“Me too,” she admitted just before she leaned in and kissed him again. Over and over until they were desperate for air and still she wanted more. Breathing was overrated, right? Each time they came back for more, she didn’t think it could be hotter or wetter than the last, but it was.
Suddenly, one of Spencer’s hands wasn’t on her ass, it was stroking her leg, smoothing over her skin. Her mind was screaming out all of the places she wanted his hand, his mouth, but she didn’t voice them because it would mean breaking their kiss. So she waited and squirmed and moved in his arms hoping to guide him to where she wanted his touch.
And she fully believed he was a mind reader because his hand immediately moved – teasing at the silk of her panties. That’s when she tore her mouth from his. “Yes,” she panted. “Right there. Please.”
“Look at me,” he growled and in her half-dazed state, she did. “Tell me you want this.”
“I thought I just did,” she moaned, moving against him.
“Tell me it’s okay that we’re doing this here…”
Her head fell back as she ground it against the mirror. “It’s totally okay…” she said breathlessly.
“Tell me…”
“Spencer!” she snapped as she straightened her head. “I swear if you don’t do something right now I’ll scream.”
His smile was naughty and triumphant. “Sweetheart, you were going to scream no matter what. Trust me.”
And within seconds, she did.
“Okay…just admit it. You didn’t lose your keys.”
Spencer chuckled softly as he finished straightening his clothes. “Unfortunately, I really did.”
Looking over at her, he smiled at how beautifully mussed she was. Her hair was a riot of curls and her clothes were wrinkled and she’d never looked better to him.
“How is that possible? This store isn’t that big.”
“I have no idea. All I know is that I drove myself here and had my keys with me and now I don’t.” Then he stood and held his arms out at his sides. “Want to frisk me and make sure I’m not lying?”
“No,” she said with a small laugh. “But you can’t blame me for being suspicious.”
And…he couldn’t. But then he realized he had his own reason to be suspicious.
“What about you?” he asked as she was about to step out of the room.
Her eyes went wide as she looked at him. “What about me?”
He moved closer to her. “I think you knew exactly where my measurements were and you just pretended that you didn’t so you’d have an excuse to…you know…measure me again.” He waggled his eyebrows playfully as he teased her. Luckily, she didn’t get offended.
Much.
“You know what? I wish that were the case,” she admitted. “But I really couldn’t find them anywhere and now I’m freaking out that I’ve screwed up tonight’s orders.” Then she shrugged. “Although, I did make the copies, I’m going to ask Martin to show me the whole procedure again just in case I have to sub in here again.”
“Maybe he should just hire more help.”
Nodding, Penny said, “Oh, I agree. Tonight was totally unprofessional of him. I get that he wanted to take his wife out – it was their anniversary – but being that he knew how many people were coming in, he should have stayed. As the owner, he should have stayed.”
Spencer wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the temple. “Personally, I’m glad he left.”
She didn’t answer, but she did let out a soft sigh as she relaxed against him and it felt pretty damn great.
It gave him hope.
Unfortunately, they still had to find his keys so they could leave and hopefully go somewhere to talk.
“Come on,” he said softly. “We have keys to find.”
Penny let out a little sound of protest before stepping away from him and then gave him a weak smile. “I know.”
They stepped out of the dressing room and Spencer decided to take another look around the area while Penny walked over to the desk. “Maybe I should turn on the rest of the lights,” she said and almost tripped.
“You okay?” he asked, immediately at her side.
She nodded and looked down and…there were the keys. When she went to retrieve them, Spencer stopped her and stooped down to do it himself. When he straightened, he dangled them and she let out a nervous laugh. “How did I miss them? I was looking right over here.”
“And I looked over here earlier,” he said.
Personally, he didn’t care how or why she missed them; he was happy that she had. If they had found them right away, he had no doubt that she would be home and he’d be at his parents and neither would be feeling quite this good.
Leaning in, he kissed her softly on the cheek. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. It’s late and you’re probably hungry.”
She glanced at him and blushed slightly. “A little.”
They walked in silence out of the building and – once again – she set the alarm and locked up.
“Spencer, I…”
He placed a finger over her lips to quiet her. “Let’s go grab a burger or something at the diner and talk.”
She stepped back and looked at him oddly. “Really? You…you want to go to the diner?”
Hell no he didn’t want to go to the diner. He wanted to grab some takeout, go back to her place and stay there. But…they’d already done way more than they should have before sitting down and talking like they needed to. So he’d tamp down the need he had for her and be a gentleman.
For now.
His sheepish grin gave him away. “No. But…I think we should.”
She laughed softly. “Normally I’d agree with you, but I’m a bit of a mess and I’m not really sure I want to go out anywhere. Would it be all right if we just grabbed something and took it back to my place?”
Well…if she was suggesting it…
“How about you head home and I’ll pick something up and meet you there? This way you can get changed and relax for a bit. How does that sound?”
