me Cole.”
    â€œSure.” Her smile was all teeth. Not going to happen.
    Determined to play this cool, as if he were any other customer, she fought an unnatural reluctance to touch him and fanned her fingers through his hair. For a good cut she needed to get a feel for the texture, curl and resiliency. Soft to the touch, his dark brown hair clung to her fingers as she combed the thick, healthy waves.
    Sexy. And sweet sugar cookies, he smelled good, like clean earth and clean man.
    â€œWhat do you want done today?” she asked.
    Hearing the unusual huskiness in her voice, she gave herself a quick internal pep talk. Pull it together, girl. You’re a professional, he’s a client, you can do this.
    â€œSame style, just shorter.”
    â€œRight.” Picking up a spray bottle, she met his blue gaze in the mirror, careful to keep her demeanor cool and professional. “The cut comes with a shampoo or, if you prefer, I can just spritz you?”
    â€œOh, I want the whole experience.” The words challenged even as his eyes glittered an invitation to enjoy the adventure.
    â€œOf course.” Dashed hopes were piling up. Hewasn’t going away and he wasn’t going to make the visit easy. Well, let’s see how he likes the smock. She used the garment instead of the