Page 11 of Next to You

I swiped my hand beneath my eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m being dramatic and silly.”

“No, you aren’t. Tonight was scary. Cry as much as you need to. Let it all out. I won’t judge you. Maybe I’ll even cry with you,” he teased gently. “Come on.” He reached out his other hand, and I took it, allowing him to pull me gently toward the couch bed.“Your hands are like ice. I’m going to help you put on your socks, okay?”

“Thank you. I don’t understand how you’re so warm right now.”

“You’re tiny.” He shrugged. “I’m huge. Plus, I’ve just always run hot, I guess. I hardly ever get cold.”

I scooted to the corner of the couch and leaned into a pile of pillows. “Well, I’m always cold. I’m shaking worse than my mother’s Chihuahua right now. But don’t worry, I won’t try to bite you or hump your leg—well, your ankle. Buster is too small to reach leg level.”

He chuckled as he knelt on the bed across from me. “That’s good to know.”

I cringed as I felt my face get hot. “I’ll stop talking now.” Or maybe I should say more. The blush was warming me up. Or was it having his hands on me that had me all hot and bothered?

His big palm encircled my ankle, and he carefully slid the sock onto my foot.

“Thanks…” I said, exhaling and watching in rapt attention as he tended to my other foot. The only thing that could make this moment better would be if I could actually feel my feet.

“Your feet really are freezing.” He observed with a frown as he rubbed them between his hands.

“I know. I can’t feel my toes anymore. What if I get gangrene and have to get some amputated? Will I get a discount on pedicures? Could that be a macabre silver lining to this situation?”

Smiling eyes met mine. “Stop being hilarious and cute. I can’t take it.”

I glanced at him from beneath my lashes, then quickly looked away. “Aw, I was aiming for tempting and gorgeous, dang it.”

I inhaled a soft gasp.

I was flirting with him.

Me,nerdy arty, weirdo Lucy was flirting with Sexy-Spencer.

Maybe the near-death experience had cleared away some of my shyness. Or maybe I was just sick of regretting how I had always been too nervous to really talk to him. Carpe Diem, I decided I was going to make the most of this.

“If that’s what you’re aiming for, you succeeded.” His eyes remained on me when I looked up. “I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to flirt with you tonight. Can I?”

“Trust your instincts, Spencer,” I replied with a grin, thrilled beyond words that he’d returned my flirting. “You’re already irresistible. I was a snowbound damsel, and you saved me. You carried me to a cabin in the woods, built a fire, and are currently warming my feet. Are we in a fairy tale right now? Are you secretly a prince?”

“A prince who works on cars and drives a tow truck? I don’t think so.” He released my feet, dragging a hand down his face as his cheeks turned pink. “Anyway, I think I can help, I mean with your feet. Can I try?”

I burst out laughing. “You’re already helping me, Spencer.”

He lifted his shirt and pulled my feet close, hugging them in his arms and pressing them against his abs.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I resisted the temptation to feel him up with my toes. God, ever since high school, I’d been such a freaky little perv when it came to him.

I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. “You are literally a human space heater. That feels so much better. I was tempted to stick them in the fire for a minute there.”

Our eyes met and held as heat flared between us—not just between his abs and my feet—real heat. His eyes blazed into mine. I was not imagining this. I sank into the moment, letting myself feel it, making a memory of it so I wouldn’t doubt it later when my insecurities rose and tried to make me let it go.

He cleared his throat, breaking the moment. “So. Uh…”

“Yeah. I mean—yeah. Um…”

“Should we eat the tacos?” he suggested.

“Good thinking.” I unwrapped my hair and tossed the towel in the corner with his wet shirt. “I’ll pick that up tomorrow, and your shirt too. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thanks.” He reached for the bowl. “You were right. They’re pretty beat up. But they still taste good. I snuck a bite when you were in the bathroom.”

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