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Laughter bubbled up inside me. “You think my hair was weighing me down and not the two-hundred pounds I carry?”
Kyle flung the chair around until I saw his furious eyes. He leaned down close, resting both of his corded hands on the arms of the salon chair. “Now you listen to me, little lady. Beauty is my business. I’ve seen thin creatures so vile you’d think they were serpents sent here to punish us. I’ve seen women with a few pounds they’d rather not have who vomit six times a day to attain what they think is the perfect shape. And I’ve seen voluptuous women who struggle to live their best lives. If there was one thing I’d tell them all, it’s that it doesn’t take a thin body to be beautiful. If you think for one second you’re worth any less because you have curves, then you’ll end up just as lonely as the thin ones with the personality of sand paper.”
I expected him to lean back, but he didn’t. He was waiting. Expectant. I was supposed to do or say something.
I cleared my throat. “You, ah, did an excellent job framing my face. The side part pushing a lot of it to the other side makes it look really free. Sassy even.”
He narrowed his eyes. “And?”
I swallowed hard. “And it makes me feel pretty.”
He raised an eyebrow.
I let out a puff of air. “Like if someone said I was beautiful, I might believe him.”
He lowered himself until his lips were almost touching my jaw. “You’re absolutely stunning, Phoebe.”
What I heard in my head, though, was Ransom saying it. “Ransom,” I sighed. I let my eyes drift closed and reached out for his jaw. Feeling his beard made me think of Ransom. I stroked it a few times, remembering how it felt on my temple when he gave me a kiss there. How it felt when his long hair tickled me when I curled up on his chest.
His lips lingered near my ear. “This Ransom guy is so damn lucky to be allowed in your presence.”
Tears pricked my eyes and I swore I felt one fall from him onto my hair. When I opened my eyes, Kyle pressed his lips to my forehead.
I smiled despite my glassy eyes. “Thank you, Kyle. You are an angel. I hope whoever you care for figures that out someday. You deserve so much happiness.”
He leaned back, showing me his eyes glistened just like mine. “So do you, my pretty.”
When he pushed back from the chair, he spun it around slowly, giving his finishing touches and telling me how to recreate this insanely hot look he gave me. A few dark brown highlights to give my black hair a little interest, but subtle and fun. He put in a few waves to make it look a little tousled, flirty, maybe even sexy. And a little product to give it some volume on top.
Putting a few products in a bag, he handed them to me. “Take these. On the house.”
I nodded. “I’ll do it justice every day.”
He pulled me up and into his arms for a hug. “You can do that by loving everything about yourself, not just the hair, pretty one. Be nice to you. Love yourself. And everything else will fall into place.”
I tilted my head. “Somehow when you say it, I can almost believe that’s possible.”
A smile crept across his face. “Believing is the first step, my darling. Now come. Let’s go show you off. Kiles will do the rest.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I knew I wanted to find out.
11
RANSOM
“Fuck!” Slamming my fist into my locker, I tried to relieve the knot in my chest.
I felt a few of the guys starting to approach, but I didn’t want to fight them. I wanted to fight myself, punish myself, knock myself out, and go back to that stupid night with stupid Neve. I would give anything to go back and not get so drunk that I let myself fall into bed with her.
“Get to the bag, man,” Milo prompted from a few feet away. “Pretend it’s whatever you need to hit.”
Calder tossed me a set of boxing gloves and herded me to the gym. I jammed the gloves onto my hands and tore at the bag. Jabs and uppercuts. Then both fists pummeling it. Ilya held it, but kept out of my way.
“Get it out,” Ilya prompted. “Whatever it is, just sink into it for a few minutes. Feel what you feel.”
Over and over, I beat the hell out of it until I was so tired, I stumbled with my back to the wall and slumped to the floor. Only then did the guys think it was safe to approach.
Milo’s gaze searched my face. “Better?”
