Page 58 of A Magnolia Move-In
“I slept fine,” I said, allowing myself to wake up a bit more before the interrogation started.
Spencer nodded. “Me too.” Then he chuckled. “Although, I could go without the raging headache.”
Silence fell between us. I had to admit, for a man who was as drunk as he was last night, he looked surprisingly relaxed this morning. Even if he was experiencing a hangover.
“Do you want me to get you some aspirin?”
Spencer studied me for a moment before he dropped his gaze to his fingers. He was rubbing his fingertips against his thumb. “Sure. If you want.”
Yes, I wanted to. I needed to get away from the confusion I felt when I was around him. “I’ll be right back,” I said. I tightened the sash of my robe before standing up. Then I shuffled out of his room and into the kitchen. I filled a glass of water and located the aspirin in the medicine cabinet.
With the items in hand, I headed back to the room. Spencer wasn’t in bed when I got there. I heard some noises in the bathroom, and just as I walked over to his nightstand, the door opened.
I stopped in my tracks as my gaze moved over him. His hair was sticking up like he’d just run wet hands through it. He was brushing his teeth, and when he saw me, he smiled again.
“I’m just going to leave this here,” I said as I tore mygaze from him and set the glass and medicine down on the nightstand.
“Thanks,” he said as he momentarily took the toothbrush from his mouth.
I straightened and nodded. “Yep.” Not sure what to do, I lingered there for a moment before I motioned toward the door. “I’m going to go get ready. I have work,” I said softly as I turned to leave.
“Hey, Penny?”
I stopped. “Yeah?” I asked, allowing my gaze to drift over to him.
“Thanks for helping me out. I know that’s probably not how you wanted to spend your night, but I appreciate it.” He took a step closer to me with his hand extended as if he wanted to touch me.
Goosebumps spread across my skin in anticipation, but the touch never came. Instead, he paused and then curled his fingers toward his palm and dropped his hand. I wanted him to touch me. I wanted him to be open with me. But it seemed as if that wasn’t going to happen. The only time we ever got close was when I was helping him stumble from the bar.
In terms of something that meant we were close emotionally—he didn’t seem interested. At least, he wasn’t interested enough to make a move.
“Of course,” I said before I turned and left.
I showered and got ready for the day, all the while forcing myself not to think of Spencer or the feelings insidemy stomach that were rapidly growing. He was just my landlord, and I was his renter. That was it.
It was foolish of me to think that we could be anything more.
I wanted to say I was strong enough to spend an entire workday focused on the paper without allowing my thoughts to slip back to Spencer—but that was a lie. He invaded every thought I had. It was amazing how I could manage to think about him while setting up spreadsheets or listening to Victoria rattle off her ideas for future editions.
There he was, staring me down. It was just about all I could handle before I went crazy.
By the time I pulled up to Spencer’s house that night, I felt exhausted. I wanted to slip inside, jump into my pajamas, and crawl into bed. I wasn’t sure if I had the mental fortitude to face him, and I knew I didn’t have the emotional strength to have another conversation with him where he danced around his past without fully sharing it.
I needed to start keeping the man at arm’s length if I wanted any semblance of a peaceful life.
I gathered my bags from the car and pulled open the driver’s door. I used my key to unlock the front door, but just as I moved to push on it, it swung open on its own. I startled, only to see Spencer standing in the foyer with an apron around his waist and a grin on his lips.
“Good evening,” he said, and after a quick sweep of his gaze, he leaned in and gathered up my bags, slinging them over his shoulder.
I was so taken aback by his demeanor that I didn’t fight him. He stepped to the side to let me in, and I blinked a few times, trying to understand what was happening. This was not the man that I initially met just a few days ago. Something had changed.
“Did something happen?” Spencer’s concerned expression appeared in front of me.
I forced myself to focus and shook my head. “No, why?”
“You look stunned,” he said as he started to make his way down the hall.
I quickened my pace. “I’m just tired,” I said as I followed him into my room to find him setting my bags down on the bed.
