When hair stylist Jai Hathaway decided to open his own salon, he knew he would sacrifice some of his personal time to run the business. But long hours working late have him feeling lonely, and he just doesn't seem to connect with the few men he dates. His business partner Kiki suggests what he needs is to find a different type of guy, someone who isn't in the salon business, but not only does Jai not know how to find a guy like that, he isn't even sure where to look.<br><br>On a particularly cold morning in January, the salon's hot water goes out and Jai scrambles to find a plumber on short notice. Enter Duane Schneider, sexy and confident, and interested in getting more than just Jai's hot water boiling. But he's so outside Jai's comfort zone that, at first, the stylist isn't sure how to react. When it becomes obvious Duane wants to continue things outside of business hours, though, Jai agrees to a date, if only to see where the evening might lead.<br><br>Is Kiki right when she said Jai needed to find someone different? Or will Duane turn out to be just his style after all?

Just My Style

“Kiki,” Duane says. “Since you’re here with me, I’m going to guess she isn’t your girlfriend.”


Jai laughs. “My business partner. We both own half the salon. She’s the one who dyed my hair blue, remember?”


Duane’s gaze drifts up to Jai’s naturally neutral toned locks. Darker than his normal shade, true, but at least it no longer looks Smurfy. “I see you dyed it back.”


“I didn’t pick the other color,” Jai admits, “and I could tell you weren’t entirely thrilled by it—”


“So you did it to impress me.” Something in Duane’s voice suggests he’s less than impressed.


“No,” Jai says. “I did it for me, but you were right. Blue’s cute when you’re twenty-two and hitting the clubs, not when you’re my age and have a business to run. Or trying to impress someone. Now the drapes match the carpet again, if you know what I mean.”


Chapter 19