Teasing you, p.1
Teasing You, page 1
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
Who will be the next Donovan to fall in love?
Chapter One
Also by Samantha Chase
About Samantha Chase
Copyright 2024 Samantha Chase
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book, with the exception of brief quotations for book reviews or critical articles, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Kari March Designs
Edits: Jillian Rivera
Praise for Samantha Chase
“If you can’t get enough of stories that get inside your heart and soul and stay there long after you’ve read the last page, then Samantha Chase is for you!”
-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Melanie Shawn
“A fun, flirty, sweet romance filled with romance and character growth and a perfect happily ever after.”
-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips
“Samantha Chase writes my kind of happily ever after!”
-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Erin Nicholas
“The openness between the lovers is refreshing, and their interactions are a balanced blend of sweet and spice. The planets may not have aligned, but the elements of this winning romance are definitely in sync.”
- Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“A true romantic delight, A Sky Full of Stars is one of the top gems of romance this year.”
- Night Owl Reviews, TOP PICK
“Great writing, a winsome ensemble, and the perfect blend of heart and sass.”
- Publishers Weekly
“Recommend Chase to fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Well-written and uniquely appealing.”
- Booklist
Chapter One
Ultimately, Hazel Channing’s hair was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
That miserable, blue-haired old bitty…
“Ashlynn Donovan!” she nearly screeched. “What did you do to my hair?”
“Um…”
“Look at it! Just look at it! I look like something out of one of those…those…videos that you millenniums post all over the place!” She stared at her reflection in utter horror.
It would be wrong to correct her and tell her it’s millennials, not millenniums…
“Miss Hazel,” Ashlynn began calmly. “It’s not that bad. It’s a little…bluer than usual, but we can tone it down and make it right. Just let me…”
“Becky! Becky, where are you?” the older woman cried out. “Oh, this is a nightmare. A nightmare!”
“It’s not so bad, “Ashlyn assured her. “I can put a rinse in to…”
“You’ll do no such thing! Where is your boss? Becky!”
Oh, good Lord…
Ashlynn was already in a tense standoff with her boss and this situation wasn’t going to help. They had been arguing for months over seniority and which stylists get the prime booths—something that she had been passed over twice for.
“What in the world is going on in here?” Becky Marshall asked in a hushed tone. “Everyone is freaking out just hearing all the screaming. Now what happened?”
“Look at my hair, Becky! Just look at it! It’s blue!”
“Um…”
“You know how white my hair is and I wanted to tone it down a bit and Ashlynn explained the process when I showed her a picture of what I wanted.” Then she pulled up the picture in question. “Does this look blue to you? No!”
Becky came closer and began running her hands through Hazel’s hair. “Why didn’t you just use the Quick Fix solution? That’s specifically what it’s for.”
“I was going to, but…”
“I don’t want her touching my hair!” Hazel snapped while glaring at Ashlynn in the mirror. “Girls her age have no right touching older women’s hair.” She snorted with derision. “This never would have happened if Louise were still here.”
Becky gave her a patient smile. “Hazel, you know that Louise retired two years ago. We’ve been over this.”
“Still, most of the girls here have been okay, but this one…”
Ashlynn bit her tongue so she wouldn’t come out and say something she might regret. “Miss Hazel, there’s a rinse we can use right now that will help. If you’ll just step over to the sink…”
But Hazel was on her feet, her blue hair spiking out in every direction and her salon cape flapping wildly. “I refuse to let you put anything else in my hair!” Then she looked at Becky. “You fix this!”
“Of course, Hazel. Go ahead down to my booth and I’ll be right with you.” It wasn’t until Hazel was out of earshot that Becky put all her attention on Ashlynn.
“Well, I hope you’re happy. That woman is going to bad-mouth us all over town, thanks to you!”
She fought the urge to roll her eyes at how dramatic this was all getting. “Becky, you and I both know that this was an honest mistake. One extra drop of blue and it went rogue! And white hair is particularly tricky! Now I’ll admit that I might have messed up when I mixed the colors, but she’s blowing this way out of proportion! It’s not like her hair’s electric blue or something!”
The look her boss gave her was openly hostile. “If you want to argue with me, then I would appreciate it if you would be professional enough to wait until we were in my office with the door shut. But here you are, making a scene as usual.”
“As usual?” she repeated. “What the hell does that mean?”
“And your language…really, Ashlynn. I can’t have you representing Lavish Locks. I’ve tried to look past all your eccentric…um…quirks, but I just can’t do it anymore. Please pack up your things and go.”
