“Well…”
“Uh-oh,” he said, his expression sympathetic. “What happened?”
She explained about her student loans, credit cards and how the loan officer’s immediate response to her business idea was less than enthused. “I’m trying to be optimistic,” she said. “But…I’m kind of afraid that they’re going to turn me down.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”
As much as she wanted to mention how long she’d been waiting for a reply, she opted not to. It would only depress her and now that he was here, she didn’t want to feel that way. They had more important things to talk about.
“How long are you here for?”
“With you? Um…”
She chuckled softly and snuggled closer to him. “I meant in town,” she clarified. “It’s Thursday so I’m guessing you’re here through the weekend?”
Nodding, he kissed her again. “That was the plan. But I can see about working remotely next week. I came a little more prepared this time, so I can get some things done and not fall behind.”
“Are you staying at your parents’ house?”
He nodded.
“You know you don’t have to…”
Kissing her hand, he smiled. “As much as I love the way you think, it would probably be best if we slowed down a bit and spent some time doing normal things like actually dating.”
“A little late for that, wouldn’t you say?” she teased.
Spencer couldn’t help but laugh. “It does seem a bit backwards but…I want to try and do this right. It would be so easy to just bring in my suitcase and stay here with you, but being in this little cocoon we’ve built for ourselves maybe isn’t the healthiest thing for our relationship. We need to see what it’s like to be a couple out in the real world.”
His words made complete sense and she wasn’t sure if she should be happy or disappointed. Just thinking of Spencer staying with her and having him all to herself was definitely appealing, but he was right. If they were going to put in the effort for this relationship, they needed to stop moving so fast.
“So…where does that leave us?”
For a moment he studied her. “I think we can sit here and relax tonight, maybe watch a movie and then I go back to my folks’ house for the night. Tomorrow we can go out to dinner, maybe see a movie or see what Eva and Brett are doing and try a double-date.”
“Ooh…now that does sound like fun. We’ve never done that before,” she said, feeling excited and optimistic about all the possibilities.
“Then it’s about time we tried that, right?”
His words, his smile…it all worked because for the first time since seeing him again, Penny had hope.
They’d spent the weekend together doing some pretty mundane things like grocery shopping, binge-watching The Crown on Netflix and then going out to dinner with Eva and Brett on Saturday night. It was way more fun than she imagined and it didn’t take long for her to start making plans with Eva for just the two of them. She’d missed her friend and didn’t even realize it until they started catching up on each other’s lives.
On Sunday, Spencer picked Penny up and took her to brunch before they went and walked around a local outdoor flea market. It wasn’t something she normally did, but it was fun to just walk around and comment on what they thought people would do with some of the junk they saw there. Afterwards, they went back to Penny’s and decided to make dinner together.
After they ate, she was loading the dishwasher while Spencer took out the trash. No doubt they’d watch some TV and then he’d leave. It was what they agreed upon but…did that mean that he was not allowed to spend the night with her? Ever? Wasn’t it okay to maybe pick one or two nights a week that they were allowed to indulge? She sighed loudly and almost jumped out of her skin when she heard Spencer behind her.
“You okay?”
Turning, hand over her rapidly-beating heart, she faced him. “What?”
“I heard you sighing and thought something was wrong.”
“Oh, um…it’s nothing. I’m good.” When she went to turn back to the sink, Spencer stopped her. Looking at him with just a hint of annoyance, she said, “I just want to get the last of the dishes in here. Why don’t you go get the next episode of The Crown pulled up?”
“Uh-uh,” he said, staring at her with just a bit of defiance. “Something’s on your mind. I can tell.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Okay, fine. Something’s on my mind. There. Happy?”
He chuckled. “Only if you tell me what it is.”
Ugh. How did she even explain it?
“Penny?”
“Okay, here’s the thing – I was just thinking about how we were going to watch some TV and then you were going to go home.”
“And…that made you sigh?”
She nodded.
“But…why?”
Choosing to ignore him for a minute, Penny finished loading the dishwasher and then slammed it shut before facing him again. “Because I know that we said we were going to slow things down, but I didn’t think that meant we had to…you know…completely stop everything.”
She could tell it took him a few minutes to catch on to what she was saying and then he started to grin.
And she wanted to slug him.
“Happy now?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. He continued to grin.
“Look, I’ve really enjoyed these last several days, Spencer, but I miss some of the other aspects of our relationship too. What if we just…?”
He held up a hand to stop her. “What if I told you I had an overnight bag in my car?”
A small smile played at her lips because she kind of had a feeling she knew what he was saying. “You do? But…why didn’t you just bring it in when we got back earlier?”
He nodded again. “I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
Penny pulled back and looked up at him. “Were you hoping to stay here tonight?”
Another nod. “I’ve enjoyed these last several days too, but…” He stepped in close and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re very tempting, Penny Blake. And I want us to keep going in this direction, but I miss those other aspects too.”
