11. Penny
ELEVEN
Penny
S pencer wasn’t home when I pulled into the driveway at seven thirty. After my lunch with Maggie, I spent the rest of the day cleaning my office. I was almost done going through the papers, which was a relief. I was ready to move on to the reason I bought Magnolia Daily—to write articles for the paper.
That dream was finally feeling close enough for me to touch. It made me school-girl giddy.
I turned off the engine and slipped my keys into my purse. After pulling the strap up onto my shoulder, I climbed out and slammed the door behind me.
Once I was inside, I flipped on the lights as I made my way to my room to drop off my bags. I was starving, and since I still hadn’t gone to the grocery store, I was going to order some takeout and watch something on the TV in the living room.
After I ordered some Chinese, I took a shower. All of the dust and ink from the papers felt as if it was coating my skin. Plus, the warm water was soothing to my aching muscles.
I dressed in a pair of my silk pajamas and brushed my hair and left it to air dry. Tomorrow I would curl it to help tame some of the frizz. I opened my bedroom door and padded into the kitchen. I looked at my phone to check on the ETA of the delivery driver, grabbed a glass of water, and headed into the living room.
I almost dropped the glass when my gaze landed on a man sitting in the recliner on the far side of the room. It took a moment for me to realize that it was just Spencer, but that didn’t register until after I’d yelped, and my heart rate had taken off.
My reaction drew his attention over, and I felt so tiny under his dark stare. We hadn’t spoken since this morning when he caught me in his bathroom, and I wasn’t sure where we stood.
Was he mad at me?
Why hadn’t I planned for the fact that I was going to see him? I had no idea what I was going to say or how I was going to explain myself.
“I was looking for you to ask you a question.” The words slipped out before I could police what I was saying.
Spencer furrowed his brow. “What?”
I swallowed, and my throat felt swollen. Like my body knew I was going to say something stupid, and it was trying to protect me. “This morning,” I whispered.
All the adrenaline in my body disappeared, and I felt exhausted. The newspaper kept me busy, and mixing that with trying to understand where I stood with Spencer meant my nerves were a wreck.
His gaze narrowed as understanding passed over his face. The picture. Me holding it. It was like a bad dream. One that I wished I’d never been a part of.
“What?” he asked.
I paused. Had I missed something? “What, what?” Great. This conversation was going really well.
I think I’d seen train wrecks go smoother.
“Your question. You said you had one for me.” He took a swig of beer from the bottle he’d been holding. He held his gaze on my face the entire time. It was…daunting.
Right. My question.
“Well, besides the fact that I was worried about you, I was wondering if you would let me interview you.” The words tumbled out, and as they hit the air, I realized how ridiculous I sounded. I was all over the place. This poor man.
He remained quiet as he moved his gaze to the front windows. The drapes were pulled shut, but they were a gauzy material, so you could see the soft glow of the streetlights that had just flicked on.
“You want to interview me?”
Relief filled my body as he spoke. I feared that I’d overstepped, but he responded, which I was going to take as a good sign. “For the paper.” I extended out my hands in a flourish. “I’m not just the owner, I’m also the new head editor for Magnolia Daily.” Just saying those words filled me with a sense of pride. I’d gone from feeling so low after I was fired to feeling complete.
It was a great place to be.
He flicked his gaze over at me. “You are?”
I nodded.
Before either of us could speak again, there was three solid knocks on the front door. Realizing that it was my dinner, I set down my glass of water and hurried to grab the cash I’d stashed in my pocket as I opened the door. The delivery driver was nice, and after I handed him the money, he handed me the white plastic bag he was carrying.
The smell of sweet and sour chicken and lo mein filled my nose and made my mouth water. I shut the door as the delivery driver made his way down the sidewalk and turned to see Spencer watching me. I couldn’t read his expression, and it made me feel uneasy.
What did he think of me?
Not wanting to fall down that rabbit hole, where I was sure no answers lived, I held up the bag. “Food?”
Eating felt like neutral ground.
I didn’t wait for his response. I set the bag down on the side table and hurried into the kitchen to grab plates and utensils. Once I was back in the living room, I handed a set to Spencer. He really didn’t respond, but he took them with little coercion, which gave me some hope.
Maybe he was warming up to me?
We fell into a rhythm. After I dished up my food, I handed the containers to Spencer. Once we were done, we settled back in our chairs and ate. It should have felt awkward—it really should have—but it didn’t. Instead, it felt nice.
Halfway through my dinner, I picked up the remote and motioned toward the TV. Spencer nodded and I turned it on. After finding Murder Mysteries , I set the remote back down, and soon I was completely absorbed in the show. So much so, that I found myself relaxing completely. My feet were up, and my mostly empty dinner plate was sitting in my lap. I took a sip of my water but kept my gaze on the screen.
“There’s no way that it wasn’t the husband.”
Spencer’s voice startled me, and I turned to see him leaning forward in his chair. His clean plate was sitting next to him on the side table. He flicked his gaze at me before he motioned to the screen once more. “It has to be the husband. He had motive, opportunity, and access.” His gaze looked so earnest that it made me smile.
This was a side of Spencer that I hadn’t seen before. It was as if his guard was down, and he had allowed a part of his personality to slip through.
I liked it.
“But what about her uncle? He was there the night she disappeared.” I moved my plate to the side table and shifted in my seat so that I was facing Spencer more directly.
Spencer waved away my words. “But he had an alibi. The bartender said he served him a drink at eleven thirty. There’s no way he could have been at her house at the same time. The drive to get there would have taken him twenty minutes. The time stamps don’t measure up.”
I nodded. “But who’s to say that the bartender really saw the uncle? I’ve been to bars. They aren’t known for their great lighting.”
He paused. “True.”
