Page 26 of The Geography of Happiness

“Well,” he began slowly, “the last I saw of our boy, he was eating and drinking and doing all the other things good pups do.So you can reassureHannahthat Miller is fine.” He made no attempt to hide his obvious amusement at my failed subterfuge, which only served to fan the heat in my cheeks. Thank Christ he couldn’t see them.

And also...ourboy? That sounded way too nice to my ears.

“Oh... that’s... good then,” I faltered, then whacked my palm on my forehead because I really did suck at all this bullshitting stuff. “Okay, so full disclosure. I might’ve called for my benefit, not Hannah’s.” I didn’t need to clarify exactly which benefit, did I?

The admission earned me a soft chuckle. “Say it isn’t so.”

“Smart-arse,” I griped. “And I also rang to apologise again for holding you up today. I hope your afternoon went well.”I hope your afternoon went well? Really, Terry?I was such a loser.

Luckily, Spencer didn’t seem to mind my obvious lack of grey matter. “As it happens, I didn’t get stepped on or bitten or get my boots shat on even once, so all in all, I consider that a successful afternoon. How about you?”

I chuckled. “Me? Oh, you know. Saved a few lives, worked on my latest bestseller, put all theMasterChefcontestants to shame, and was asleep on the deck by two. It could’ve been sooner, of course, but winning that pesky Nobel Peace Prize this year requires at least a little effort.”

Spencer’s booming laugh made me grin like a loon. “Sounds positively exhausting.”

“What can I say? You either have it or you don’t.” I hesitated, unwilling to finish the conversation while at the same time not having a clue why. “Anyway, thanks for being a good sport about the late call. I apologise again, and now I’ll let you go.”

“No apology needed,” he reiterated. “As it happens, I was in bed reading a lengthy and very dry article on parasitic infestations. Believe me, the distraction is more than welcome.”

“Oh.” The depth of my conversational skills was truly astounding, but my brain was stuck on an image of Spencer wearing animal print pyjamas à la Dr Dolittle. I repeat, what the fuck is wrong with me?That image quickly morphed into him wearing a tee-shirt and briefs and even quicker into nothing at all.

Hell to the no.

I swallowed hard and aimed for levity. “To be honest, I’m not sure what to think about the whole rating-above-parasites thing. I mean, on one hand, it’s incredibly reassuring. It would suck to rate below them, right? May as well delete my Tinder profile right now or rewrite it to appeal to those with an entomology fetish.”

Spencer snorted and then dissolved into laughter. “You’re fucking hilarious, you know that, right?”

No, no I wasn’t. I was just... feeling uncomfortable things and losing my mind.

I should’ve quit while I was ahead, but I was on an unfortunate roll.

“On the other hand, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was secretly hoping for something at least on the level of primates, although I wouldn’t say no to the whole marine dolphin-whale thingy either. A beluga maybe? We share a similar pale complexion, after all, and I bet it sucks to blush red underwater. Like waving to the sharks to just come and get you. Aaaaand I think I should stop talking now and let you get back to your riveting article.” I paused, then added. “Go the parasites, yay.” I slow punched the air even though Spencer couldn’t see me.

“You have a Tinder profile?” he asked, sounding... I wasn’t quite sure how he sounded. Intrigued? Surprised?

I blinked. “That’s what you took out of all that? Do I have a Tinder profile? No, I don’t. I was employing a little artistic licence.”

He chuckled. “Good to know.”

“Now I really have to go?—”

“And condemn me to a world of tapeworm and flukes instead of this fascinating conversation with you?”

“Now Iknowyou’re taking the piss,” I countered.

“Not at all,” he answered, his tone suddenly a lot more intimate. “Would it help if I told you I was secretly hoping you’d call? That way I wouldn’t have to angst over coming up with some trifling excuse to callyou?”

Me?And okay, my heart might’ve pattered a little at the admission because since Spencer had already confirmed that Miller was okay, there was no mistaking the implication of him calling me at ten thirty in the evening.

I might even have come up with a snappy answer if my brain could somehow move past the obvious flirtation. I couldn’t even remember the last time someone had flirted with me, but years seemed about right. Then again, I was mostly ignorant about that stuff. Judah’s voice rang in my head.Oh. My. God. You’re totally oblivious to all the signs a woman likes you.Not entirely true, but what point was there in responding if I felt little in return?

“Earth to Terry?” That flirtatious tone was back in Spencer’s voice, which meant the other had been no fluke—parasite pun fully intended. I wasn’t misreading a thing. But I also had no clue how to respond or even if I wanted to.

Cue a little deflection. “Did you miss the part where I’m a single dad with no personal life to speak of?” I shot back. “In the arena of interesting conversations, the tapeworm would likely have me beat, hands down.”

Spencer laughed. “Now you’re just playing hard to get.”

I gulped. Because yeah. Definitely and terrifyingly... flirting. And it was ramping up. And I wasn’t shutting it down. There was no way Spencer could be sure about my sexuality, so he waswinging it based on my reactions, and I was giving him way too many of those. If I wanted it to stop, there was only one option.

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