Her smile was instantaneous and full of gratitude. “Perfect. Thank you.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod. “You want fast food? Tacos? Chinese? Pizza?”
“Ooh…pizza! I haven’t had that in ages.”
“Pepperoni?”
“Like there’s any other kind,” she replied, still smiling.
“Done.” And even though he wanted to lean in and kiss her, he didn’t. “I’ll go pick it up and be at your place in about an hour. Is that okay?”
“Definitely.”
He waited until she was in her car and driving away before he left. It wasn’t until he was driving that he realized he had no idea what to say to her when he got to her place. Everything he’d planned to say – like how they could take it slowly and really get to know each other again – flew out the window the minute he followed her into that dressing room
Not that he was regretting that move.
Not at all.
But now things were complicated. Again.
The entire drive to the pizzeria, he thought about it. The entire time he sat and waited for their pizza, he thought about it. And the entire drive to Penny’s, he thought about it. And as he knocked on her front door, he realized that he still had nothing.
Her phone was ringing as she walked in the front door. Fishing it from her purse, Penny looked at it and frowned, not recognizing the number.
“Hello?”
“Penny? Hey, it’s Eva! How are you?”
It had been two weeks since she and Eva talked, but they’d texted a few times in an attempt to try to get together for lunch. “Hey! I’m good. And you?”
“Oh, you know, busy as ever.” She paused. “Is this a good time?”
“Actually…I just walked in the door and…” Damn. Did she admit what her plans were for the night? Did she want to open that can of worms right now when all she wanted to do was get changed, relax and wait for Spencer?
> “Penny?”
Oh, right. “I’m waiting for your brother to meet me here with a pizza.”
Eva’s squeal of delight made her pull the phone from her ear. “Thank God!” she finally cried. “I was hoping he wasn’t going to chicken out!”
“Uh…chicken out?”
“Yeah,” Eva said, sounding relieved. “I knew he went with Brett and the guys tonight for their tuxes and I was hoping he was going to come and see you.”
“Well…he did,” she said lightly.
“And now you’re going to have dinner together! Yay!”
At least one of them was feeling that way. Right now, Penny’s nerves were still a little all over the place and she was hoping to get her head together while she had some time to herself.
“So…wait. If you knew Spencer was coming to see me, why are you calling?”
Eva laughed softly. “I’m nosy. I admit it. Plus, I tried asking Brett about how it went and he was of no help. I figured I’d give you a quick call and see if you’d be willing to tell me anything.”
Unable to help herself, she laughed too. “Then rest assured – Spencer did come to see me and we’re going to sit down and talk over pizza.”
“Okay, I know you just got home and I’m sure you want to get changed and all that…”
“But…?”
“But,” Eva continued, her tone going a little somber. “I just want you to know that my brother…well…he’s one of the greatest guys I know.”
“Eva…”
“No, please. Let me finish.” She paused. “He told me about the things he said and did back when you guys dated and you have to know how awful he feels about it.”
It was nice that his sister was defending him, but Penny knew it really didn’t concern Eva. She was about to say just that when her friend started talking again.
“I know he’s apologized, but knowing Spencer, it wasn’t the greatest apology.”
“That’s not it, Eva…”
“I know, I know. He went back to Atlanta because that’s what you guys agreed on, but he’s not happy. I know he’s not.”
Before Eva could go on, Penny stopped her. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do here. I do. But this isn’t an easy situation and it’s something Spencer and I need to work through.”
A heavy sigh was her only response.
“The fact that he’s here and we’re even trying to work things out is good, right?”
“I suppose.”
Penny glanced at her kitchen clock and calculated that maybe she had another twenty minutes tops before Spencer arrived. There were things she needed to do before he got there. If it were any other time, she’d probably curl up on the sofa and talk to Eva for hours about what she was going to do, just like they did when they were younger.
But there wasn’t time.
“I really need to go, Eva,” Penny forced herself to say.
“Okay, I get it. But…just promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Promise that you’ll give him a chance.”
Her mind raced and she knew without a doubt that she would do exactly as Eva asked.
And not just because she’d asked.
“I will. I promise.”
With another promise to call her tomorrow, Penny hung up and immediately sprang into action. Kicking off her shoes and unbuttoning her blouse on her way to her bedroom, she cursed the precious minutes she’d lost while on the phone. Racing around, she quickly changed and did her best to try to figure out what she was going to say when Spencer showed up.
For the better part of an hour, she had been asking herself what the hell she was doing. She still couldn’t believe she had just had sex with him in the tuxedo shop! What if Martin had cameras? What if everyone at Enchanted found out what she’d done?
Her heart was racing like mad when she heard Spencer’s knock at the door. “A problem for tomorrow,” she muttered as she padded to the door and let him in. She’d changed out of her work clothes and was now in a pair of flannel pajama pants and t-shirt. It was a comfortable choice, but she also hoped that it would act as some kind of armor to protect her from jumping him again.
