Forever Curves - Piper Sullivan Page 0,18
“That’s what you say now, but every day I wake up without my Harold, it sure as heck feels like I need him. But I’m an old lady, what do I know?” She laughed and slowly pushed herself out of the salon chair.
“You don’t know how to dye your hair,” I called after her.
“Funny and pretty? He’d be lucky to keep you, honey!”
I shook my head at yet another matchmaking senior, there was a surplus of them in Pilgrim, it seemed, always ready to offer you advice on everything from fashion choices to modern relationships. Shirl shuffled towards the door, gasping in surprise when she found Grant holding it open for her with his most charming smile.
“Looking good, Shirl. Purple is definitely your color.”
She put a hand to her hair, pleased as punch at his compliment. “Well, thanks. Brenna fixed me right up.”
“Now don’t go givin’ the old guys heart problems with this new look, you hear?” She tittered and Grant laughed with her. “Have a good evening, Shirl.”
“You too, boy. You too.” He was such a flirt, even Shirl wasn’t immune to his charms.
Grant watched her walk off down the street and I noticed the old girl had a little extra bounce in her step. When he turned that killer, smiling gaze my way, I took a deep breath. He really was too damn handsome for a woman to think straight, and I needed to think straight around this man.
“Brenna.”
“Grant,” I said in the most neutral voice I could muster, which was damn hard when he stood there staring at me like it was his first time seeing me. “This is a surprise. You here for a trim?”
His smile widened as one big hand slid through his thick brown waves. “Sure. Why not?”
“Have a seat,” I told him and busied myself with organizing everything I needed for a quick trim. “How was your day?” It was a stylist’s favorite question, because those four little words allowed the person in the chair to carry on until the job was done.
“Good. Exhausting with the new class of trainees. How about your day? Did you make the whole town beautiful?”
“I did my part.” It was nice to be around a man who didn’t belittle my work, as if they didn’t want us looking our absolute best twenty-four-seven. “They all come in here beautiful, I just highlight it for them.”
He laughed. “You do more than that, but I’m finding your modesty as appealing as your blunt honesty.” Truth and heat sparkled in his eyes.
“Did you reach your goal yet, of charming the whole town?”
“Not yet,” he said and held up two sets of crossed fingers. “Any day now, though, I’m sure.”
“You’re a determined guy, I’m sure you’ll reach your goal sooner rather than later.”
Grant let out an adorable snort of laughter and even though I was focused on his hair, I felt the weight of his stare through the mirror. “You want to ride with me to Tulip tomorrow? I promised Miles I’d get the alcohol for his engagement party, and I figured we could enjoy the best pizza in Texas, according to my friend Reese.”
“Does your friend Reese happen to work at this pizza restaurant?”
He barked out another utterly masculine laugh. “No, but I appreciate the jealousy. Reese owns a barbecue restaurant, which is damn good, but she swears this pizza is worth the drive.”
“Since you’re driving, I have a feeling she’s right. So yeah, I’ll give you a few hours of my time tomorrow night.” Spending time with this man was starting to be one of my favorite past times.
Right now, though, being this close to him was pure torture. He was freshly showered, smelling like man and ocean with maybe just a hint of leather. “You smell good.” I hadn’t meant for the words to slip out, but that’s what happened when you were in a constant state of arousal.
“Thanks. Just my natural aroma.”
I smacked his arm. “You wish.”
“I wish for lots of things, Brenna. For example, I spent most of the day wishing for one of your sweet kisses.”
Me too. They were more intoxicating than my granddaddy’s moonshine, and I was slowly becoming an addict. “So you showed up for a cut and a kiss?”
“Nah, the cut was just so I could get nice and close to you.” His arms snaked around my waist and Grant pulled me close.
When our lips touched, I felt it all the way down to my bones. We stood there and kissed like we