Chapter 12
SPENCER
April looks like she is going to kill me.
I look between the bouquet of autumn orange roses that I left on the counter and April who is standing by the fridge, dumbfounded, her mouth parted open and her throat visibly gulping.
“What in the world?” Her eyes could drill a hole into the flowers.
My cheeky smirk comes out in full swing.
“I’m doing what we call listening.” I walk around the kitchen island and look over my shoulder at Hadley who I picked up from school and who is now eating a snack of donut bites.
They have hidden zucchini and apples in it, and April conveniently left them out on a plate with a juice box, ready for Hadley’s arrival.
April is thoughtful that way. It irks me, and not in a bad way either, but I can’t focus on that feeling when a scowl sweeps across her face.
“Listening?” April approaches the flowers as if they might destruct.
I turn to Hadley. “You see, a guy should always ask if you would like to go somewhere, and sometimes they bring flowers to soften the deal. Then you should think about their offer, probably discuss it with your dad, and then give an answer.”
“Huh?” My daughter just looks at me, uninterested, before popping another ball into her mouth.
“Yeah, what she said.” April looks at me with hesitation.
Taking a few steps with confidence, I glue my sight on April, ensuring her bewildered eyes stay fixed on me. “Well, April, will you accompany me for this charity event?”
She straightens her neck and looks around the room. I have her trapped because Hadley is watching us, which is why her sight pauses on my daughter for a second before focusing on me.
“I think I’m missing a please.” She cocks her head to the side.
Difficult, this one. My grin turns tight. “Will you please do me the honor of accompanying me to the charity event.”
Now she smiles with accomplishment, one hand finding her hip and the other touching the roses. “Sure. Nice touch with the roses, by the way.”
“Does this mean you get to dress up like a princess?” Hadley asks April.
April awkwardly hums a sound. “Depends on what your daddy has in mind, but I’m sure a potato sack wouldn’t suffice.”
“I don’t know, gives good leg action,” I mumble so only April can hear.
“Can I go watch TV?” Hadley is already swinging her legs off the stool.
“Sure. Take your snack with you,” I suggest.
The moment Hadley turns her back to us, April’s smile fades, and she points at me.
“You. Laundry room. Now.” Her words sound seething.
Yet I follow her willingly, watching her feisty march and sway. When we get to the laundry room, she closes the door behind me, and she jabs her finger into my chest, sending a bolt of electricity down my spine.
“You’re mocking me,” she begins.
“What? Me?” I play coy.
“Yeah, you. You’re taking my words from yesterday and mocking me. You didn’t really want to get me flowers, you just wanted to prove a point,” she loudly whispers, because she doesn’t want Hadley to hear.
I swipe a hand across my jaw. “And? So what if I did? You get roses out of it.”
“I now want to pull every petal off its stem to work out my absolute exasperation with you.” Her hands come up in the air, as if she wants to throttle something.
“Exasperating?”
How am I the issue?
I step closer. “Heaven forbid you actually say thank you for the roses.”
“No. To you? Absolutely not.” She stares at me blankly before stepping closer. “You are the most confusing human on the planet.”
“How so?” I’m slightly offended.
“You have no manners,” she declares, with her hands gesturing with her words.
“Do explain.”
She hisses, “Mocking me with flowers, going down on me last night. I mean, who does that? You didn’t even kiss me.”
And here I am in yet another predicament with this woman. Because around her she makes my control come undone. She makes my head spin when she opens her mouth, that I instantly find so incredibly sexy.
That mouth.
That fucking gorgeous mouth. It taunts me when she speaks and makes me go feral when it’s shut.
She weakens me in a way that no man enjoys because it means she potentially has the power to wrap me around her little finger that is currently jabbing my shoulder.
“You’re pissed that I didn’t kiss your mouth?” I’m in awe that making her come on my tongue wasn’t enough. I’m slightly offended too, as I thought my skills were way above exceptional. “That’s what has you in a tantrum?”
“No.” I swear a sound dings. It's a horrible lie.
Does this woman ever drop her defense? Wait, she has. A lot. And around me. First that night with the video, again when we watched it, and last night by the pool.
April just needs to be prodded like a bear and fucked like she could be everything.
