Gorilla Dating
Page 22
“I’m quitting. This is my last act of ‘dirty work,’ as you call it.”
“Quitting? You’ve been your brother’s shadow for a decade.” Eve dropped her hand from her hair and cocked her head ever so slightly. “I don’t believe it.”
What Spencer didn’t believe is that she could honestly think that. For a decade, he’d struggled to rein his brother in, like a wrangler with an unbroken horse. “It’s just a job, Eve. You make it sound like I’m his partner in crime or something.”
She raised her eyebrows ever so slightly.
“Not that there is any crime going on,” Spencer gave a quick laugh, barely under his breath. “Just need to get that disclaimer out there.”
Eve smiled gently, the upward turn of her lips transforming her whole face. It made her skin seem softer, her cheeks seem rounder, and her eyes more vibrantly catch what little light hadn’t been overtaken by the storm.
Spencer couldn’t help but stare a bit, mystified by the total transformation that could be brought by the movement of a few muscles.
“What?” The corners of Eve’s smile dropped slightly lower.
He tried to wave it off. No way he wanted to tell Eve what he was really thinking. “Nothing.”
The smile returned, this time broadly. She knew she had him in a corner. He could see she relished the moment. “Nothing always means something. Maybe I’ve spent more time with your brother than I have with you, but I’ve seen this look before. It’s obviously genetic.”
Her words mentally took the negotiator in Spencer to a boardroom. It was as though the other party had just gotten an admission of some key point to blow the whole carefully choreographed business dealing wide open.
Spencer had been exposed.
He didn’t particularly like the feeling. It was…unusual.
But after tonight, he’d never see Eve again. He had what he came for, cool and slick in his hand. He fingered the stone. It felt as solid as the hardball Eve was playing right this second.
He’d never see her again. She’d been pushed out of his brother’s life, and once he got in the car and drove back down Provident Island’s main highway, Eve Larson would be out of Spencer’s life as well. So, it wouldn’t hurt to give her the answer she wanted. He’d already taken so much from her anyway.
“I was looking at your smile.” Spencer threw it out there, matter-of-factly, just to see what she’d do with the truth.
“My smile?” As he’d suspected, she didn’t see the truth coming. She probably expected some veiled sarcasm. That’s what Mark would have dished out.
“It’s the truth.”
Eve fiddled with a lock of her hair, self-confidence creeping in and stripping some of that sassiness that had filled her face only moments ago.
“The truth.” The short syllables came out soberly.
“Yes, the truth, Eve. You’re pretty when you smile. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?” Spencer could feel the crack and waver of her self-confidence, like the watery landscape outside after one of the lightning strikes made contact from the sky.
Eve didn’t know what to do with the compliment from him, that much was clear.
He couldn’t turn off the analytical side of his brain.
Couldn’t stop himself from going down a rabbit trail of wondering why.
Couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to still the movement as she tried to shake her head no, to help her understand he was right and her hesitance was misplaced.
Spencer’s hands fell on the gentle curve of Eve’s shoulders. His right hand connected with the simple cotton of her striped shirt. His left hand, still holding the diamond, landed on the soft skin exposed by the wide boatneck-style collar.
He’d known Eve for years. He’d shaken her hands in greeting, given her brotherly hugs goodbye at the end of dinner parties, and probably come in contact with her in a hundred other small, casual ways. But never had he touched her bare skin and lingered.
Never had he felt the softness of her pale, creamy skin under his fingers.
Never had he wanted more.
Eve raised her gaze to Spencer’s. She wasn’t smiling now.
Her lips parted, a hesitant breath floating between them.
“Do you need anything else?” Her words were barely louder than the steady pounding of the rain on the cottage roof and windows.
Yes, he did.
But how did Spencer tell her he needed her to understand that though he shared genetics and office space with his brother, he wasn’t cut from the same cloth as Mark—that her assumptions were wrong?
It seemed simple, and to want her to understand was probably silly.
But it was as real to him as the measured movements of his finger touching her collarbone, as her chest expanded and retreated with each inhale and exhale.
He thought about the diamond between them, clear and flawless. Fit for royalty.
And what was he?
Only fit to do his brother’s dirty work, according to the woman in front of him.
He needed to leave, before he tried even more to convince her otherwise.
So there was only one way to answer her softly-spoken question—did he need anything else?
“No. I don’t.”
Spencer slid his hands off Eve’s shoulders, allowing himself a few more undeserved seconds of silk and diamonds under his fingertips.
“Then I guess you’d better go.” Eve looked at Spencer with unsure eyes. Clearly, she didn’t know what to make of the touch or of the moment, either. “You have everything you need.”
He had the Kiss of Kiev, the diamond he needed.
But looking at Eve, remembering his touch on her skin and the slight sigh on her lips, he knew one thing for certain.
He didn’t have everything he wanted.
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Acknowledgments
To all of you who worked in Braker 3, Braker 12, and Braker K. Those were some of the best days of my life with some of the best people I’ve ever known. Portables…on the move forever.
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Gorilla Dating Copyright © 2021 by Kristen Ethridge (3rd Edition)
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
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Laurel Lock Publishing
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Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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