Our gazes returned to the screen.
“I still say it’s the husband. He had the most to gain.”
“Wanna bet on it?” I pinched my lips after the question left my mouth. What was I doing? Was I flirting?
I shook my head. No, I wasn’t flirting. After all, I was supposed to interview him. If I could get that out of our exchange, then I was technically working.
“Bet?” He turned his attention to me.
“Yeah. If I’m right, I get something. If you’re right, you get something.” I flicked my finger back and forth between us.
He narrowed his eyes. “What would you want?”
“Nothing crazy,” I said with a shrug.
He was quiet and then nodded. “Fine.” He extended his hand.
A wave of giddiness washed through me, and I moved to grasp his hand. We shook and then settled back in our chairs.
Fifteen minutes later, the host declared that the husband was the killer. Spencer whooped and turned to me with a wide smile on his lips. He wiggled his eyebrows. “I told you,” he said in a tone that I hadn’t ever heard from him .
He truly was a different guy.
I raised my hands as I pushed out the thought that he was really good-looking when he smiled. “What do you want for your win?”
He grew silent as he studied me. Then he said, “Keep your evening open tomorrow. I want to take you somewhere.”
I paused for a moment, my heart picking up speed. Was this a…date?
Then I felt like an idiot. It wasn’t a date. He probably wanted to take me somewhere so I could help him with something. I doubted he wanted to spend time with me.
“Okay,” I said slowly and then motioned toward the TV. “That’s how he got her into the woods to murder her.” I pretended to look terrified.
Spencer glanced toward the TV and then back to me. “Well…” he said, drawing out each letter. But then he shook his head. “I promise not to kill you.”
“That’s what her husband said,” I replied, dropping my voice to a whisper.
He chuckled as he moved to stand. After grabbing his plate, he walked toward me. My stomach shifted as nerves took hold of my body. What was he doing?
My anxiety grew too strong, and I stood up just as his hand reached down for my plate. “I can do that,” I said, moving to grab my plate.
My hand brushed against his. It took a moment to process, but I suddenly realized that I was standing centimeters from Spencer. His body was so close to mine that I could almost feel him. My hand felt frozen next to his as we both lingered just above the plate.
“I’ve got this,” he said, his voice so low that it sent shivers of pleasure down my back.
His words snapped me out of my trance. I pulled back and stepped to the side to give myself space. If he was affected by my presence, he didn’t show it. It was business as usual as he reached down and stacked his plate on mine.
Once he disappeared into the kitchen with the dishes, I collapsed back on my chair, my heart pumping so hard that it felt as if it was going to beat out of my chest. I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing, hoping it would calm my nerves.
Needing something to do, I pushed against the chair and focused on packaging up the leftover food. I set the white containers in the bag and then folded over the top. I stood and made my way toward the kitchen only to be stopped in my tracks when Spencer stepped in front of me.
“I can take that,” he said as he gently lifted the bag out of my hands. His arms brushed mine once more, and goosebumps erupted across my skin.
“Thanks,” I managed. As much as I wanted to pull my gaze from Spencer, I couldn’t help but watch as he moved across to the fridge and opened it.
I knew I should turn around and leave. I knew I shouldn’t allow myself to have feelings for him…but I couldn’t fight the desire to mean something to someone. After my divorce, I kept my heart locked up and my emotions at bay .
And it worked—for the most part.
But now that I was here in Magnolia, I wanted to have a fresh start, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it might feel like to be held again. To be kissed. To be…loved.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Spencer could be the man to do all of those things.
My cheeks flushed at the thought, so I turned to hide my reaction. The last thing I needed was for him to see me blushing.
He shut the fridge door, and I faked a yawn. “I’m going to head to bed,” I said, keeping my side facing him.
“Yeah, I should head to bed as well.”
I peeked over at him, trying to ignore how his smile and hazy gaze made my heart gallop in my chest. Could he hear my reaction to him?
I hoped not.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said as I started walking down the hallway.
“Yeah.”
I slowed. It sounded as if he wanted to say something more.
“Hey, Penny?”
My heart picked up speed once more as I stopped and turned. “Yeah?”
He was studying me now, and there was an intensity to his gaze that made me wonder if he could be feeling something too.
It couldn’t just be me.
“I do need that application. ”
I blinked.
“For renting the room,” he added as if my confusion was written all over my face.
Suddenly, what he was asking registered, and I parted my lips. “Oh, yeah. Right,” I said with a quick nod. “The application. I’ll get that to you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Perfect. Well, good night.”
“Night.”
I felt rooted to the floor as I watched Spencer nod and then head toward his room. Now alone, I stared at the spot he’d occupied moments ago. Back when I thought he could feel something for me like I felt for him. Before he brought me back down to reality with his request for the application.
Here I was, stupidly thinking that there might be an attraction between us and wondering what that might mean for our future. While he was worried that he just might have a serial killer living in his house.
I blew out my breath, my lips reverberating from the air pushing through them, as I turned and headed to my room.
Sure, I felt completely deflated. But in a way, I was grateful.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror as I blotted my freshly washed face. I needed to get a grip. History had taught me that there was no way I could have what I wanted in the professional world and in my love life at the same time.
There was no reason for me to think that my future could be any different.
Here in Magnolia, I could have love or my job, and that was it.
As much as I wanted to say that love was on the table, after Spencer’s reaction to me, I knew better than to hope.
Magnolia Daily was going to have to be my love life as well as my professional life. That was my fate. No matter how much I wanted it to be different, it never would be.
Penny Brown and the love of a man were never meant to be in the same sentence, and the sooner I accepted that, the happier I would be.
I covered my head with my comforter and sighed as I stared into the darkness that surrounded me.
Even if I wanted more, I couldn’t have it.