“Excuse me?” she asked incredulously. “You’re firing me? But…but…I’ve got three more clients today, and a full roster of them tomorrow and every other damn day this week!”
“Language…” Becky sang out.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she hissed before she turned and started to figure out how to get all her brushes, scissors, and supplies out in one shot.
“I just said…” Becky snapped.
“Oh yeah? Well, what difference does it make what language I use? Apparently, I don’t work for you anymore!”
And that’s how her Monday started.
It took three trips to her car to get all of her belongings out of the salon, and it wasn’t until she was sitting in her car shivering from the cold that reality set in.
“I’m unemployed. Shit,” she muttered.
Happy freaking New Year to me…
Okay, right now, this was definitely bad. She wasn’t prepared to be unemployed and there weren’t any other hair salons in Sweetbriar. Of course there were more in the surrounding towns, but she had a feeling she was just going to clash with whoever was in charge there too. Anyone who knew her knew she had an issue with authority. Not always, just…sometimes.
Starting the car because it was really freaking cold, Ashlynn let it warm up while she tried to figure out what she should do first. With her phone in her hand, she was about to call her best friend Avery, but she was at work and already had her hands full with her upcoming engagement party this weekend. Although, the only good news to come out of this was that she’d have more time to do her friend’s hair and makeup for the party.
She could call her twin sister. Unfortunately, Chloe was her polar opposite and would more than likely gently suggest that she go back inside and apologize.
That wasn’t going to happen.
Her older sister Billie would suggest that she take a day or two just to regroup and then start applying for jobs—any jobs—right before making her a bowl of soup or giving her a plate of brownies.
That scenario had some serious potential.
Of course, she could always go and talk to her brother Levi, but he was currently living with Billie and recently got engaged to Jade McKenzie who owned Books & Beans and they were pretty busy all the time. Still…between the two of them, they would probably be the best ones to talk to right now.
Decision made, she drove the two blocks to Books & Beans and smiled when she spotted Levi’s car parked out front. Eventually he was going to have to get a real office to work in, but for now he was running his advertising firm here at the coffee shop or at Billie’s kitchen table.
“Hey!” she called out cheerily when she walked in.
Of course, Billie also worked there as well, so it was really a matter of killing two birds with one stone in her mind.
“Just making a coffee run for the salon?” her sister asked.
“Um…sadly, I will no longer be making coffee runs for Lavish Locks because I no longer work for Lavish Locks.”
Billie’s eyes went wide right before she came around the counter and gave her a fierce hug. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to help you get through this.”
“Thanks, Bill. I’m kind of okay…”
Pulling back, she gave Ashlynn a sad smile. “Of course you’re going to be okay. What can I get you? Some coffee? A brownie?”
Nailed that one…
“I’ll take a coffee please,” she replied. “And a brownie.”
“I think you deserve a bit of caffeine overload. No worries.”
Before Ashlynn could say anything else, her brother came walking over. “Hey, Ash! Doing a coffee run for the salon?”
Ugh…
“Um…no,” she told him. “I just lost my job there, so…”
“Oh, damn. I’m sorry.” And then he hugged her.
O-kay…two for two.
He stepped back and also gave her a sympathetic smile. “Is Billie getting you anything? Coffee? A brownie? A croissant?”
“Wait…there are croissants?” she asked. “When did you start making croissants?”
Billie stepped up to the counter and put the coffee and brownie down. “Today’s actually my first time putting them out there. I experimented with a couple of recipes last week and we all voted on this one. Would you like to try one instead of the brownie?”
“Um…excuse me? Instead of? Why can’t I have both? I just lost my job and I’m sad. I totally deserve both.”
“Fine. But don’t blame me tomorrow when your skinny jeans are suddenly squeezy jeans,” her sister huffed before walking away to put a croissant on a plate.
“Consider me warned,” she said back. “So…”
“Hey, Ash!” Jade said as she walked out and joined them. “Are you here for the coffee run for the salon?”
“I was fired! I lost my job! I gave Hazel blue hair and yelled at Becky, and now I’m unemployed! My life is in complete shambles and all I want is a croissant and a brownie without everyone asking me a thousand questions!” she cried out and then was mortified to see three pairs of wide eyes staring back at her. “So, um…sorry. It was just…all three of you asked the same thing and it’s been like…ten minutes since I left the salon and…”
Jade hugged her. “I get it. Believe me. You snapped and it’s okay.” She grabbed both plates as Ashlynn reached for the coffee. “Come on. Let’s all go sit and you can tell us what’s going on or you can tell us to mind our own business. Whatever you need, we’re here for you.”
