Page 35 of Securing Samantha

She set the tool on the counter and stepped back. She grabbed something and brushed the hair off him.

“All finished,” she told him softly.

She turned the chair and smiled when his eyes widened at the image in the mirror. He looked almost the same as he did before without the bulk of muscles. Her eyes shined in the mirror as she watched his reaction.

“I think you turned into a miracle worker. You managed to turn this ugly mug into a handsome guy,” he teased.

She gagged at his words and laughed.

“I’ll put some products in a bag for you to take home. You can take LJ next weekend. I want you to spread this on your face every day after showering. I don’t want to hear how moisturizers are only for women. I made this for men and it’s one of my most popular products.” She moved and took up a broom, sweeping away his clippings into a small vacuum unit low to the floor.

He stood and walked to her counter. “Can I grab some more of the Whiskey and Sunshine Tea? I’ve a fondness for it.”

She stopped for a moment and muttered, “I think I have some in the back.”

He placed a couple of smaller bags of tea he wanted to try on her counter. Her phone dinged with a text lighting up the screen. A picture of her and a man holding LJ with the New York skyline popped up and Bryan’s name appeared.

Send me the day you want to leave and when you want to return. My meeting’s in Portland, then I’ll drive to Seattle. I’ll schedule the tickets and we can fly back together.

Anger filled him. Who was this man standing close to her and holding his son. His jaw ticked and his nose flared as he attempted to breathe. His hands curled into fists, and he felt like hurling his guts out all over the floor.

Samantha rounded the corner. She checked the label on the jar she held as he gripped the counter and picked up her phone.

“Who the hell is this?” he demanded. “Who’s the man holding my son?”

Confusion crossed her face then her gaze moved to the phone he held in his hand. She angrily crossed the distance between them and slammed the creams on the counter. She jerked out a bag and began packing it aggressively.

“Bryan Jennings. He’s the VP of Jenning’s cosmetics which produces several lines of specialty skincare. He took us on a tour of New York,” she angrily explained.

“It seems like you got rather cozy,” he gritted out.

She slammed both her hands down on the metal counter making him flinch. She took a deep breath, and she acted as if she counted inside her head.

“Let’s get something straight. You divorced me. You no longer get a say in what I do or don’t do. You pushed us away. If it wasn’t for LJ, I swear…” Her body physically shook, and Whiskey recalled the men’s discussion on a woman’s psycho meter. He braced himself to experience one of those moments tipping the Richter scale.

“I apologize, Samantha. I’ve no business accusing you of anything.” He began to back up. Her eyes practically glowed and he almost turned to flee.

“You’re damn right. Don’t come in here expecting me to take pity on you again. You’re such a hypocrite Liam ‘Whiskey’ O’Neil. You don’t want me. I’m supposed to shrivel up and die while you play the field and continue to hurt me? I don’t know what world you live in, but I can tell you now, the world ‘we’ live in only includes the one where our son exists. Go to your precious Kassie and let her cut your hair! Don’t you question my honor ever again. I tried and you walked away.” She grabbed the bag and his arm and dragged him to the door.

Her strength surprised him while his brain attempted to catch up with her angry onslaught of emotions. She opened the door and shoved him out. She thrust the bag into his arms.

His hand shot out and held the door before she slammed it shut. “I need to pay ya, lass,”

“Trust me, you’ve paid me back more than I ever believed you capable of!” She jerked the door shut making the older windows on the side shutter.

Whiskey stood on the sidewalk and watched as she angrily stomped to the back of the shop. Confusion and hurt rolled in his stomach. Visions of her and the pretty sissy of a man holding LJ clouded his mind. He automatically walked to his truck and got inside. Her car sat parked next to his and he debated waiting for her and apologizing again. He mentally recalled the conversation of where Kassie and Victoria rated on the scale and once he compared their abilities to what he witnessed with Samantha, she rated at least an eight. When he saw her round the corner of the cash register staring at his tinted windowed truck, he knew she waited for him to leave. Sighing he backed out of the parking stall and headed to the mountain, more confused than ever.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Samantha watched as Whiskey pulled out of the parking spot before sinking behind the counter and letting herself have a good cry. Sometimes a girl needed a good bawling session.

She read Bryan’s message and texted the days she scheduled to fly to New York. Dropping LJ off Thursday evening gave her three full days. She made a note to contact one of the men from the team because she held no desire to talk to Whiskey. Blood boiled in her veins at his implication. She didn’t pick up a stranger from a bar. No. She went to meetings and bought special books for her son. They practiced how to get help if he saw a military person struggling. In reality, she prepared her son for his dad. She wanted Whiskey to develop a relationship with LJ. She didn’t have any reason to feel bad because Whiskey decided she shouldn’t go on with her life. She picked herself up off the floor.

Grabbing her bag and keys, she locked up her business, and walked to her car. Samantha drove in the direction of the mountain. The phone rang as she made it out of town.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hello, beautiful,” Bryan’s sexy deep voice came over the speakers in the car. “Did you have a good day?”

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