Page 51 of Next to You

“No.” My eyes darted to the floor like I was in trouble. Old habits die hard, I guess. “But I was fine. It wasn’t a bad one.”

“I’m glad. Where’s your purse? I’ll put a few of your pills in there. Just in case—” She stood and headed toward my bathroom.

“Just in case she gets trapped in a cabin in a random freak snowstorm again?” Piper teased gently.

Mom laughed and headed for the front door instead, stopping with her hand on the knob. “Okay, point taken. I’ll back off. But you never know what can happen. That’s the point. I always say that forewarned is forearmed. Be prepared. Girls, let’s get out of Lucy’s hair so she can relax. Decompression is key, honey. Why don’t you take a bubble bath? I put some new lavender bath salts on the edge of your tub.”

My eyes widened. Was she leavingwithoutknowing everything there was to know? She was never onenottomeddle. My eyebrows dropped down in a low V of suspicion.

Cara kissed my cheek, whispering for me to call her later.

“Grandma sends her love,” Piper informed me. “She said she wouldn’t add to the nosy inquisition and will talk to you later once you’ve settled back in. So expect to deliver a full rendition of your snowed-in experience to her at some point in the future.”

I huffed a laugh. “Thanks for the warning.”

“You got it. Call me if you need anything.”

Paige bent to hug me goodbye. “I was only teasing you. If you hooked up with Spencer, I would be very happy for you. He’s a good guy.”

“Thanks, Paige.”

She laughed. “So you’re still not going to confirm or deny? Damn, Lucy. Harsh.”

Seeing the humor in her eyes, I smiled. “You guys will be the first to know if something happens, okay?”

“Okay. Get some rest. Talk soon.”

I watched them leave, then let out a relieved sigh. I wasn’t ready to talk about Spencer until I—I had no idea when I would be ready.

With every other relationship I had, I was always talking about it. I was the one who made the effort. I made the plans, thought about my feelings, and wondered how he felt because he never wanted to talk to me about it. I constantly worried about where things were going, while in reality, nothing ever went anywhere, probably because I pushed too hard. I held on too tight, twisting my hope into knots and then crying about it when they unraveled, and I was left alone again.

No more.

I got up to open a bottle of wine and grab a snack. I still had things to ponder.

Spencer said he wanted to make plans. He said all I had to do was open the door for him when he knocked.

Maybe I should let him.

Obviously, the door he was talking about was literal, but maybe there was also a symbolic one. Maybe letting him take the lead would be good for my heart. He had already healed something inside me by giving me room to be my authentic self and not running off into the storm to escape my “too much” qualities.

I opened the fridge and found one of Piper’s famous cheese boards. God bless Paige and Piper and their need to feed anyone who was going through some shit.

With a smile on my face, I took my wine and the food and headed into my living room to rot on the couch. I flicked on the TV and tried to find something to watch.

I flicked it off, grabbed my book from the coffee table, and immediately tossed it aside. I was not in the mood to read.

I was in the mood for Spencer.

But I didn’t have his number or my car. I could call any of my sisters for a ride, but that would mean admitting things I wasn’t ready for anyone to know yet.

Damn.

I hoped lavender bath salts really were relaxing because I was about to dump half that freaking bag into the tub and try to soak out my feelings.

Chapter 20

Spencer

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