Page 23 of A Magnolia Move-In
His exterior was rough, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that he had made me a sandwich yesterday. That wasn’t something a man who was determined to be a recluse would do.
That made me want to get to know him even more.
“You know, you can just go over there and talk to him.”
I startled at Victoria’s voice, whipping my gaze over to meet hers. Her lips were tipped up into a smile as if she’d just discovered a secret.
“What?” I asked, my cheeks inexplicably flushing.
“Spencer. You can go get your interview started.” She nodded her head in Spencer’s direction.
“I don’t…”
Her eyebrows went up.
“I mean, that’s not why…”
Victoria’s smile only deepened. I wasn’t convincing her of anything.
I sighed and flopped against the back of the booth. I glowered at my chowder, hating that I’d somehow been found out. Yes, I was interested in Spencer, a fact that I had been pretty determined to keep to myself. Apparently, I had a terrible poker face, and now Victoria knew.
Suddenly I was back in grade school, trying to pass notes to the boy I liked.
Needing to save face, I sat up and channeled my inner Penny Brown. I wasn’t going to let this derail me or the newspaper. “I will interview him later. Right now, I need to eat.” I proved that by scooping up some of the chowder and slipping it into my mouth.
Thankfully, Victoria didn’t fight me. She turned her attention to her salad, and we ate in silence until our food was gone and Hannah collected our dishes. We paid and left.
Spencer never seemed to notice that we were there, and thankfully, he was not made aware of the fact that we had been talking about him.
When we got back to Magnolia Daily, I slipped into my office and focused on clearing it out. Dust and old papers were miracle workers when it came to keeping my thoughts from Spencer. There wasn’t room in my brain to bothcomprehend what I was reading and relive my time in the kitchen last night.
Unfortunately, all that hard work was thrown out the window when five o’clock rolled around and Victoria walked into my office. She looked as worn and tired as I felt. I straightened, wincing as my muscles screamed from the movement.
I was going to need to take a long bath when I got home. “Heading out?” I asked.
She nodded. “I need a long soak and some of Brett’s honey and hibiscus tea.”
That sounded heavenly. I was trying not to be jealous. “Sounds good.”
She raised the notepad she’d been writing on during lunch. “I was thinking that I can tackle Jackson, Fiona, and Naomi if you want to do Spencer, Maggie, and the new owner of the Magnolia Buds…” She paused. “Loretta? Was that her name?”
I nodded. Maggie and I had visited her flower shop a few months ago for the wedding. “Yep. That’s her.” I swallowed. Two of the people on the list I could handle no problem, but Spencer? I wondered if I was an idiot to have chosen him for this piece.
If Victoria sensed my hesitancy, she didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, she nodded and slipped her notepad into her purse. “I’ll get started then.”
We said goodbye, and I was left alone in my office. I sat down in my chair and rested my elbows on the armrests. I steepled my fingers as I allowed my mind to wander. Iwanted to go home. I was hungry and tired and sore. But I had this sinking suspicion that once I got there, my intrigue about the man I was renting from was only going to grow.
I wanted to know more about this man, but Spencer didn’t seem to want to know anything about me.
That was the part that scared me. I would open up only to have him turn away.
I wasn’t used to being vulnerable. Fixing my relationship with my daughter was the first time I’d taken that leap. I guess it was easier when I knew she cared about me as much as I cared about her. It provided a safety net.
Allowing myself to be vulnerable with a man I’d just met?
How could I do that?
I shook my head as I moved to stand and grab my purse. I was being ridiculous. I was interviewing him for the newspaper, nothing more. It was a mundane, information-gathering talk. That was it.