In a snap decision, I grab her face, cradling her head with her chin in the palm of my hand.
“God damn it, April,” I husk. I hear thick want in my voice, and I wonder if she notices. I feel a throbbing sensation in my chest, and her eyes have me lost in a daze similar to last night.
This keeps happening.
A need to touch her, tease her like no man has, challenge her the way she challenges me. All logic goes out the window when it comes to her. It’s the attraction that’s messing with me because nobody wants to sign up for her daily rants and raves.
And I normally do better by Hadley. I don’t invite women into our lives, yet that’s all I seem to do with April.
Her eyes penetrate my own with want.
A sound escapes from the back of my throat because there will be no more suspense in this moment.
I slam my mouth onto hers, and her sound of surprise vanishes when I draw in her breath. She gives in by kissing me back. I haven’t kissed her since those months ago, yet still she tastes like cake, a distinct taste that I remember because I had spread it on her cheek.
Her murmur rumbles into my mouth as we struggle to pull our lips apart for a breath. But this isn’t going to stop. We manage to take a quick inhale before our mouths seal together again. A rush takes over, and no thoughts come into my mind. I just give in to this moment.
April’s arms loop around my neck, and I lift her up onto the washing machine that is conveniently on.
A laugh escapes, and she untangles our mouths, but her lips brush along mine. “Everything is vibrating,” she whispers.
I grin to myself because she means the sensations from the machine, and hopefully what my lips do to her.
We go at it again, making out like two teenagers. Hands roaming, tongues dueling, and our mouths and necks getting thoroughly explored.
“Does this make up for yesterday?” I pant.
“Shh. I enjoy this more when you don’t remind me of the reasons I don’t like you.” She doesn’t elaborate because she kisses me again.
The height of the machine makes it perfect for her center to meet mine, and tilting my bulge into her, my hard cock must take her by surprise as she yelps and smiles against my jaw.
“I am trying to contain myself from ripping this sweater off of you,” I warn. It’s knitted, off-the-shoulder, and distracting.
She hums in approval.
This is a version of myself I don’t quite recognize. Everything I do lately is the opposite of my structured rules and routine.
“April,” my daughter calls out and seems to be walking down the hall.
Shit, Hadley.
April and I instantly freeze mid-kiss before I back away, swiping a hand through my hair.
“Yeah, kiddo?” April calls out and hops off the washing machine, quickly adjusting her shirt and glancing over her shoulder at me with a semi-panicked look, then her eyes dart down to my impressive member, and I turn away, my fist clenched in the air.
Hadley opens the door. “What are you doing in here?”
“Oh.” April gulps. “Your dad was showing me how to turn on the washing machine.”
With her hand clasping the handle, Hadley looks between us, skeptical.
“What did you need, sweet pea?” I ask, avoiding turning my full body to her.
“Can I walk Pickles?” she inquires with excitement.
Relief seems to flood April’s face. “Sure. How about I come with you. Your dad mentioned he needs a cold shower or swim now anyhow.” April begins ushering Hadley out, not even looking back.
When they're both out of sight, my hands land on the washing machine in frustration. I curse and growl because I let that moment happen.
I’m not even sure what has me in a mood more. The fact I kissed April while my daughter was in the other room so close, or the fact that Hadley interrupted us.
And both options are a problem.
Walking along the sidewalk in downtown Lake Spark, I take in the fact that it’s getting colder outside.
The cool air is needed, maybe it will snap me out of my mood.
Since the laundry room entanglement the other day, April and I have done our best to avoid one another, only keeping to small talk when Hadley is around, as my daughter is, unbeknownst to her, a peacekeeper.
I only have half an hour before I need to pick up Hadley, but it would have been a wasted drive home only to turn around.
Plus, I can imagine April is in the kitchen making something ridiculously delectable yet again.
A quick stop at the drug store to pick up razors that I don’t really need is clearly a more thrilling option.
Looking ahead, I notice a familiar tail and slow wobble. My eyes draw a line from Pickles up his leash to the blonde walking in my direction, her glare strong.
Clearly no escape or avoidance options on the table today.
“April.” My short greeting is all I can manage. I’m not sure what to do.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“I thought you would be back at the house. I’m running an errand while Hadley has tap class.”
