Chapter Twenty Three
SPENCER
Over the course of my career, I hadn’t made many purchases on an impulse.
But The Digital Owl was small enough that it didn’t require too many funds to buy them.
The trio hadn’t been difficult to win over once I made it clear that they’d have creative freedom.
My team was easily convinced as well. Probably because if it turned out to be unprofitable, we could simply close it, or they could buy it back.
But I knew in my bones that it would do well.
“Let’s do this,” I told Joe. We were standing in front of the meeting room. Jenna, Diego, and Juliet were already inside.
“You’ve got a good feeling about it?” he asked.
“I don’t do anything I’m not 100 percent sure of.”
The Digital Owl would keep my mother’s legacy going. The Vulture could focus on other subjects. It was a win-win.
There was risk with any new venture. We stepped into the meeting room. Juliet, Diego, and Jenna were sitting next to one another.
"Changed your mind already? You seemed to hesitate in the doorway," Juliet asked.
"No, not at all,” I replied smoothly.
"For a moment there, I thought you got cold feet," Diego said.
Joe and I exchanged a glance. It was good to have someone that challenged us in an unassuming way.
"HR and finance will be in touch about all the details, but we have a deal." I shook hands with each one of them, and so did Joe. Then we made small talk right up until they left.
Once I was alone in the office, I checked the time. It was three o'clock, and I had planned to be home at four, but I suddenly had a stroke of inspiration.
I knew Penny liked to have a decaf cappuccino as an afternoon treat.
I headed to the Starbucks nearest to the house.
The day had been exhilarating, and I couldn't wait to share this info with the family, but first I wanted to share it with Penny.
I usually made it a point not to announce news before the ink was dry.
And we hadn't signed any contracts yet. But I was breaking all my rules for Penny. One more wouldn't matter.
At the coffee shop, I grabbed a drink for her and one for myself before getting back in the car. This was a good day. I’d finally found a solution that I was happy with for the biography section.
The drive home took three minutes. I pulled the car up in front of the house and immediately went to Taylor's front door, knocking a couple of times.
"I'll be right out," Penny said. And then I heard her gasp. "Spencer, what are you doing here?" she asked without opening the door.
"I'm early and wanted to surprise you."
"Can you give me a few minutes?"
My pulse became erratic. She sounded like she was hiding something. "Why?"
"I'm not decent."
"I've seen you indecent, Penny." A vein thrummed in my temple. "Are you with someone?" I asked. Fuck me. Say no.
The door swung open the next second.
"What did you just say?"
Now I understood what she meant by indecent. She had white goo on her face and was holding two slices of cucumbers in her hand. Her eyes were cold.
"Never mind," I said. "I brought you decaf cappuccino. And you don’t look indecent at all." I stepped inside.
She closed the door, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't think you're off the hook."
"Please, Penny."
"No, I mean it. How could you believe I was with someone else? Why would you jump to that conclusion first thing?"
I exhaled sharply, putting the coffee cups on the small umbrella stand. "I overreacted. I’m sorry."
"You don't trust me."
"I do. It was just an instinctive reaction. I can't explain it."
"Well, it pissed me off."
"You've got every right to be mad," I replied in a measured tone. Why the hell had I jumped to that conclusion? She hadn't done anything to make me distrustful.
"I'm going to wash this off my face. I feel ridiculous. But you're not off the hook," she repeated.
She disappeared into the bathroom next to the entrance and resurfaced a few minutes later, fresh-faced.
"I'll take the coffee now," she said. She grabbed it from the umbrella stand.
I needed to make this right. How had I managed to fuck it up so bad?
I gave Cade shit whenever he messed up with Meredith. And this was karma coming back for me.
“Penny, I don't have an explanation, okay? I don't know why I jumped the gun. Maybe because I’m afraid of losing you to someone else.”
She turned around, mouth parted and eyes wide. "Spencer." Her voice was soft. Finally!
I hadn’t even been aware of that fear before I said it, but it was 100 percent true.
"I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” I stepped closer to her. I caressed the corner of her lip, then drew my thumb around her mouth.
She fidgeted in her spot. "Good. And thanks for the coffee."
“I figured it would brighten up your day. I know it's your afternoon treat."
The corners of her mouth tilted up. "Yeah, it is. Although I already had one. And by the way, I got you something too… and Ben as well."