“It seems that neither of us have any self-control,” she said even as she blushed at the admission. “It almost seems silly to pretend that we don’t want to spend the night together.”
Spencer seemed to sag with relief and then his expression turned bashful.
“What? What’s the matter?”
His gaze met hers. “I kind of feel silly now. We should be able to talk about these things without it being so awkward, right? I mean, I should have just told you that I wanted to spend the night and dropped my bag off when I picked you up this morning.” Then he paused. “Or…I should just leave some stuff here just in case.”
“That would certainly be convenient,” she said slowly. “But that may make things too convenient and we’ll slip right back into our old patterns and never leave the house.” Before he could say anything else, she kissed him soundly.
“I swear I wasn’t trying to pressure you,” he argued lightly.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I was the one who brought it up first so there’s no pressure at all. Unless…unless I’m the one pressuring you.”
“Never,” he replied, caressing her cheek.
She hugged him. “Good. I’m glad you have your stuff here with you and that you won’t be leaving tonight.”
It was amazing how good it felt to say that.
Together they walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. “But…”
“But…” he repeated.
“I do have to work tomorrow.”
“You just have to go in for the weekly meeting, right?” he asked.
“Exactly. Plus I have Zumba.”
“Zumba?”
She nodded. �
�It’s a cardio class I take at the gym. I started taking it about six months ago and I love it. It’s all different kinds of dancing and it’s an insane workout, but I try to go to at least three classes a week.”
“Three? How long are the classes?”
“An hour each. I go to the early morning ones on Saturday and Monday and then I’ll take an evening class on Thursday nights.” Then she gasped. “Damn! I missed Thursday’s class because I covered for Martin.”
Spencer hugged her closer and gave her a loud, smacking kiss. “I don’t think you have to worry. Our romp in the dressing room was full of cardio.”
Penny laughed out loud as she playfully smacked him. “I know I should be offended by that, but I can’t be.”
“Why?” he laughed. “Why be offended?”
“Because you sounded so smug!” But she kept on laughing and when their gazes met, she suddenly didn’t feel like laughing any more. When she was able to catch her breath, she nibbled at her bottom lip. “You know…while that was a cardio workout, I don’t think it can count as a good substitution for my class.”
One of Spencer’s brows arched at her. “No?”
She shook her head. “Zumba is an hour-long class,” she explained. “Lots of dancing and moving and sweating.”
“We certainly didn’t dance,” he said, his voice dropping slightly.
“We did move,” she said softly, inching her lips toward his.
“And I know we sweat.”
Penny couldn’t contain the small smile that crossed her lips. “But if we’re going to compete with Zumba, then we’d need to try…harder.”
“I’m always up for a challenge,” Spencer replied right before he closed the distance between them and kissed her.
Eventually this would stop, right? She asked herself. Eventually they’d get to a place where the physical need – the craving – would lessen. It had to. But right now, it wasn’t. As she crawled over him and straddled his lap, all she could think about was how it had felt like far too long since they’d been together.
“Let’s go upstairs,” she said breathlessly against his lips.
“Done,” he agreed as he stood with her in his arms and walked them up the stairs.
And hours later, Penny was fairly certain they had done the equivalent of two Zumba classes.
Now, fresh from her morning Zumba class Monday morning and on her way to Enchanted, she looked down as her phone rang. Assuming it was Spencer, she answered without looking at the screen.
“Hey,” she said softly, almost purring.
“Um…Ms. Blake?”
Oh, crap! She thought. Not Spencer!
“Yes, this is Penny Blake,” she said nervously.
“Ms. Blake, this is Derek Adams from Wells Fargo,” he began, his tone serious and businesslike.
And it didn’t give her a good feeling at all.
“Good morning, Mr. Adams,” she replied, willing the nervous tremor from her voice. “How are you today?”
“Fine, thank you,” he responded. “Ms. Blake, after careful consideration, your request for a small business loan has been denied. We’ve sent a letter out to you with further explanation, but…I wanted to call you in person and let you know.”
Right. Because hearing bad news was always easier when it was delivered twice, she thought miserably.
Her eyes immediately welled with tears and she swallowed hard before speaking again. “I appreciate you reaching out to me. I’ll look for that letter in the mail. Thank you.” And she hung up before he could offer some empty consolation. She was nobody to him and her business meant nothing to him.
“Dammit,” she murmured, slamming her hand on the steering wheel. She wanted to cry – and probably would just as soon as she wasn’t in the middle of traffic – but for right now she was angry. Really angry.
Why? Why did she even think she’d be able to pull this off? Having a business of her own and making it all happen like she’d dreamed? Who was she kidding? Letting out a shaky sigh, Penny maneuvered through the throng of cars on the road and saw her exit coming up. Getting over into the right-hand lane, she cursed again.
