Page 120 of Say You Will

Eight minutes after he’s gone, the perimeter security system sends an alert to the new watch Henry got me. Since I expected the alert with their arrival from the airfield, I dismiss the notification. If the guys decided to drive the supplies over in the truck he keeps in the hangar, it would account for the time difference.

As I reach to fill the kettle, Oliver barks at the front door. Every chipmunk or squirrel that catches his attention gets an announcement from him. “Quiet.”

When he responds to my command by subsiding, but remains alert and distrustful by the door, I bend to give him some attention. “Good boy. It’s just Henry and the guys.”

His tail thumps once, and I return to the kitchen. When Oliver doesn’t follow me, I point to his corner. “Bed.”

I don’t want him accidentally underfoot if the men enter with armloads of groceries. Oliver trots to his bed, head bopping side to side as he goes, then settles himself down, but he keeps his attention firmly on the entrance to the cabin.

Less than a minute later, a knock sounds, and I frown. Oliver barks, and I reissue the quiet command in a low voice, as I eye the door with suspicion. Henry can’t have locked himself out again. He made changes, so he and I both can override themanual locks with a combination of a keypad at the door and a coded digital “key” we can access from our watches.

He has his own company with a Research and Development Department that works exclusively on creating tech and what I call “nifty spy gadgets” for his family’s personal use.

According to Henry, it’s a perk of the “billionaire vigilante lifestyle.” I’d told him he was “super badass” then handed him the toilet bowl cleaner and reminded him he was on bathroom duty today.

The knock sounds again and then a familiar voice. “Ms. Lennox?”

I peer out the window to see Spencer standing on the porch. When he sees me peek through the window, he lifts a vase full of yellow roses to show me.

I open the door. “Spencer. Hi. Where are Henry and Dante? I thought they’d be with you.”

“They’re only a few minutes behind me. They’re bringing the . . . what do you call it? It looks like a miniature open truck?”

“The Gator?”

“Yes. It only seats two, and since Henry knows I wanted a moment alone with you, he sent me ahead.”

“You wanted to be alone with me?”

He shivers. “Brrr. It’s quite frigid today.”

I step back to allow him to enter. When he does, I close the door behind us. Spencer extends the flowers to me, and I accept them with a small smile of confusion. As Spencer removes his overcoat and leather gloves, I place the vase on the kitchen table.

“I owe you an apology, Ms. Lennox. I didn’t fully comprehend Henry’s commitment to you. I consider him to be a friend, as much as an employer. I’ve known him for a long time, and I’d never seen him express any interest in a romantic relationship.

“I believed his desire to find a spouse and request for information on courtship to be a practical consideration. I basedmy assumptions on years’ worth of his previous behavior, but, obviously, I was very wrong.”

He wrings his hands together, his expression sincerely distraught.

“It’s all right, Spencer. Henry and I have worked out our misunderstanding. I know you weren’t trying to sabotage us. Neither of us blames you.”

He straightens. “You’re too kind, Ms. Lennox.”

“Please call me Franki.”

At the small shake of his head, I plow on before he can protest. “Please. I call you by your first name.”

His brows lift.

“Spencer is your last name?” I ask in realization.

He dips his head with a smile. “My given name is Noah. I’d be honored if you used it.”

“Franki?”

We both startle at the sound of a strident woman’s voice, then a series of hard knocks at the door. Oliver barks in a frenzy and leaves his bed to stand between me and the door.

“I know my daughter is here. Open this door!”

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