Chapter 13
APRIL
Well, this is ridiculous.
I look over my shoulder at my reflection in the long mirror.
“I’m not sure I should be wearing this,” I mention as I take in the fact this long black dress is near backless which means no bra for me, especially as it ties around my neck.
“Spencer picked this out?” Piper asks for the tenth time as she sits at the edge of the guest bed, focusing between her baby girl lying on the mattress playing with a toy and staring at me in my predicament.
I can’t tear my eyes away from the mirror. “This is not what I had in mind.”
Piper smiles like a cat who found their prey. “The slit between your cleavage is a bold choice.”
My eyes grow into saucers. “I know, right? But…”
Her smile grows wide. “You look smoking.”
My own excitement comes out, especially because my updo is perfection. “I do look smoking.”
This dress hugs me in all the right places, and it’s a beautiful and very expensive dress. I’m not sure I want to know how Spencer managed to pick this out, he had to have enlisted someone’s help. I feel like a million bucks.
I walk to the dresser to search for earrings. I hold up the long one and the stud for Piper’s approval.
“Go simple,” she suggests.
Studs it is.
I’m not quite sure why I have butterflies in my stomach, but this has been an unusual week, and I would be surprised if I didn’t have nerves. The last few days have been unexpected.
It feels like a game with Spencer, yet I volunteer myself as tribute every round. Since our laundry room make-out the other day, we have basically ignored each other except when Hadley is around.
She is such a sweet little girl. Funny too. She gives Spencer a hard time, but at random moments does something to catch him by surprise in a way that I hope brings them closer.
“At least you will have fun at the charity dinner. It’s for a good cause, to add a further addition to the new sports center where they'll hold summer camps for kids. If Hudson didn’t have an away game this week then I’m sure we would be there too.”
“It’s kind of you to watch Hadley and Pickles. I guess we won’t be that late.”
“Don’t sweat it. Unlike you, I have no problem with Spencer. I owed him a favor for the number of times he has signed for packages for me while I’m taking an impromptu nap.”
I nod in understanding as I take a long breath to look at myself once more.
“You know…” I can tell Piper wants to point out the obvious. “You're Spencer’s plus-one, people will see you together…”
“I’m just his plus-one,” I reiterate.
“I doubt any cameras there will agree with that. But you don’t seem to mind. Something you want to share?”
I focus on blending with my highlighter brush on my cheeks. “No.” Because I don’t know how to explain it.
“Just remember that you will one day find the guy who will erase all past mistakes. He’ll be the magic you’ve been waiting for. So be it, he might not appear that way at first.” She splays her hands out.
Before I can protest, I see Hadley in the corner of my eye arriving at my open door and walking straight to the dresser.
“Did you already put on the sparkly powder?” Hadley rummages through my makeup.
Of course, that’s what she would be after.
“I did, but I can always use more.” I take the case and brush, dab it in the powder, then offer it to Hadley and give her my arm to spread the stuff.
“Can you tell Daddy to let me have powder? When you’re not here, I won’t get to use this.” She focuses on spreading the brush along my arm.
When I’m not here. Sometimes I forget that this is all temporary. I’m getting comfortable here, which should be a warning.
She hands me the brush in accomplishment, and I dab the brush on the cleavage line of my breasts without thought until Piper chortles a laugh.
“Interesting choice,” she mutters.
Like a hot potato, I drop the brush back on the dresser because clearly, my subconscious is up to tricks.
“You look like a princess.” Hadley smiles, and I can tell one of her front teeth is loose. I remember the conversation that I heard the other day between her and Spencer about the tooth fairy.
I stroke her hair with my hand. “Why, thank you.” I pick up my clutch purse from the bed. “Now I just need to find my ogre,” I mutter.
Walking out the front door, I feel my body fill with anticipation, but then I internally growl in irritation when I see Spencer leaning against the dark SUV, as he hired a driver for the night.
And I’m fuming inside because he is incredibly handsome.
He’s in a tux, his hair slicked back, hands in his pockets, with a smirk on his mouth. Then he propels his body off the hood of the car, and he approaches me with swagger.
But the worst part?
His breath catches, and then he hisses a whistle of approval when he's a short distance away.
“You're late.”
Ah, we are going to play this game.
“By two minutes because some baseball player apparently picked out a dress that involves a tie that acts as a lifeline for my cleavage.”
“I approve.” It feels like he is drinking me in.
I clear my throat. “You look...” How do I explain that I may drool?
“Everyone will be looking at you, and I might be regretting my choice now. Should have gone for the turtleneck option.”
A wry smile doesn’t leave my face. “Well, you did want me to look fuckable, as you put it in your ever charming terms.”