Why was it that good things seemed to happen for everyone she knew and not for her? Why was it like some unattainable dream for her to have it all? Just once! Things were going well with Spencer and up until three minutes ago, she really believed that there was still a chance for her to get her loan approved. But now…now she wasn’t sure what she was going to do or what other options there were for her.
Or if she even wanted to look for them.
Right now, what she wanted was someone to tell her it was all going to be okay – that there were other banks she could go to – but she had a feeling that she’d just get the same answer.
And that was a completely depressing thought.
Looking at her phone she debated on whether to call Spencer and tell him what had happened, or maybe her parents, or maybe even Hailey.
But she didn’t.
Taking her exit, she turned at the traffic light and began to look around almost frantically.
Pulling over at the first spot she could – a small shopping center only blocks away from Enchanted – she put the car in park and let out a shaky sigh just before she burst into tears.
Chapter Seven
Spencer grabbed his laptop and slid it into his bag, then checked his desk for anything else he was going to need for his weekend in Raleigh.
For a little more than a month, he and Penny had been making it work. After that first night when they talked about it, he had stayed through the following weekend. It wasn’t ideal, and it turned out that she led a very busy life that left him on his own more than he had hoped. But when they got together at the end of the day and the few nights he got to sleep with her in his arms, it was all worth it.
And…he had been thankful that he’d been there on the day she was turned down for her small business loan. The look of utter devastation on her face when she opened the door to him would stay with him for a long time. She’d cried and he did everything he could to listen and be supportive, but she was hurting and there really wasn’t anything he could do to make that better for her.
Apparently, her bosses had offered to be the ones to loan her the money to start her glam squad business, but Penny turned them down. She didn’t want a handout and claimed that she knew the women already had plans for expansion and she didn’t want to take anything away from them financially.
He loved and admired her pride even as it was keeping her from achieving her dream.
Since that day, Penny put on a brave face and claimed that maybe the timing just wasn’t right and she’d revisit the idea eventually. At least, that’s what she said at first. Then she started adding the word “maybe” to the end of that statement.
That’s when he started to worry.
He looked around the office one more time as the alarm on his phone told him it was time to head to the airport. His Uber should be waiting downstairs.
Every time he flew up to be with her after that first week, he made sure to bring more work with him to keep him busy. So far, neither of his bosses minded him working remotely, but they were coming to a point in their current project that he was going to need to be more accessible and physically on site for meetings. It was something he was going to discuss with Penny this weekend.
He’d been afraid to mention it and didn’t want to seem insensitive but maybe now that the plans for her business were temporarily on hold – and he firmly believed that – maybe she would consider coming to Atlanta for a week and seeing how he lived. Her work ethic was such that he knew she wouldn’t want to leave Hailey in a lurch, but with enough advanced notice, she’d consider it.
Something to talk about this week.
The drive to the airport was uneventful and his flight took off on time. Spencer took that as a good sign. He didn’t have to check any bags because he’d been leaving things at Penny’s – and at his parents’ – so he
was able to walk right off the plane to where Penny was waiting for him in her car.
Their first night back together was always his favorite. He loved to see the smile on her face when he climbed into the car. Their first kiss was always the sweetest because he missed the taste of her all week long. They’d gotten into the habit of grabbing one form or another of takeout and eating at home and just enjoying the time to talk in person rather than on the phone.
As they walked through her front door with their arms loaded with pizza and a box of baked goods from the coffee shop at Enchanted, Spencer listened as she talked about the plans for the next evening’s fashion show.
“Are you going to come and watch?” she asked. Normally he didn’t go – mainly because it was about four hours of his time when he felt like he was just in the way – but this time…
“Actually, I am,” he said and watched as her eyes lit up.
“Really?”
He nodded as he opened the pizza box. “Remember I told you about my friend Keith and getting invited to be part of his bridal party?”
She nodded.
“Turns out he and his fiancée are going to be at the show tomorrow night and I said I’d meet him there. He’s going specifically to look at tuxedoes and I told him I was kind of a pro at that sort of thing so…”
Penny burst out laughing. “So you’re a pro now?” she asked.
Grabbing a slice of pizza and putting it on Penny’s plate before taking one for himself, he replied, “You know it. I’ve tried on quite a few and – if I do say so myself – I can tell the difference between a quality tux and a not-so-quality tux.” He gave her a lecherous grin before adding, “I’m practically a professional groomsman.”
That just had her laughing again. “I love that! Maybe we can get you a job with Martin on the weeks that you’re in town.”
“Let’s not get carried away…”
“And you do realize that while you’ve tried on quite a few tuxes, you’ve yet to actually be a groomsman, right?”
“Technicalities…”
She laughed some more and it was good to see her finally relaxing a bit.
Glam Squad & Groomsmen Page 10
