{"id":263082,"date":"2026-07-14T14:21:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/hothead-colleen-charles\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:21:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:21:03","slug":"hothead-colleen-charles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/hothead-colleen-charles\/","title":{"rendered":"Hothead – Colleen Charles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Looks productive from the outside. Responsible. Driven. But around here, we know the difference between building something\u2026 and hiding inside it. Because sooner or later, the thing you\u2019re avoiding shows up anyway. And it usually doesn\u2019t knock. Playlist: \u201cThe Archer\u201d by Taylor Swift The alarm goes off at 4:47 AM. By seven, I\u2019ve booked myself solid through dinner. This is what I can control. Carrie shows up at eight looking confused by my energy. \u201cDid you sleep down here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got an early start.\u201d \u201cGisele.\u201d She sets down her coffee, studies me with the disconcerting perceptiveness of someone who\u2019s worked beside me for three years. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d \u201cNothing happened. I\u2019m motivated.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re manic.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m an entrepreneur in a competitive market.\u201d I grab my appointment book, flip through pages I\u2019ve already memorized. \u201cThere\u2019s no room for complacency.\u201d Carrie doesn\u2019t push further, but I can feel her watching me as I move through the morning. Watching and cataloging and probably drawing conclusions I don\u2019t want to examine.<\/p>\n

The first client arrives at 8:30. Then the next. Then three more in rapid succession. I fall into the rhythm of it\u2014the comfortable dance of consultation, application, transformation. This is what I\u2019m good at. This is what I can control. My phone buzzes again around ten. Bennett. Everything okay? I should respond. Should explain that I need space, or that I\u2019m busy, or literally anything that doesn\u2019t involve staring at his name on my screen. Me: Slammed today. Talk later. Three words. Casual.<\/p>\n

Friendly. The kind of text you send to someone who doesn\u2019t matter. The lie tastes bitter, but I swallow it anyway. Because it\u2019s easier than admitting we\u2019ve been having sexual encounters non-stop and now I\u2019m terrified of what that means. Easier than facing the fact that I want him again. Right now. All the time. Around noon, my inbox does something unexpected.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m between clients, scarfing down a protein bar that tastes like cardboard wrapped in disappointment, when an email notification pops up. The subject line makes me stop mid-chew. Partnership Opportunity – Luxe Beauty Collective Luxe Beauty is a regional brand I\u2019ve been following for years\u2014indie- owned, quality products, the kind of company that actually cares about the people using their stuff instead of just chasing margins. They\u2019ve been expanding their salon partnerships lately, and I\u2019ve fantasized about reaching out but never had the guts.<\/p>\n

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except for brief quotations used in reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author\u2019s imagination or used fictitiously.<\/p>\n

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC Cover design by Nemanja Vranjkovi\u0107 Designs Editing by Everlight Press This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.<\/p>\n

OceanofPDF.com Contents A Note From Sorrowville The Asshole Whisperer Practice Makes Perfectly Unhinged Called To The Office New Rules, No Escape Chair Of Accountability Fresh Cut, No Mercy Breathe Or Fight Me Equipment Failure Bixie This The Non-Date Don’t Ask Me Twice Handled Booked, Busy, and Not Thinking About Him Everybody\u2019s Got Opinions Nobody Puts Gisele in a Corner Forty-Seven Emotions and a Curtain Her Favorite Everything Feel It To Win It Tale Of Two Cities The Other Shoe What I Built Everything To Lose Say It Again No Taking It Back Stay The Night We Earned It Forward Ours OceanofPDF.com Dearest Grumpy-Gutted Puck-Chasers, You\u2019re back.<\/p>\n

Good. Because we\u2019ve got a situation. And not the quiet, mind-your-business kind, either. I\u2019m talking full- blown, middle-of-Main-Street, traffic-stopping, what-in-the-hell-is-he- doing kind of problem. Six foot four. Two hundred twenty pounds. Captain of your beloved Slammers. Sitting. In the road. A man who\u2019s just run out of ways to hold himself together.<\/p>\n

Now, I could let him sit there. Let him figure it out on his own. Wouldn\u2019t be the first time someone in this town tried to out-stubborn their own heart. But where\u2019s the fun in that? Especially when I happen to know\u2014purely by coincidence, of course\u2014 that the only person in Sorrowville equipped to handle a meltdown of this magnitude owns a salon, has a weakness for fixer-upper men, and keeps feelings organized on color-coded Post-its like that\u2019s going to save her from anything.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t. Nothing ever does. Not when the right person gets involved. So here\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen. She\u2019s going to walk out that door, take one look at him, and decide\u2014 against all better judgment\u2014that he\u2019s worth the trouble. He\u2019s going to pretend he doesn\u2019t need her. She\u2019s going to pretend she believes that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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