Page 9 of Her Defiant Warrior

“Huh?” she asked softly. “Hell yeah, I stacked the deck.” This time her giggle turned into a chuckle. “I knew damn good and well that the next customer coming in was my bi-monthly appointment. It was Emily McCall, and she’s eighty-five years old. I was going to win hands down.”

Smart woman.

“Quit laughing, Bradley.”

“Yes, somehow Farah talked Mrs. McCall into a pretty purple fade down to her tips. With the modern cut I finally got to do on her, she looked fifteen years younger. For that, I really owe Farah, but it’s not flirt-worthy.”

She sounds like she’s in as much pain as I am. Interesting.

“What do I mean by that? She’s been telling me about how wonderful this guy is. Kind-hearted, nice to bunny rabbits, nice to her daughters, blah, blah, blah. But here’s the kicker, Farah has screwed him over one too many times, so he can’t know it’s a set-up. I’m supposed to flirt my way into getting him to ask me out,” she whined.

She paused.

“No, I can’t. What the fuck, Bradley? Nobody’s going to want to ask me out, no matter how much make-up I slather on.”

This pause was a lot longer.

“I get that. I know I can clean up well, but I have Amber and Lachlan with me. I’m on wrangler duty. I don’t know how Farah thinks that even with heels, a dress, and make-up, some guy is going to be interested in some stylist with two kids.”

She giggle-snorted.

“You’re full of shit, Bradley. There’s no such thing as Prince Charming or a happily ever after. I learned that the hard way. Anyway, a man who’s older than thirty-five and who’s never been married is either gay or a player.”

“Is too!” she refuted whatever Bradley said.

“But I lost the bet, fair and square. So, I’ll flirt with him in front of Farah so she can see I’ve tried, then I’ll tell him I have two kids, and he’ll run and hide. Easy, breezy.”

She sighed.

“Why couldn’t you have been straight? You would have been a perfect husband and father.”

She laughed hard.

I sure would have liked to have heard what Bradley had said.

“Okay, except for the fact that you chew tobacco and you’re a diehard Lakers fan. Come on man, you live in Chicago, root for the home team.”

Jase had to hold in a laugh so she wouldn’t know he was there.

“Okay honey, gotta go. Thanks for listening to me. Gotta make sure that Amber hasn’t talked Lachlan into jumping from the roof into the pool. Then gotta go chat up some guy. Hope I remember how.”

Another pause.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re good for my ego. But I know the truth, and I look like a stuffed sausage in this dress. He won’t even get to where he finds out about the kids. The body will turn him off before we even get to that point. Now this time, for real, gotta go.”

Jase could tell she was off the phone.

She chuckled. “Well, here goes nothing.”

* * *

Once again, Bonnie had to bite the inside of her cheek when she confronted her twins. Thank God they inherited more of the Larkins’ mischievous nature and not the Phillips’ stuffy side, otherwise she would have been bored to death.

“Lachlan, explain what happened.” She frowned at her son.

“It was an accident,” Amber piped up.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes and looked at her seven-year-old daughter. “I’m sorry. Did I say your name? I don’t remember saying your name when I asked that question. Lachlan, did I ask Amber a question?” Bonnie hated the fact that there were two big men behind her, listening in to this conversation, but after having raised her children alone for the last seven years, she’d had to gain a thick skin. Anyway, all things considered, this was a relatively minor problem.