Page 46 of Reunion With Benefits

Twelve

The next week passed in a haze of happiness. A voice in Abby’s head told her to be careful, not to let herself enjoy it too much because it could be snatched away so quickly.

She’d never gone for long stretches without something going wrong. Like, spectacularly wrong. A bad boyfriend, a huge problem at work. Having to move. A huge expense she hadn’t prepared for. Running out of money. Until she’d found stability with her job at Jameson, the last two years had been a constant strain.

Just to be safe, the only thing she’d spent any money on since she started receiving the big paycheck was her condo. She figured she always could sell it if finances grew tight again. It was her rainy-day fund, in a way.

Looking around the dining room table now, she couldn’t call up any of those bad memories or nagging worries. Probably had something to do with how loud the Jameson family was. Man, they could talk about anything. Carter, specifically, was a pro at talking.

They’d all gathered to celebrate the news from Ellie’s doctor that she could move around a bit more. She came back from her appointment two days ago and declared a family dinner was in order. Verbally walked all over Derrick’s objections and made it happen. To make her happy, and everyone seemed determined to do that, they gathered.

Even now they passed a roast, vegetables and potatoes around the long rectangle table in Derrick and Ellie’s dining room. Dishes clanked as Carter and Jackson argued about the benefits of mashed potatoes over all other potato dishes. Jackson’s sister and Ellie’s best friend, Vanessa, couldn’t make it on short notice, and Ellie’s brother was away at some computer seminar, but everyone else was there.

“Are you okay?” Spence whispered the question in Abby’s ear as he leaned in closer.

She reached out and slid her hand over his thigh. Gave it a little squeeze. It was tempting to drive him a little mad under the table, but really, she wanted to keep the connection. After their week together, she’d been spoiled. She hated any distance between them outside of work.

This sensation of falling and being caught was new to her. So foreign but not unwelcome. Her young life centered on her and her mom. They had been an inseparable pair. Then she widened her circle to include a few friends. Now, with Spence, she opened it again for this makeshift family that joked with her while enveloping her in its incredible warmth.

He kissed her temple. “I know you’re not used to so many people.”

Carter snapped his fingers. He sat directly across from Abby and pointed at the dish next to Spence. “Stop licking your girlfriend and pass the peas.”

Spence made a groaning sound. “Are you sad because you don’t have a girlfriend?”

“We should find him one,” Derrick said as he forked the meat off the tray then kept passing.

From his seat at one end of the table, he looked like a king presiding over his lands. Abby thought that might have been a scarier idea and his dominance might have carried more weight if he didn’t spend half of the meal making lovey eyes at Ellie at the other end of the long table. He’d protested sitting so far apart but Ellie assured him he’d have the best view that way.

Honestly, Abby found the two of them adorable-bordering-on-annoying. Spence once talked about the bumpy road they had to engagement. She’d been in the office, but Derrick wasn’t really one to drag his home life in. He hadn’t before Ellie, anyway.

Not wanting to fall behind on the verbal poking going around the table, Abby leaned across Spence and looked at the one person at the table who seemed to keep eating no matter what happened around him. “Jackson, what’s your sister’s dating status?”

Jackson didn’t even look up from his plate. “Nope.”

“Come on.” Carter laughed. “But she already loves me.”

Jackson glared at Carter before glancing over at Abby. “I work with this crowd. Do you think I want to be related to them?” He froze for a second, then held up the hand that just happened to be holding his knife. “No offense.”

Derrick snorted. “How could we possibly be offended by that?”

“I like them.” Abby leaned in closer to Spence, soaking in his body heat. “You’ve all grown on me.”

Spence slipped his hand around her and gave her lower back a gentle massage. “Thanks, babe. And the feeling is mutual.”

Abby didn’t know how he planned to eat with one hand attached to her, but that was his problem. She savored the touching and the food. She was about to ask Ellie how she’d made the meal when she was still confined to bed or sitting down for most of the day, but then common sense kicked in. The two women in the kitchen when they all arrived at the house likely did all the work. Clearly there were some benefits of eating at a Jameson home.

The money—the stunning breadth of it—still didn’t sit right with Abby. She wasn’t used to all that wealth. The Virginia house looked like a school when she’d driven up for the party. Derrick’s town house was nothing short of spectacular but still managed to feel homey, which she credited to Ellie’s handiwork.

Abby had been raised with so little. She appreciated every last shoe in her closet and can in her pantry. She’d picked each item out and purchased them. The only thing that kept her from fidgeting when she thought about the reality of Jameson money was that Spence never showed any sign of being impressed with his bank account. If he had, she would have balked.

“You have pet names for each other. Cute.” Carter sent Spence a bug-eyed look. “The peas, Spence.”

Spence didn’t move. “You have legs.”

“If I have to get up, I’m punching you.”

“You’re both annoying.” Jackson picked up the bowl and passed it across the table to Carter.

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