"Huh?" I asked, confused.
"I went shopping this afternoon."
"What did you buy yourself?"
"The coffee."
I frowned. "You went shopping for me and Ben?"
"I’ve been spying on this cute trio of onesies for a while. He likes the color yellow. I was lucky that it was on sale. I already washed and dried them on the twenty-minute turbo speed setting. And you'll see your present soon enough too."
She’d bought Ben something? Damn, and I didn’t think I could fall for her even more.
She motioned for me to move into the sitting area. There were two bags there. She reached for the smaller one, taking out a tie. "I know you have a lot of ties, but…"
"I love it," I exclaimed. "I'll think about you every time I wear it."
"That’s just what I wanted to hear." She sighed. Her body language alerted me that she had something on her mind.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "You're still upset about earlier?"
"No. Don't remind me of it again. But I wanted to tell you something."
Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Her body was tense; her shoulders were up to her ears.
I put the tie down and cupped her face. "Tell me."
"Taylor called today. There's bad weather in Italy, so she's returning earlier."
"Okay," I said, unsure why this had put her in such a state. And then it hit me. "You have to move out."
"Yes. She did offer for me to stay with her, but that would be weird. So, I’ll only be here for a bit longer, and then I'll go back to the condo."
"You hate that condo."
"Correction! I hate the stuff in it and the memories.
It's not a bad condo, per se," she said, infusing her voice with what I'd learned to recognize as fake positivity.
"But I've already put the furniture on Craigslist, and as soon as I get rid of it, I’ll replace it with something new.
Out with the trash, in with the new life, or what was that saying? "
I had no clue what she was talking about. "When did you even put it online?"
"When I was drinking coffee at the shopping center."
My heart was beating fast. "I don't want you to go."
The corners of her mouth tilted downward. "Don't say that. It's difficult for me anyway."
"Move in with me."
She gasped.
I stilled completely, pressing my finger pads to the back of her head. "Move in with me," I repeated.
"Spencer," she whispered, "we haven’t even known each other that long."
"I know, but I’m crazy about you. Everything about us is out of the norm and extraordinary, so why not take this step as well?"
I wanted her here more than anything else, but she was shaking her head. Taking my hand away, she kissed my palm, stepping back. "No, Spencer. That would be way too fast.” Her shoulders were back up to her ears. I could practically see her retreating into herself.
Frustration coursed through me. Were her feelings not as strong as mine? "Will you at least consider it?"
"I don’t think it’s a good idea. I mean, look at today. I didn't open the door, and you assumed I was with someone else. I think we rushed into this too fast, and I'm not ready for moving in."
I swallowed hard, putting my hands in my pockets.
On a rational level, I knew she was right, of course.
This was madness. People didn't move in after knowing each other for such a short time.
But every fiber of my being wanted her here with me.
She belonged in my house, in my bed. She belonged with me and with Ben.
She'd chased that trio of onesies because she thought Ben liked yellow, for God's sake.
But I was respecting her boundaries. It was good that she was reining me in. I wasn't rational when it came to her, and that was a dangerous thing.
"Let's go over to your house. I'm dying to see the onesies on Ben," she suggested.
When we entered the house, Agatha was already preparing to leave.
After giving me the rundown of the day, she admired the onesies Penny bought.
Once Agatha left, Penny held up the yellowest of the onesies. To my astonishment, Ben laughed. I hadn't seen this reaction from him before.
"He really likes yellow," I said, stunned.
"I told you. I had a yellow jacket on the other day, and when I took it off, he seemed to protest. Then I put it back on, and he started smiling again. I thought maybe he just liked the action, so I replaced it with one of your coats, and it didn't have the same effect. How was today?”
“Good. We struck a deal. We haven’t signed the papers yet, but I want to celebrate anyway.”
She grinned, nodding feverishly. “How about your family?”
“I’ll only tell them after the ink is dry.”
“So, I’m the only one who knows other than your team?”
“Yes. And I want to celebrate with just you tonight.”
“I’m honored.”
I knew right then that I was falling in love with Penny.
I wanted to pin this woman to my couch and never let her go. She isn't ready, Spencer. Stop being such a fucking Neanderthal.
We changed Ben’s clothes together. My heart was beating insanely fast again. My rational side was losing. Penny belonged here with the two of us, plain and simple.