“Nah, you look way classier than that. Come on, we should go.” He offers me his arm. I’m slightly taken aback by his manners, but I interlink our arms anyway.
A whiff of his spicy cologne hits me, but it's enough to make my senses melt. His arm feels strong, and I need to get used to it because I think I'll be glued to him for most of the night.
By the time we're in the car and on our way, I recognize that the air between us has shifted; we’re easy around one another.
I decide to break the ice. “Looks like the tooth fairy will be in business soon. Hadley’s front tooth looks loose.”
“I noticed that.” An elated look spreads on his face. Spencer taps his fingers on his thighs as he looks out the window until he turns back at me. “How's the food blog?”
“I'm stockpiling recipes and photos, thanks to your kitchen. A total opposite to my life as an accountant.”
“Good. That’s good.”
We don’t seem to know how to handle this new dynamic between us, probably because we can’t define it.
“New sports camp, huh?” I attempt to keep the conversation flowing.
“Yeah, it would be good for Lake Spark. Once I retire, then I'll have something to do.”
“But you don't like kids except your own,” I point out the obvious.
He rolls a shoulder back. “Doesn't mean I don't recognize that it's good for the community, or maybe I want to work with teenagers.”
Oh my, I was not expecting that response.
“You'll retire soon?”
“I probably have one or two more good years, then I'll need to do something. I don't think coaching is for me.”
“It does generally require interacting with people,” I state.
He gives me side-eye. “Funny.” His jaw eases. “I would like to spend more time with Hadley.”
"Of course.” I lean against the window, taking in the fact that I’m dressed to the nines and sitting with Spencer whose hardened exterior feels softened.
I try to remember the last time I was at a black-tie event with a man.
My soured feeling must be apparent because I feel like Spencer has a sneer forming.
“You okay?”
“The last time I went to an event like this, I was with my ex. It was his firm’s Christmas gala.” I puff out a breath. “Truthfully, I didn’t have the best of times. He was all work and forgot about me most of the night.”
“Nothing I’ve heard about this dude has been positive.”
“Now, no. Sometimes we get stuck in the idea of something and ignore that we might not be with the right person to make it happen,” I explain. Because I don’t think my ex was the one; I’m mostly bitter because I felt humiliated.
Spencer adjusts in his seat, even slides closer to me. “You mean, your dream wedding?”
I narrow my eyes at him because I'm not sure if he's mocking me. “Enough about me. Am I going to run into any of your exes tonight?”
“None of my exes are from around here.”
“Oh? But I do believe you have the 'women who you screw in your pool are only naked' rule.”
He grins a pretty damn swoony grin. “April, sweetheart, you’re the first in my pool.”
I’m not sure why it hasn’t crossed my mind, the idea of other women in his house, maybe because I assumed he has had special guests since he has so many options when it comes to women, or perhaps I’ve been too focused on the moment.
That’s a change, as I’m always thinking about the dream ahead or something that happened in the past; it’s never in that moment, except when Spencer is around.
A tickle at my hip bone breaks my thought, and I peer down to find a talented finger tracing a line. Spencer is touching me of his own accord.
“A problem?” I raise my brows.
A smug accomplished smirk slowly appears. “You’re wearing fabric underneath.”
“Wow, he observes.”
“You know in baseball when I pitch, I’m restricted to certain types of throws.
It's actually rigid and doesn't leave me much choice, I have to stick to the program. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still exciting, or rather there are other ways to make a game interesting.
For example, I could try to pitch an entire game to get a shutout, ensuring the other team doesn’t score at all, and by end of game, my team wins. Want to know what I think?”
His lips brush along my bare shoulder like a feather, and a tingle runs through me. I pray my nipples don’t give me away.
“That I need a sweater,” I quip.
He chuckles, and I love how it’s a sound that pulls me in and feels like an enticing offer.
“I think tonight will be like a shutout. I have no intention of letting anyone else score.”
“Ah, but one problem.” I rest my hand on his thigh, playing the part of a doting other half. “You won’t get your homerun or whatever baseball term I should be using, because I may look the part, but I’m not in the mood to be fucked like you hate me.”
His face is unreadable, but his jaw ticks, and I’m surprised he doesn’t have a jab in return.
The car slows down, and glancing outside, I see we have apparently reached our destination, the sports center, with an outside marquee with heaters, thankfully.
When the car stops, Spencer gets out, buttons his tux, and leans back in to take my hand and help me out.
But as I stand and straighten my dress, the man leans in to whisper in my ear as he wraps a protective arm around my middle to bring my body to his, my upper half molding into his shape.
“Listen, beautiful, think what you want, but I’m not going to let anyone else score, so get used to being by my fucking side.”