They were heading for a table in the corner and Ashlynn got in step with her brother and whispered, “I really like her. Good choice.”
“I heard that, and thank you,” Jade said with a grin.
Once they were all seated, everyone was staring at her as if waiting for some big, dramatic confession or meltdown.
“Look, we all knew the last few months have been tense for me with Becky. I think she was just looking for an excuse to fire me.” She took a sip of her coffee. “And maybe I was looking to force her hand so I’d have an excuse to leave.”
“You know, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” her brother began. “Almost six months ago, I was in your shoes. I got fired and had no idea what I was going to do.” He shrugged. “Actually, I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do, but that didn’t happen. So I guess my advice to you is to keep an open mind when you go home and start looking for a job.”
Billie walked over and joined them. “I’m sure there are plenty of salons that would love to hire you. You’re great at what you do and your clients love you.”
“I guess. I just hate the thought of starting over and having to prove myself. I’ll get the crappy booth and be the low man on the totem pole again.” She groaned. “It sucks.”
When she glanced over at Jade, Ashlynn noticed she was frowning.
“Okay, you have to tell me what you’re thinking right now,” Ashlynn prompted.
“Well…I guess I’m thinking…why do you have to start over? When you came in here a few months ago threatening to quit, I asked you if you had ever considered opening your own salon. I guess my question still stands. With all the revamping Sweetbriar is getting—and with your brother working with everyone involved—I think now would be the perfect time to look into that.”
It would be a total lie if she said she hadn’t been thinking about that almost nonstop since Jade mentioned it to her that one time. It was a daunting thought and there were a million thoughts racing through her head telling her she couldn’t do it—that she wasn’t good enough and she’d be a disappointment.
That was a whole lot of childhood trauma trying to keep her down, but maybe it was time to silence those thoughts and try something new.
“Look around this table, Ash,” Jade went on. “We’ve all done what you could do. I started this business and it was terrifying. My folks helped, but I did a ton of research and put a lot of sweat equity into this place and now look at it. We’re doing really well!”
Levi nodded. “Six months ago, I thought I had my dream job and in a flash, it was taken away from me with no warning. Now I’m heading up all the ads and promo for the town and all the new businesses coming in. I never thought I’d be heading up my own firm at this point in my life, but I’m loving it.”
Beside her, Billie sighed. “Well, I’m not exactly on par with these two, but I walked away from a wildly successful career in finance because I wasn’t happy. The stress was killing me and one day I just looked at myself in the mirror and knew I deserved more. So I quit and chased my passion, which is baking. Now I’m here with Jade and I’ve never felt better in my life.” She reached over and squeezed Ashlynn’s hand. “You deserve to be happy, Ash. Chase after your dream!”
After letting out a long breath, she looked at the three of them. “You make it sound so easy, but…I don’t know if I can afford to open my own salon. It would cost a lot of money and…I’m just not sure I’d be able to do it.”
“Come for dinner tonight,” her sister told her. “You forget what a financial whiz I am. I’ll bet we can crunch some numbers and then maybe talk to Patrick and Marissa—well, mostly Marissa—and see what kind of incentives they can offer to someone willing to open a business here in Sweetbriar.”
“Isn’t that kind of…I don’t know…a morally gray area? Patrick’s our cousin; Marissa is his wife. They’re family. I don’t think it would look good for them to be granting me any favors.”
“That’s just one of the questions we’ll have to ask them then,” she reasoned. “So what do you say? Dinner tonight? I’ve got a batch of corn chowder cooking in the crock pot as we speak.”
And there was the soup from her earlier scenario.
“Only if you’re sure…”
“Ash, you’re not alone. We’re all going to help you. Plus, I was going to be eating alone tonight because these two are going house hunting.”
Looking over at Jade and Levi, she smiled. “Really? You’re finally going to get a place together?”
They nodded.
“The wedding is in just a few months and we want to have a house all ready so we can come home from our honeymoon and just start our lives,” Jade said dreamily before leaning in and kissing Levi.
“Ugh…you guys are sickeningly cute and I can’t handle that right now.” Picking up her brownie, she took a huge bite. “Damn, Billie, these things are incredible.”
Her sister preened. “Thank you.”
“Then she took a bite of the croissant and moaned. “Holy crap, that’s amazing too! You should combine the two and make chocolate croissants. I swear I’ll buy a ton of them once I’m working again. Like dozens, I swear!”
“Just…one thing at a time, okay? Let’s just get through taking a day for yourself and maybe tomorrow you can ask me about chocolate croissants by the dozen.”
“Deal.”
“Baylor! The captain wants to talk to you!”
