Irrepressible You by Georgina Penney Read Free Book Online Page B

tea was brewed, she arranged everything on a tray, added a few chocolate chip biscuits for comfort and wandered into her living room. Minutes later her favourite movie was playing on her ancient, boxy TV and she was curled up on her battered lounge with a faded purple crocheted afghan pulled around her shoulders. She’d forgotten to retrieve her glasses from her bedside, but it didn’t matter. She knew every scene, every piece of dialogue and every song in the film by heart.
    As Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe played their comical game of cat and mouse in Some Like It Hot , she felt her body relaxing and eyes getting heavy. It wasn’t until halfway through the film that Marilyn’s breathy voice and the beating rain worked their magic, and Amy drifted off to sleep.
    By lunchtime on Saturday, Amy’s feet were aching, her head was pounding and she was milliseconds away from closing up shop and going home. Roslynn had called in sick and almost every man in Perth had decided that today was the day he absolutely needed a shave and a haircut.
    Thankfully, Amy’s best friend, Myf, had raced to the rescue when Amy called, or more to the point howled, down the phone. While Amy was in the barber shop, Myf was helping Kate and Marissa by doing all the small, time-consuming tasks: blow drying hair, applying colour, buffing nails and, above all, keeping everyone sane.
    Now, at five minutes past five, the end was in sight. When the bell rang signalling a customer in the barber shop, Amy added a dollop of cream to the coffee she’d just poured and sat it next to a generous slice of cake. Placing both on a tray, she nudged the connecting door between salon and barber shop open with her hip.
    ‘You’re late, young man. I was expecting you five minutes ago,’ she chirped, fully expecting to be greeted by the smiling countenance of Terry Nelson, one of her favourite customers. He was a retired judge and visited every Saturday without fail to get his beard trimmed before his weekly dinner date with Maureen, his wife of forty-three years.
    ‘This is a first. It’s about time you were happy to see me.’
    Amy almost dropped the tray at the sound of her ex-boyfriend’s too-smooth voice. Please, God, not today of all days . She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer, but no one was listening. When she opened them again Liam was still there, bullish and menacing as he sprawled in the chair nearest her. His legs were splayed arrogantly apart, his heavily muscled arms resting on the arms of the chair, and there was a smug smile on the broad features she’d once considered handsome.
    ‘Liam.’ Her gut clenched painfully. ‘I thought you were someone else.’
    ‘Yeah?’
    ‘Yeah. I’ve got a client coming then I’m closing for the day, so you’re gonna have to leave.’ She brandished the tray in front of her like a shield and prayed he wasn’t going to be difficult. Not today. She was tired, she had a stress headache and she was fighting a colossal case of the willies about her date this evening with Ben, or more to the point, what she’d do and say if he actually showed up.
    Liam looked around and shrugged a beefy shoulder. ‘Your client’s not here yet. You’ve got time for me. Besides, with that extra bit of weight you’re carrying, you’re lookin’ good. How’ve you been, Amy?’
    Just the mention of her name on his lips left her shuddering. ‘Fine until you turned up.’ She tried to keep her voice level. ‘Look, I’ve told you before that you can’t come here any more. Leave me alone, Liam. It was over years ago. It’s over now. Please leave.’
    She might as well have been talking to thin air. Other than a faint wrinkle on his brow, Liam’s smug expression didn’t change a bit. ‘Nah. I’m a paying customer who wants a shave, so why don’t you put that tray down and give me one?’ It said a lot about the man that he didn’t once think she’d slip with the razor.
    ‘You know that’s not gonna happen.