Pickles sniffs my leg and wags his tail, clearly happy to see me, and at least someone here is in a good mood.
April pulls him back slightly. “We don’t like him, remember?” She’s speaking to the dog.
Rolling my eyes, I’m reminded of why I never before placed April in the contender category. “Real adult.”
Her eyes bug out at me, and her sound of disapproval flies off her lips that have a fresh coat of Chapstick, because, yeah, I fucking notice.
“Wow. You have some nerve. I mean, you are the king of mixed signals.” She stalks forward with her shoulders puffing out and that damn finger pointing at me again.
“Not that I would want any signal from you, other than that our video situation is solved and I can finally go on my return journey out of here.”
I’m calling bullshit on this.
“Babe, that is the lie of the century. You have no problem following my signals, that’s all you do.”
“Don’t call me babe,” she growls.
Blowing out a breath, I prepare myself for this merry-go-round. “That’s what you took away from that sentence?” Now I have to smirk. “Oh, right, you enjoy it when I’m in control, so you can only agree with everything I say.”
“Spencer, your holier-than-thou baseball-player mindset is a real piece of work. You’re the one initiating everything.”
Now I chuckle under my breath, leaning into her space, close enough for our air to evaporate. “Nah, it’s your mouth that gets us into these predicaments. Remind me to pick up a bar of soap when I hit the drug store.”
“I much prefer tape when you want to get kinky,” she jokes but in such a serious tone that she freezes when she realizes her error.
Chuckling to myself, I find this way too entertaining. I grab Pickles’ leash from her hand, and she doesn’t fight me as she just stews in her confession. And I don’t mean the tape part; she admitted in non-plain terms that there will be another time.
I tug on Pickles' leash, and April peers down to watch him quite energetically walk closer to me.
“What are you doing with my dog?”
“He’s coming with me.”
“No, he’s not,” she volleys.
“Pickles is just living his life of Zen, remember? He suddenly has energy when he sees me.”
“And squirrels. So congratulations, you are in the same category as squirrels,” she states flatly.
Stepping dangerously close to April, I scan the scene to ensure nobody notices us before I speak in a low voice.
“I’ll take him back to the house. Hadley will love seeing him when I pick her up from dance.
Besides, his owner needs to take a walk and cool down because she has to think about the fact that she still has to be my plus-one this week, and you best believe I’m going to make sure you look like the woman every guy wants to fuck but won’t because they'll know you’re there with me. ”
And I wouldn’t need to do much because she already looks the part.
“What woman in their right mind falls for this shit you spew?”
I don’t know, but you have me unable to think clearly.
I reach my finger out to tap the tip of her nose. “The one who is sleeping in my guest room because for one night she took a chance and decided I’m the guy she could have an adventure with.”
“A nightmare. That’s what this is.” The line of her lips twists.
“Then why is a smile curling on your lips, and ten seconds ago, your hands found their way to my arms to hold, as if I’m the guy every woman wants to fuck but they won’t because you’re making a public claim.”
Her eyes drop down to see that she is holding my wrists in an affectionate manner. She instantly drops my arms, and I hate that something feels absent.
“You will be a gentleman, a perfect gentleman tomorrow,” she calls out a warning before turning to march away in a mood, leaving me to smile internally to myself.
She only marches a few steps before she makes a sharp turn to look at me. "We're acting insane."
"Completely." I can only agree, with my grin pulling on the corners of my mouth.
The hard line on her mouth disappears and a gentle smile begins to spread. "We always bicker."
"Isn't it fun?"
Her cheeks tighten because her smile only grows.
"Pizza tonight? I think Hadley will love to make her own pizza, and I can do a cauliflower crust so she has no clue she's eating a vegetable," she rambles as her temper from a minute ago fades into oblivion.
Hell, I'm no longer in the mood to spar. Not after she just made that offer for dinner.
"She will love that." And I do too.
One nod and then April begins to turn slowly, her smile not fading.
"You still better be a gentleman tomorrow," she reminds me with a little wave goodbye in the air.
"Still debating," I tell her, purely to keep the banter up.
But looking down at Pickles who wails a sound when he looks up at me, I know that every living creature can analyze this situation and see a fire.
A fire that I hate to admit, but I don’t think I want to escape the flames.