But her problems went far deeper than regrets or avoiding her old stomping grounds. What she hadn’t realized, what Jonathan had failed to mention, was that it appeared the Mane Attraction hair salon wasn’t in town at all but part of the Cedar Ridge Resort.

As in on the mountain.

But that wasn’t even the real problem. Nope, that honor went to Aidan Kincaid himself, reason number three for her leaving this place and never looking back.

And now she was on his family’s property.

It’s temporary, she reminded herself. This job, being here, it’s only until you get a call back on your resume for another job anywhere other than here. Still she pulled over and called Jonathan. “You were vague about the salon’s exact location,” she said, with what she thought was remarkable calm. “It’s not the one downtown.”

“No. That place went out of business five years ago.”

“I’m going to the resort, aren’t I?” she said.

“Yep.”

She put a hand to her pounding heart. “Oh, my God. Jonathan, I can’t. You know I can’t.” But even as she said it, she knew she had to. She’d sent out approximately thirty resumes over the past few weeks and though she stalked her email hourly, she had nothing else on tap. Nothing, nada, zip.

She also knew why. Yes, she’d managed to claw and fight her way to the very top of the food chain at one of San Diego’s premier salons, but she’d also had it all ripped from her with shocking ease.

Thanks to trusting her boss, who had asked her to leak some “confidential” client information to the press about a celebrity, a big celebrity—one known for her gorgeous hair. They’d done it before, lots of times. It was common practice. So she never thought twice about it—until it had backfired and she’d taken the fall. And thanks to the paparazzi fallout, no matter how great her resume looked, she’d been forced to move two states over, all the way back to Colorado, before she could get another job. A temporary—and pity—offering from the only person she’d kept in touch with here in Cedar Ridge.

Jonathan, who happened to run Mane Attraction.