Page 65 of Trust Again

She nodded, smiling. Then she threw herself backward onto the huge bed and moved her arms as if making a snow angel. I laughed and walked out just in time to run into Kaden in the hallway.

“Thanks for letting me sleep with her in a room,” he said.

“You owe me one,” I responded.

“Deal.”

“Then we can listen to Justin Bieber on the way back.”

“Over my dead body.” With these words he entered his room and shut the door before I could argue.

Grinning, I pulled my suitcase along the hall to the last room. Opening the door slowly, I looked inside and froze.

Unbelievable!

A double bed was pushed into a small niche in the wall. The room might be smaller than the other two, and had no balcony, but it made no difference at all. Going over to the bed, I set down my suitcase. From the bed there was a wonderful view of the ocean. It was exactly as I’d pictured it: the perfect place to do some writing, and luckily I’d brought Watson along.

I unpacked a bit and freshened up. Then, putting on a sweatshirt, I headed downstairs to the open living room, which was flooded with natural light. Antique furniture filled the space. The fabulous view more than made up for the creaky wooden floors and slightly musty odor.

Moving on, I opened the door to the kitchen.

“Oh.”

Spencer had returned from shopping and was just filling the fridge with food. Hearing me, he turned and gave me a crooked grin.

“Hey,” he said, shoving his sweatshirt sleeves up.

“Hi,” I replied, surprised by the slight hitch in his voice.

It was just Spencer, I told myself. Nothing had changed. Everything was normal between us.

Normal. As if that had ever really described our relationship.

“Hungry? I bought chocolate. And apples. And other stuff on Monica’s list that has to be prepared,” he said so quickly that he sounded just as breathless as I felt.

“I never say no to chocolate.” I peered into the shopping bag that he was busy emptying. Pretty close to the top was a huge pack of Reese’s. “Oh, you hit the jackpot! You’re the best.”

I grabbed the bag and tore it open, fished out a peanut butter cup and unwrapped it. Biting off a piece, I sighed. Reese’s were definitely a divine invention. I was about to look gratefully at Spencer, but his expression was quizzical, as if I had something stuck on my face.

“Did you get a good room?” he asked hoarsely, as he continued unpacking the bag.

“The one at the end of the hall. Totally cool, with the bed alcove,” I said.

“I kind of thought you’d like that.” He took the tomatoes that I held out to him.

“Didn’t you want one of the upstairs rooms?” I asked.

Spencer shrugged and shoved the vegetables into a drawer at the bottom of the fridge. “Nah.”

“Why not?”

“It’s Allie’s birthday, Monica fell in love with the first room, and you’ve never been to the coast before, so I thought I’d let you guys go first.” He said it dismissively, as if it were nothing special. But it was just the opposite. Looking serious, he placed a head of the lettuce in with the other veggies.

“Please don’t look at me that way,” he murmured, without looking up from his task.

“What way?”

He lifted his gaze and looked first at my lips, then my eyes. “As if I were some kind of saint. I’m not,” he said with a frown.