Page 3 of Next to You

Way too much when I thought of how many years had passed since we were back at Sweetbriar High together. I had sat next to or behind him in every class because his last name was Cassidy, and mine was Darlington, and most of our teachers had put us in alphabetical order. I was pretty sure the back of his head would be embedded in my mind for all eternity.

Sometimes, he would go a few weeks too long between haircuts, and his hair would get wavy. The way it curled over his collar was magical; it looked so soft. The great tragedy of my life was that I’d never be able to run my fingers through it.

I heaved out a sigh.

At this point, pining from afar was second nature to me. When it came to dating, friendships, love, and relationships, I always went in with an open mind and heart, hoping to find someone who would really see me, someone who would appreciate who I was and who might grow to love me. Yet each time, I came away losing another slice of my confidence and heart and retreated further into myself.

Maybe that’s why dating wasn’t fun anymore. I needed to find my spark. With each failed try, my desire to let myself be vulnerable had faded further away.

I heaved another dramatic sigh and lowered my window as he approached.

“Hey, Spencer,” I mumbled without looking up at him.

“Lucy? Is that you?” He hunkered down with bent knees, leaning his arms on my open window. Snowflakes clung to his hair as he smiled at me softly, with his eyes filled with concern. “I thought I recognized your car. I haven’t seen you around town in a while. What are you doing out this late? Are you okay?”

He recognized my car? How on earth would he know what kind of car I drove? And how would he know I haven’t been in town lately? I was on deadline, writing my latest Larry the Llama children’s book until last week, meaning I’d been living off coffee and takeout. The light of day was something I had not seen in months.

I wrinkled my nose in confusion, struggling to find something to say to him.

A shiver shot through me at the very idea of being recognized by him, of beingseen. But I shut it down before my juvenile imagination could run even wilder than it already was. How very high school of me.

“Indeed it is I, Lucy Darlington, the first. Much to my shame.” I rolled my lips between my teeth, hoping to stem the flow of nonsense words that decided to pop out of nowhere ina crisp, British accent. My cheeks heated enough to thaw the snowbank surrounding my poor car.Why am I like this?

His gorgeous blue eyes lit up in amusement. “Nothing to be ashamed of. Getting stuck in the snow up here happens to all of us at some point. It’s inevitable, like a rite of passage. No one was expecting this much snow. It wasn’t in the forecast.”

“Right, I totally didn’t expect this.” I waved a hand around for emphasis. “I never would have left the house. Freaking Skipper McFadden.”

“Oh yeah, he’s clueless. Hey, is that Taco Time? I’m starving. I’ll trade you a taco for a tow.”

“I would be happy to share my tacos. But I seriously doubt something like this has ever happened to you. There is no way you’ve been stuck up here.”

He shrugged as a grin tipped up the corner of his luscious mouth. “Only because I’m usually driving one of these tow trucks. Come on, let me help you. No charge for old friends.”

Old friends.I’d take it.

I grabbed my purse and the tacos and opened the door, shuddering from the sudden sharp blast of cold and the warm grip of his hand as I slid mine into his. What a gentleman. A tall, dark, and hot, ripped to shreds, sexy gentleman. I’d seen him jogging around Honeybrook Hollow from time to time. I knew about all those muscles he was hiding under his winter jacket, thank you very much.

He led me to the truck, which was pulled as far to the side as he could. “It’s quite a way up. Let me help you.”

“Thanks.” He opened the driver’s door for me, holding me by my elbow as I put a foot on the running board.

“Steady now.” His hand tightened, sliding to my upper arm as he took the taco bag from my other hand.

“How do you manage to get up here all the time?” I asked as I struggled to hoist my leg far enough to climb. My jeans were too tight, dang it. They were wet and sticking to me too.

He let out a chuckle. “I’m six foot five. What are you? About five four?”

“Something like that,” I murmured as I clambered into the cab and over the console to settle into the passenger seat.

I was five three without shoes and reaching things on high shelves without some type of assistance was not one of my strengths.

“Here ya go.” He passed me the bag and my purse with a wink. “Save one for me.”

Trying my best to ignore the wink, I answered. “I’ll let you have them all if you can get me home. Thank you, Spencer. I really appreciate this. I had no idea what I was going to do. Panic was about to set in. I was this close.”

He chuckled as I held my thumb and pointer a half inch apart for reference.

“I’m glad I happened by. It’s late, and the thought of you being out here alone is, um—yeah. I don’t much like that thought. Anything could happen on this road.” He let out a breath before continuing. “Tacos are awesome, but getting stuck in a snowbank is not. I’m not trying to lecture you. Just keep that in mind for next time.”

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