Holding Strong. Lori Foster

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      ‘I’m the “Joanne” over the shop front,’ she corrected him. ‘Although everyone calls me Joey,’ she added—for some reason she wasn’t completely sure of. Her friends called her Joey—and this man was far from being that!

      ‘I hadn’t realised you’re actually the owner,’ he admitted. ‘No wonder you’re p—er—not feeling very happy—’ he amended whatever he had been about to say ‘—with Dominic Mason.’

      ‘He’ll win in the end, of course,’ she sighed, brushing away the cut hair from the back of his neck. ‘His sort always do. But I don’t intend moving from here until I absolutely have to,’ she added resolutely.

      She knew that her salon was probably causing problems to the building of the new Mason supermarket, standing as it did almost in the middle of the construction site! Good—any nuisance value she could give Dominic Mason was worth all the dust she had to contend with every day!

      ‘I can’t say that I blame you,’ the man acknowledged lightly, standing up once Joey had removed the pink wrap. ‘How much do I owe you?’

      ‘It’s eight pounds fifty for a trim,’ she related automatically, glancing at the serviceable watch on her wrist; nearly time to pick up Lily and her friend Daisy from ballet; it seemed flowers had been the fashion in girls’ names six years ago!

      ‘Damn!’ He had reached into his jeans pocket, the hand coming out empty. ‘I remember now. I left my wallet in my other clothes.’ He groaned. ‘A building site isn’t exactly the ideal place to carry money and credit cards.’

      Great. Now it turned out the man couldn’t even pay her for the haircut! As for his ‘other clothes’, the dusty jeans and shirt looked as if he had been wearing them for some time. Not that this was the first time something like this had happened to her, but it was usually one of Joey’s regular customers who had simply left their purse at home by mistake.

      ‘Look, I’m really sorry about this,’ the man apologised, dark colour staining the hardness of his cheeks. ‘Is it OK if I drop the money in first thing in the morning?’

      ‘Fine,’ Joey answered, sure she wasn’t going to see this man—or the money—the next day.

      Not that she was a cynic, exactly; it was just that life had a habit of throwing unexpected curves at her. Being taken in by this man was just one more thing to add to an already lengthy list!

      ‘You don’t believe me, do you?’ he realised slowly as he studied her with narrowed eyes.

      Joey gave him a quick smile. ‘I said it’s fine.’ After all, it had been her own time she had been wasting! Time, she realised after a second glance at her watch, that she no longer had to waste.

      ‘I hope I haven’t kept you from anything?’ He had obviously seen that second glance at her wristwatch.

      ‘Not at all,’ she assured him lightly. ‘And please don’t give paying for the haircut another thought.’ She waved a dismissive hand.

      ‘I’ve said I’ll pay you in the morning, and I will,’ he assured her grimly. ‘I should lock this door after me, if I were you,’ he advised firmly.

      Come-to-bed eyes and a caring nature…! Quite an attractive combination.

      No way, Joey, she immediately reproved herself. There were enough complications in her life already—finding new premises for her salon, as well as fending off Daniel Banning’s attempts to disrupt the life she had painstakingly built for Lily and herself—without finding herself attracted to a man who had a ‘heavy date’ this evening—and who didn’t even have the money to pay for his haircut!

      ‘Thanks.’ She followed him over to the door.

      He turned in the doorway. ‘I really will be by first thing in the morning to pay you,’ he repeated.

      ‘Of course you will.’ She nodded, unconvinced.

      His mouth tightened at her obvious scepticism. ‘What time do you open?’

      ‘Nine-thirty. But, as I’ve already said, don’t worry about it—’

      ‘Oh, but I will,’ he cut in softly. ‘It will probably keep me awake all night,’ he teased, before striding off to get into the dusty pick-up parked outside.

      Joey gave a derisive snort as she watched him drive away; he might not get any sleep tonight, but she had a definite feeling it would have more to do with his ‘heavy date’ than it would worrying over the fact that he owed her eight pounds fifty!

      ‘OK, Daisy, we’re home,’ Joey told her young charge drily. The two young girls seated in the back of the car were talking so much that she was sure neither of them was aware they had reached Daisy’s home.

      Joey wouldn’t mind, but the two girls saw each other every day at school, and for a couple of hours afterwards, but as soon as tea and homework were over Lily would be on the telephone to her best friend, talking away as if the two girls hadn’t seen each other for weeks!

      Had she ever been like that? Joey wondered ruefully. She didn’t think so. But, for all her faults, her mother had at least been waiting at home for her every day when she came home. Both being children of single mothers, neither Lily or Daisy had that…

      ‘Thanks.’ Daisy grinned at her before scrambling out of the back of the car.

      ‘Tell your mother I’ll be here to pick you up at eight-thirty in the morning,’ Joey told her automatically, returning Hilary’s wave as the other woman came out of the house to greet Daisy.

      Both on their own, the two women shared the responsibility of their two daughters while they juggled the careers they needed to support them—Joey driving the girls to school in the morning, Hilary picking them up in the afternoons and keeping Lily with her until Joey picked her up after work. The arrangement had worked very well so far.

      ‘Did you have a good day, Mummy?’ Lily asked interestedly as they drove the extra mile to their own home. She was a tiny replica of Joey—thank goodness Joey could see none of her father in her!

      Joey frowned. Until five-thirty it had been like all the other days she had had recently—busy, and dusty. Until she had been taken in by that—But there was no reason to bother Lily with that.

      ‘It was fine, darling,’ she responded lightly. ‘How about you?’

      Her daughter’s face was screwed up when Joey glanced at her in the driving mirror. ‘I’ve brought my spelling test home for Friday.’

      Joey held back a smile; the trouble with schoolwork was that it got in the way of Lily’s social life!

      ‘I’m sure we’ll cope,’ she promised, straight-faced. ‘Now, what do you fancy for tea today?’

      ‘Pasta and chicken nuggets,’ her daughter answered predictably—she very rarely willingly ate anything else.

      Joey smiled indulgently. ‘I think we’ll put a few peas with that, don’t you?’ she teased—Lily’s aversion to vegetables was universal in children her age.

      ‘If СКАЧАТЬ