Chapter Six
PENNY
My entire body was hurting even in places where I hadn't scraped off the skin. The fall shook me to my bones. I hadn’t been expecting it in the least. Becky pulled me to the concrete with full force.
At least I hadn’t fallen face-first. As soon as I gave Becky water, I went to the bathroom.
But if I started to wash myself now, I was just going to make a bloody mess.
No, it was better to go to Spencer's, especially if he had first aid stuff. Besides, the sight of blood was not good for my stomach. It always made me queasy. The last thing I needed was to pass out while I tended to my own wounds. I couldn’t believe I’d sprawled all over the concrete like that with my ass hanging out.
Thank heavens Spencer wasn’t looking. Before I could talk myself out of going over, I left the house and went to Spencer's front door, knocking as he'd instructed me.
I waited for a few seconds, listening intently.
"We have company tonight,” I heard Spencer say through the door.
The door swung open, and I swooned. Spencer was carrying a baby and looked so fine.
Had he been talking to the baby before? God, that was so cute.
"Hey, come on in."
"It's just the two of you?" I double-checked.
"Yeah, Agatha—the nanny—just left."
"I saw her arrive this morning, and she seems really nice."
"So far, it’s going well," he said.
I couldn't get a good read on him. Sometimes he seemed to have a great sense of humor, and sometimes he seemed like a grump.
"I already got the first aid kit out."
"Okay," I said following him through the house. It was styled very differently to Taylor's place.
Taylor had bought quite a few period pieces, but his decor was all white and modern. I liked it. It was a clean and sleek look. The bathroom was gorgeous and huge with marble on the floor and the walls. I particularly loved the freestanding tub.
At first glance, I thought he had a triple sink, but then I realized it was a double sink and the huge space next to it had a bassinet of sorts.
Spencer deposited the baby in it, careful with his head in a clumsy but adorable way. Not that I was any good with babies. I probably hadn't held one since I was a babysitter in high school. He put the first aid kit between the two sinks.
“Are the pets your responsibility all the time?” he asked.
“Yes. Since I'm mostly at home, I can keep an eye on them. Although they don’t like it when I’m in calls.”
"What do you do for work?" he asked.
"I'm a website developer at a big tech company but also take freelance projects on the side. You?"
"I run a publishing house."
"Oh, wait… Spencer Whitley. Is that Whitley Publishing?"
He nodded.
“I read quite a few of your magazines.”
"Do you enjoy them?"
"Yes, a lot. It can't be easy with the publishing world changing so fast."
"We’re always ahead of the curve."
I loved his confidence. We were standing by the sink, and I couldn’t ignore how close we were. I was more aware of his body than before. He was extremely well-built—his muscles were toned to perfection.
"Where do you hurt?" he asked.
"Everywhere."
He snapped his head up to look at me, focusing on my eyes. "Want us to go to an emergency room?"
Oh man, I totally melted. Who was this guy? He barely even knew me. Why would he take me to the ER? And he had the baby too.
"No, it was just a figure of speech. It shook me, you know?"
"I have Advil too."
“Really?”
"I have a baby. I'm a walking pharmacy."
I chuckled. "I should probably ask Taylor where she keeps medicine and stuff."
"Let’s see…Scraped knees and thighs. Your elbows and forearms look like shit."
"They do," I agreed.
He sized me up and down slowly. I fought the urge to shimmy my hips because he lingered a bit too long on my legs and upward.
A shiver went through me. I sucked in a breath, drawing Spencer’s gaze to me.
I swallowed hard. Yep, my hot-as-hell neighbor was checking me out. Not your neighbor. Taylor's.
"Okay, I'll start with your thighs. They seem the worst."
"I can do the cleanup."
"Are you sure? I always say cleaning your own wounds is more painful.”
"I've never tried," I admitted. "I don't fall over very often."
He patted the sink. "Hop here. Or if you want, you can lean against the edge of the tub."
"No, with my luck today, I'd just fall over. Is it okay if I just raise a thigh?"
"Sure."
I felt uncomfortable putting my ass on his fancy double sink. I bent my right leg at the knee, holding up my thigh for him to inspect.
“Okay, that won't work. It's better if you just keep your feet on the floor."
Before I knew it, he crouched in front of me.
It was a testament to those pheromones rolling off him that my mind jumped straight to dirty thoughts.
If he just pushed up my skirt, he'd see my completely hairy bush peeking at the sides of my panties.
I hadn't bothered to shave or wax it in months because I had no reason to.
Still don't have one, I reminded myself. You're as single as can be.
I had no idea what happened to me when I was around Spencer. He woke up a part of me that I wasn't even sure had existed before.
"This is going to be uncomfortable, but it shouldn't hurt too much."
Famous last words.