The look on his face when she opened the door told her that her choice of clothing wasn’t going to be a deterrent.
The pizza smelled delicious, but Spencer looked even better. His hair was a bit of a mess and the boyish grin on his face had her melting. “Come on in,” she said.
They opted to set up and eat in the living room and neither spoke through their first slices. She had set up paper plates and drinks before he arrived and as she took a long drink of her soda, she knew she’d procrastinated long enough.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said.
He smiled. “My pleasure.”
Ugh…did he have to say pleasure? Like her mind wasn’t already wandering in that direction?
“So…”
“So…” he repeated.
“Tonight was a little…intense,” she finally said.
And he nodded in agreement.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you again. I mean, I figured I might see you because of Eva’s wedding and you coming in for your tux and all but…”
“I know. I know what you mean,” he said slowly as he reached for one of her hands. “I didn’t come there tonight for…well…for what we did. Although that was amazing.”
Penny couldn’t help but blush.
“But I also didn’t want you to know I was coming and give you an excuse to avoid me.”
“I wouldn’t have…”
“Yes. Yes, you would have,” he corrected lightly. “And I can’t blame you.”
She sighed quietly as her gaze met his. “What are we doing, Spencer?”
“I’ve been miserable,” he said gruffly. “More miserable than I ever imagined. Everywhere I looked, I saw something that reminded me of you.” He paused. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she admitted. “But…there are still so many things…”
“I know,” he said quickly. “I know there are and that’s why I’m here – so we can talk about them and figure them out.” When she started to speak again, Spencer held up a hand to stop her. “I think we deserve a chance to figure things out, Penny. Finally.”
And the thing was, she knew he was right. She had been miserable since he left, too. She regretted her rash decision and her refusal to even consider moving forward together. After so many damn years of what ifs and maybes, didn’t she deserve to find out where this could go? Hell, she’d been waiting for what felt like forever to try for her happily ever after with this man. Was she really going to give up now without a fight?
“I agree,” she said, gently squeezing his hand. The look of relief on his face gave her a little hope. He wasn’t just saying the words she wanted to hear; he really meant them. “But…”
Spencer placed a finger over her lips. “No. No ‘but.’ Not yet,” he said. “For right now, can we please just enjoy the rest of our dinner and…I don’t know…just talk about something neutral? Tell me about work. How has work been?”
Easy enough, she thought. She told him about some of their more difficult clients and about some of the new gowns that had come in before telling him about her afternoon with his family.
“Was my sister a difficult bride?” he asked with a chuckle.
Penny laughed with him. “Not at all. She found a gown that she loves and it needs minimal alterations so she was thrilled.”
“And my mother? How much of a nightmare was she? I know she and Eva are butting heads over how fast this whole thing is happening,” he explained. “We all know that Brett is being deployed and that’s why everything is so rushed, but for some reason my mother can’t seem to stop complaining about it.”
“She did make a few comments, but Eva did a great job of distracting her. Hailey, my boss, caught on immediately and started pulling out some mother-of-the-bride gowns to help. All in all, it was a very go
od afternoon. Everyone was happy.”
His gaze narrowed. “Really? Because that’s not quite the version I got.”
“What do you mean?” Looking back, Penny distinctly remembered both Eva and Mrs. Buchanan being happy with their dresses and leaving with smiles on their faces. “Is Eva not happy with her gown? Does she need to come back and find something else?”
He shook his head. “No, my sister is fine with all of her wedding stuff. She mentioned that you were upset, so that upset her and…let’s just say I got a very angry lecture from her about our relationship.”
Oh God, was that why he was here? Because he got pressured by his family?
Before she could comment on that, he was speaking again.
“Don’t get me wrong, Eva didn’t say anything to me that I wasn’t already thinking, but…I hated that you were upset.”
“Spencer, you knew I was upset. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise to you.”
He sighed. “I know but…I did what you asked. I guess I thought if I respected your wishes you’d be okay…happy…”
“I did too,” she admitted quietly. “I just don’t know how to make this work.”
And she really didn’t. Even if she was able to move on from her insecurities, it still left one very obvious issue with them moving forward – logistics.
“I’m not a fan of long-distance relationships either,” he said, reading her mind. “But I think we can give it a try – at least for a month or two – and then talk about it some more. I’ll come up on the weekends or we can switch it up and you can come down to Atlanta…”
“I only have one weekend a month off,” she said. “And then there are the fashion shows on Friday nights. Plus, when I hear back from the bank, I’m going to be working on the new shop and…”
“You did it?” he asked excitedly. “You submitted your business plan? I didn’t think you were going to do it so soon. What did everyone think?”
Penny immediately relaxed and for the next few minutes, she told him all about her presentations – both of them – to Hailey and the girls at Enchanted.
“And what about the bank? Were they impressed? You must have just talked with them because they make their decisions fairly quickly. I’m sure they’re going to approve you.”
Glam Squad & Groomsmen Page 9
