Page 60 of Spencer

Relief. That was harder to define. She tried on a few ideas to see how they fit.

If she decided to join forces with Spencer, she’d never have to work alone, again. Sometimes the isolation of being solo forhours-on-end at the bottom of the sea was tough for someone who really enjoyed the company of others.

Relief number two, and a big one, was that she wouldn’t necessarily have the long-distance travel with jobs that required her to be far from Sheila. She could make up what came next.

Ifshe actually settled down in one spot…

Tabitha let her mind wander to that.

What would Sheila think of moving? To Maine, specifically? Her sister was so comfortable where she was now. Sheels knew her own four walls, and pretty much how to care for herself without a lot of help. Tabitha would hate to derail the progress Sheila had made.

The down side of where her sister was at, currently? She hadn’t exactly made friends with her roommates. It might be Sheila’s fault, but Tabitha seemed to think it was the challenges that each of her fellow residents brought to the table; stuff that wasn’t necessarily what good buddies were made of.

Still, Sheila responded well to the caretakers who rotated in and out, and her agitation levels were currently low. There was a lot to consider.

And another possible roadblock in making the move for both her and Sheila.

What if the feelings Tabitha was experiencing with Spencer turned out to be a flash-in-the-pan? What if he was just exploring things? She didn’t know him that well. Just because he reacted so strongly to her right now, and visa-versa, it didn’t guarantee that what they had was sustainable.

And if things went belly-up, moving Sheila twice would be hellish.

Perhaps if Tabitha spent a couple weeks researching the area and sticking to Spencer’s fine ass like glue—or semen—she might eventually have a better read on the situation. It would suck,trying to keep Sheila from worrying over Tabitha’s extended period of time away.

Time.

That’s what Tabitha needed to figure things out.

She rolled over and sniffed the pillow where Spencer’s head had been. His lingering scent lit her up inside. That was surely a good sign.

Spencer had “abandoned-cot” earlier to go have a talk with his captain. He had, it seemed, made uphismind. He was going to separate from the Merchant Marine now that his contract was up, and he was going to take a shot at establishing his diving company. Period.

Tabitha liked his decisiveness, and wished she could tap into that for herself and the trajectory of her own future.

After laying around pondering for another ten minutes, Tabitha finally knew it was time to get up. Nature called. And since this was not five-star accommodations with an attached bath, she needed to pull on some clothes and make the trek to the communal head.

Luckily for her, themaindoor to the wet-room had a lock, because the stalls, urinals, and showers inside were doorless, and she wasnota public?—

The “public” thought brought her back to the long conversation she and Spencer had engaged in, making her full-on smile. Tabitha snickered as she got up and donned comfortable sweats, grabbing her shower kit and toothbrush.Yup. Privacy to a point was good, and she was glad Spencer had similar likes and dislikes around that, and so many other things. It would make moving ahead less fraught with unknowns.

Once she’d finished with her morning business, cleaned up, and dropped her stuff back in her cabin, she went in search of breakfast.

After filling her plate with eggs and toast, Tabitha found a seat near Pietro and a couple other sailors she recognized.

“Good morning,” she said, sitting down and forking in her first bite.

“Buongiorno, Tabitha. You look…bellissima this morning.” Pietro kissed his fingers and grinned. “Not tired out, at all.”

The other crewmen did a nudge-nudge thing that she caught out of the corner of her eye.

Oh really?

Tabitha wasn’t confused by that, at all. They’d clearly heard her and Spencer going at it, and she wasn’t going to back down from the impromptu inquisition. Her job often put her in predominantly masculine realms, and she knew a set-up when she spotted one.

“What? Am I supposed to be tired?” she responded with what she hoped was an innocent look.

“Hah. After all the gemendo and loud noises we heard last night? We thought maybe you’d been up battling…sea monsters,” Pietro snorted.

“Gemendo?” Tabitha repeated. “What does that mean?” She was buying time to come up with a good zinger.

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