Chapter 19
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Spencer ran his hand over his face, then his hair.
He wasn’t going to let last night be a mistake.
He wasn’t going down that path and overthinking everything to death.
They were two single grown adults with a heavy dose of attraction for each other.
They were smart and knew what they were getting themselves into.
Which didn’t explain why he was spending a beautiful mid-July Saturday morning working. He thought he was done with that shit for the foreseeable future.
Except he had no freaking life and just seeing the spark of one had him burying his head.
He went through a few more of the notes from the audit with London, shot her off an email and then shut his laptop to stretch his legs. He’d go back to it later if he got bored enough.
When his phone went off, he reached to pick it up, surprised to see London’s text.
I’m not working today and you shouldn’t be either.
The grin couldn’t be contained.
Got nothing else to do.
He watched the bubbles on the screen, then they stopped, and popped up again, stopped a second time.
Glad to know that he wasn’t the only one struggling with what to say or do around her.
Me neither. Want to be bored together?
No reason to text back, so he hit the button to call her.
“I’m never bored around you,” he said when she answered.
“It’s impossible to be. I haven’t been here long and I’ve been working. How about I get to play tourist today. Do you want to join me?”
He couldn’t remember if he’d ever done that. Probably not.
“Where is Paris?”
“She’s working. She’s boring like you. Said she needs to get her proposal done this weekend.”
“And you’re not helping? That’s not very sisterly of you.”
“I’ll help when she’s done, but there are parts where I’m more a hindrance. No reason for me to sit around the place sighing and driving her nuts. She hates working in her room and I’m not sitting in my room so that I don’t annoy her while she’s in the living room.”
“Take her away from me, Spencer!” Paris shouted in the background.
“Well, guess we know what your sister thinks. Does she know about last night?”
“Yes. Get some clothes on.”
“I’m dressed.” He looked down at his shorts and T-shirt, but he was barefoot. “Are you?”
“Not to go out. I’ll change and tell me where you want to meet.”
“I’ll come toward you,” he said. “We can figure out the rest. Sit tight.”
“Or I’ll start walking toward you. We can meet in the middle. See, just letting you know I’m not as rigid as you might think.”
He laughed. “We’ll see about that.”
His phone hit the couch next to him, then he walked to his room, pulled out a pair of tan flat-front shorts, changed his old T-shirt for a dark green one, one more fitted and showing off his body.
London had eyed his chest enough when they were in the hotel room, so might as well give her something to think about.
He pulled out white ankle socks, then grabbed a pair of white sneakers to slip on, picked his phone and money clip up and was out the door.
Work was forgotten and his brain was buzzing with what to do for the day.
Five minutes later, he was running into London. Guess she didn’t stay put like he’d said. She didn’t even know where he lived other than the direction he came from.
“You’ve got no patience,” he said.
“Never. My mother will confirm that. That’s why I was born first. I had to shove Paris out of the way because she wasn’t moving fast enough.”
“I could see that. What do you have in mind for today?”
“You’re in comfy shoes so mind walking around?”
He looked at her attire. She was in black baggy shorts with a lilac T-shirt, a little loose on her, the front tucked in, the back out and flapping a few inches.
With her long legs, she almost looked skinnier than she was, but he knew it was the style. She didn’t come off as the type of woman to wear skin-tight anything.
Unless she wanted to drive him insane.
“I’m good with anything that doesn’t require me to stare at a computer today.”
She rolled her eyes and hooked her arm through his. “Then let’s go to Chelsea Market. I haven’t been there yet and I’ve been dying to do it. It’s close to lunch too. I’m assuming you’ve been there before.”
“I have, a few years ago.”
Not that he went there alone. The last time was with a woman too. They walked around, got some food, picked up a few specialty things and called it a day.
“I didn’t think you’d be the type to want to walk around a food market,” he said.
“I love food. Haven’t you realized that yet? We spent three days together. No skimpy salads for me.”
She had a point.
She put away as much as he had, if not more. He still wasn’t sure where she stored it.
“Have you always eaten like that?”
“Yep. I’ve got so much energy that it feels as if I’m always starving. And since you’re a man, I won’t feel as if I have to watch my words when I complain I hardly ever gain weight.”
He laughed. “I’m sure women just love hearing you complain about that.”
“I think it’s a family thing. We are all naturally thin, but none of us sits still either.”
“You haven’t talked about your siblings much. How come?”
“Because there are a lot of them and, though we keep in touch often via text, it’s hard to keep track of everyone’s life. Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? I know West and his siblings feel the same way. Though I’m positive they are a closer bunch than we are.”
He frowned. “You’re not close with your siblings?”
“Oh, we are. But my mother isn’t like Aunt Aileen.
My father either. They give us a lot of freedom and are there if we need them, but they don’t make us feel guilty for not always being around.
I should cut my aunt slack. She traveled the world and my Uncle Sam wasn’t there much being in the service and then he died so young.
She really needed her kids more than anything. ”
“I can’t imagine. My parents are more like yours. My sister, I told you she had a heart condition. We thought we were going to lose her at one point. I think they hovered over her so much, then I did the same thing.”
“Which she would have hated, I’m sure.”
“She did. But it gave me space. I know they’d like me closer, but they’ve got their lives and are still working. They visit as much as they can.”
They weaved through the people on the street while they talked, her keeping him close. He liked that.
Liked it more than he cared to admit.
Even that she’d taken charge and done it.
He wasn’t the hand-holding type and he didn’t think she was.
“You know what is great about you?” she said.
“No, do tell.”
She laughed. “That you’re taller than me, but not so much that it’s awkward. We line up well. And you’re not bothered if I put heels on and am closer to your height.”
“Nope. I’m not that insecure about myself.”
“Are you insecure about anything?”
“Isn’t everyone? We all have something.”
“Your job,” she said. “Just like me. At least right now.”
“That is one.”
“There is more?” she asked in mocked horror. “What could it be?”
“Might be the woman who is holding onto my arm.”
“You’re not insecure about me as a person, are you? More like this situation we are in.”
He wasn’t so sure about that.