Page 79 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Hadley
Victoria.
Even the name sounded pretentious. Okay, Hadley knew that was rich—no pun intended—coming from a girl like her, but it didn’t make her any less annoyed.
Whoever this woman was fit in so perfectly with the Lees it was like she was one of them. Mrs. Lee looked to her with affection in her eyes. Mr. Lee turned his smiles from Hadley to Victoria.
And Damien—the biggest traitor of all. He hung on her every word like a kid being reunited with some long-lost friend.
Hadley bit into her sandwich, thankful Mrs. Lee at least had salami. She wasn’t a lunch meat kind of girl, but salami was her jam.
And she definitely did not look up to see if Spencer even acknowledged her presence.
Yes, she knew she was being the immature teenager people thought she was, the one they’d never think was old enough to kiss Spencer like she had the day before.
But it wasn’t like she could help it.
Especially as this college girl laughed with a melodic sound that was so pleasing it made Hadley want to dig her non-existent fork into the table.
She crunched down so hard on a chip, Damien gave her a quizzical look.
Victoria, on the other hand, barely even glanced her way. She was beautiful with a kind voice that grated on Hadley’s nerves.
She hated how much she liked listening to the woman speak.
“What have you been up to, Vic?” Mr. Lee asked.
She smiled. “Class, mostly. I’m pre-med, and it’s been pretty difficult.”
“I’m sure you’re acing it.” Mrs. Lee smiled. “You were always so smart. Too smart for our Spencer.”
It was meant as a joke, but as Hadley glanced Spencer’s way, she noticed his fingers drumming on the table in agitation. He tried to smooth his features, but she saw the tension in his jaw at the subtle dig from his mom.
Victoria touched Spencer’s arm. “You mean he was always smarter than me. The grades may not have shown it, but only because he spent more time with his horses than on his schoolwork.”
Hadley’s gaze softened at Victoria’s defense of him. Maybe she wasn’t awful. But when her hand lingered on his arm, Hadley had to look away. Mistake. Her gaze collided with Damien’s sympathetic eyes.
Unable to take it anymore, Hadley jumped to her feet and grabbed her plate. “I’m going to get back to work.” She set her plate in the sink and rushed from the house.
It wasn’t until she reached the barn that she realized someone followed her.
“You don’t have to worry about Vic.” Damien entered the barn behind her.
She whirled to face him. “Worry about Vic? I’m not worried. Who’s worried?”
“Very convincing.” He nodded. “But really, she’s just an old friend of the family. She grew up with Spencer.”
“They seemed close.”
“They were.” He shrugged. “Hadley, I’m not going to lie… she was kind of his… everything. For a long time. But I don’t know, since he’s been back, it’s like he’s relying on himself more.”
She reached for a pitchfork, wrapping her hand around the smooth wood. “That’s because he doesn’t have anyone else to rely on. Not anymore.”
“Spencer never needed the family much when he had Vic. We were the ones who needed him.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And not much has changed.”
She snorted. “Yeah, because you all are being so great to him. Really shows you need him.”
Damien glanced toward the door like he was making sure they were still alone. “Okay, Spencer would deny this to his dying day, but he came back for me.”