He doused the pads with disinfectant. I rolled my hands into fists when he touched them to my skin. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was definitely more than uncomfortable. I whimpered.
He snapped his head up. "Want me to stop?"
"No, or we'll never get it done."
His hands were gentle. He placed a palm on my calf. I felt warm at the contact.
"The baby's so quiet," I said, realizing he was half asleep.
"Yeah, Agatha said that he just woke up, so I was expecting him to have more energy. But babies live by their own rules. No matter how many books you read on the topic, they still surprise you.”
“You read books about it?” That was so cute.
“I’m a single dad, and none of my brothers have kids, so yeah, not much advice going around."
He moved the pad farther up on my thigh, as well as his other hand, steadying me.
Skin, please don't turn to goose bumps. The last thing I needed was to embarrass myself even more in front of this handsome man.
Then he trailed his hand even higher up, and not even the sting of the disinfectant could keep me from reacting.
I broke out in goose bumps everywhere. He paused, looking up at me.
"It hurts that bad?"
"Oh yeah, yeah," I replied. What else could I say? “It's even more uncomfortable than before.”
God, I hoped he bought it.
"I’ll let this leg rest, and ll do the other one."
The baby started fussing a bit.
"I’ll reach out to him," I offered.
"No, let's take a break, and I'll soothe him."
He rose to his feet, leaning over the bassinet, putting a hand on the baby's tummy. I couldn't believe this mountain of a man was so gentle. Not only with the baby but with me as well. To my astonishment, the baby calmed down instantly.
"I think he just needs me in his view," Spencer said. "I've read that when they are at this age, they only acknowledge shapes, but maybe it’s comforting if he sees me.”
Yep, still melting.
"You know what, I've got an idea. I'll put the bassinet on the floor so he can see me."
"Or we can turn it toward me," I said. “He just notices shapes, right?”
Spencer's head tilted. "You're right. I think he just needs to see an adult."
"How did you get stuck house-sitting?" he asked as he went back down to my thigh. Thank God my skin had returned to normal.
"Taylor is in Europe, and she didn't want her pets to be alone, and I needed a change of scenery."
He stopped, dousing the cloth in disinfectant. "Why?"
"Messy divorce. I wasn't in the mood to live in our condo anymore, but I'm currently too broke to move.” I swallowed hard.
"That’s a very tough situation.”
“It is. This is the first time I’m saying divorce out loud to anyone except my lawyer, Mom, or Taylor. By the way, I don’t feel a sting anymore. Are we done?”
"I think we're all set," he replied. His left hand was splayed on my right inner thigh. His thumbs barely reached above my knee, but I was on pins and needles. He rose to his feet. "I'm sorry to hear you're going through…all that with the divorce."
"It was a tough time," I said, "but it feels good actually to say it. I'm divorced. I'm single."
"Good for you.”
“It's the first step toward better things.”
“Happy with how everything is going so far?”
"I wouldn't say I'm happy. But I’m better than before."
He glanced at his son. "Ben and I are still adjusting to it being just the two of us."
"Did you and his mother break up recently?"
Why would you ask that, Penny? If he wanted to talk about it, he would have. He glanced at me again. His eyes turned darker.
"No… It was almost a year ago when she took off with the man she thought was Ben's dad."
I gasped. "What?"
"Turns out he wasn't, I was. And she doesn't want primary custody. She visits a few times a week, and that's it."
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. "I'm not sure what to say," I said eventually. "And I thought I’d drawn the short stick with Wally. Holy shit."
He narrowed his eyes, glancing down at my knees and then back up quickly. "What do you say about having a glass of wine?"
"Hey, that's a good idea," I said. "Better than taking Advil, anyway."
"Okay, then I’ll just pack this—”
I didn't hear the end of the sentence because Ben started crying. Spencer immediately lifted him, putting him on his shoulder. He jerked his head back when Ben practically cried in his ear.
"He’s got a stomachache," he said. "I'm going to warm up his tummy blanket."
"We can skip the wine," I said.
He looked from me to Ben and added, "I think that's for the best. The stomachache will take a while to settle. But I’ll make it up to you, I promise."
"There's nothing to make up for. I'm the one who owes you because you tended to my wounds."
"You only got them because I startled Becky, so we’re back to me owing you some wine."
I laughed nervously. "Then just knock on my door whenever. I'm home most of the time, and as your grandmother said, it's good to have friends in the neighborhood."
He laughed again.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing." He was having one of those secret conversations with himself again. Oh, I was going to ask him about it soon enough. But not right now when his son was clearly in discomfort.
"Good night, Spencer. And let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
"Want me to walk you out?" he asked.
"No, thanks. I'll find my own way.”
“Good night, Penny.”
I swallowed hard, hurrying out of the bathroom. Spencer and I could be friends. I was sure of it. But first, I just had to figure out how to stop blushing when I was around him.