Page 108 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
If something happened to her grandpa, if he hadn’t made it, nothing would have been able to keep Spencer away.
“So…” Despite both living in the bunkhouse, Spencer never spent much time alone with Gabe. He barely knew the kid. “Are you and Damien…”
“We’re good. He explained about your parents, and I forgave him for breaking up with me.”
“That simple, huh?”
“Well…” He shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, I love him. What’s simpler than that?”
No one ever put it in those words before. Love didn’t have to be some big complicated thing. Maybe the simplicity was what scared him so much. There were no walls to hide behind, no escape hatch.
“Did he have to make a big gesture?”
“No, but I’m not a big gesture kind of person.” His mouth curved into a half-grin. “Hadley, on the other hand…”
“Yeah, I know.” He couldn’t just show up at her house and explain how his parents freaked him out, how he hadn’t decided to stay when he ended things between them. He thought he was taking the easy road. Maybe that was what really kept him away for so long.
“You look like you’re thinking too hard.” Gabe chuckled.
“I just…” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I’ve never had to work for it.” That was the truth. With Victoria, they just fell into a relationship. There were no arguments or need for apologies.
Laughter rolled through Gabe. “Are you really this hopeless, dude?”
“I don’t think I’m… hopeless.” Was he? He groaned. “I’m totally hopeless, aren’t I?”
“Do you love her?”
“More than I thought possible after such a short time.”
“Then that’s a start. Think of everything you know about her and who she is. What will show her how much you care?”
That was the problem, wasn’t it? He wasn’t quite sure he knew the real Hadley Gibson, the girl she was when she set foot off this ranch. They’d never gotten that far. The only friend he’d met of hers was Roman.
“She’s rich.” He shrugged.
Gabe stared at him. “And what does that have to do with who she is? Is that seriously all you know?” He stood to take his bowl to the sink and turned toward his door, pausing at the threshold. “Just… Don’t mess this up. I like Hadley. She deserves more than some half-apology.”
When he shut his door, Spencer leaned back in his chair, his mind turning over as he tried to figure out what would make a girl like Hadley love a mess like him.
