Page 10 of The Ruse of Romancing

Mason

I rubbed my jaw as I crossed the parking lot of Ed’s, heading to Seabreeze Reads.

I was not used to the smooth texture of my skin.

Davie had done a good job with my haircut and shave, my hair longer on top and shaved close to my head on the sides.

Given that Charlie had been the reason for my shorter-than-planned haircut, Davie hadn’t charged me.

He claimed he owed me for the ribbing I’d experienced at the hands of Art, Marty, and Clyde for trusting Charlie with my hair, and I wasn’t about to argue.

And while I’d miss my less fussy, long hair, I’d still get my bi-weekly gossip update if I was going to maintain my new short hair.

Though I would need to invest in a razor for shaving in the mornings.

If Spencer hadn’t told me to stop in to discuss a possible commission, I would have driven straight home to hide from the world as I let some of the sting of the day wear off before I had to face the town beardless and man-bun-less. I now had more sympathy for Samson than ever before.

Charlie, your name is Delilah. I thought with a snort as I stepped into the bookstore, a perky chime greeting me and contrasting sharply with my mood.

“I’ll be right with you,” Spencer called from somewhere tucked behind bookshelves.

“Take your time,” I said, shivering at an unexpected chill inside the shop.

I now understood why so many men in Oregon perpetually wore beanies.

Not having my hair to keep my neck warm was going to take some getting used to, especially if I visited my mom over the holidays.

Just the thought of a Utah winter had me breaking out in goosebumps.

I wandered the store, certain I’d find Spencer tucked into a corner restocking shelves, his glasses sliding down his nose and his blond hair sticking up in random spikes around his head.

Honestly, if things were slow enough, he might even be curled up in one of the striped armchairs reading a new release.

The bookstore was cozy with dark wood bookshelves lining the walls and angled in places to create little reading nooks.

When Spencer’s grandfather had passed away, leaving behind a large inheritance, Spencer had spent several years exploring different career options as a self-proclaimed entrepreneur.

When he’d finally come to me with his idea to open a bookstore, I’d laughed, convinced he was joking.

But he’d made the shop work, using its location near the coast to attract authors for signings that also enticed tourists to visit.

Spencer’s biggest coup to date was hosting a signing for the hottest thriller author in the country, attracting readers from several hours away for the event.

I still wasn’t sure how he had convinced the author to visit when Powell’s Books, the world’s largest independent bookstore, was nearby, but his results spoke for themselves.

Spencer had been trying to convince some fantasy romance author to visit, but he was having a hard time persuading a stick-in-the-mud guy at the publishing house that the event would be worth it.

But if anyone could make it happen, it was Spencer.

He'd recently completed an addition on the back of the store, creating an event space that hosted a variety of events in addition to signings. Though I doubted any signings would outshine the chaos and magic that was Cascade Harbor’s monthly bingo night, which Spencer had started hosting almost immediately after finishing the space.

“Welcome to Seabreeze Reads! How can I help you?” Spencer asked in his best customer service voice as he rounded the corner with a stack of books in his arms and a welcoming grin on his face.

“I feel like I should be asking how I can help you, since you set up this meeting,” I joked back, surprised when Spencer blinked back in confusion.

“I set this...” He trailed off, recognition finally settling in as his mouth dropped open. He stood there for several seconds gaping at me before words came spewing out. “Dude! What happened to you?”

I flinched at the shock in Spencer’s voice and expression, tempted to shush him like we were in a library, even though, as far as I could tell, I was currently his only customer.

“My hair shrunk in the wash,” I said, not wanting to discuss my encounter with Charlie and his scissors.

“And your beard just vanished? I can’t remember the last time I saw you clean-shaven,” he said, shaking his head.

“How are you possibly going to attract the ladies now? You look more like a golf-course junky tourist than our resident lumberjack.” Spencer nudged me with his elbow as he walked past me to his office at the back of the shop.

I followed him, ready to be done with his teasing, discuss the commission, and then head home.

I was more than happy to call it a day. If I was lucky, my new neighbor would be nowhere in sight so I could enjoy some peace and quiet before jumping into Spencer’s commission.

At least my tablet and graphic design program wouldn’t judge me for my lack of hair.

“Laugh it up, Chuckles. I bet I’ll still have more luck with the ladies than you,” I grumbled, trying to find my confidence and swagger, hoping I hadn’t left it on the floor of Ed’s along with my beard and dignity.

Spencer abruptly stopped in front of me, blocking my way into the office as I nearly ran into his back.

“Is there a reason you’re following me?” he asked, his voice coming out oddly strained. There was no way that stack of books was heavy enough to be causing him issues. If it was, I needed to get him to the gym more often.

“Yes,” I said slowly, confused at his question. “You asked me to stop by to talk about a commission.”

If it was anything like Spencer’s last commission, which he’d framed and proudly hung behind the cash register, this project would bring in some good money and help build my clientele.

Last time he’d asked me to create a print that depicted several children from different backgrounds, with different abilities disappearing into the pages of a book for an epic adventure involving a castle, dragon, and pirate ship.

It had turned out so well that he sold smaller copies and bookmarks based on the print with his bookstore logo on the back, splitting a part of the sales with me.

I’d lost track of the number of commissions I’d received thanks to that particular piece of art because people saw it in the shop and loved the style enough to reach out to me.

This new commission wasn’t something I could really afford to miss out on.

While I was established enough as a graphic designer that I had a steady stream of customers, I wasn’t making enough money to move out of the duplex and support myself fully.

Not that I was looking to move anytime soon, but I couldn’t live off my grandparents’ charity forever.

“About that,” Spencer said, turning to face me and shifting his posture to take up more space.

While Spencer wasn’t the most socially adept person in Cascade Harbor, he was acting weird even for him.

“I still want to talk about a commission, but today isn’t a good day. I’ve had... something come up.”

“Something ‘come up?’ Spencer, you were the one who insisted we had to meet today. You said it was urgent,” I said, thrown off by my friend’s behavior.

“I know, but I’ve thought about it and realized I need to... sleep on the project some more.”

Spencer was a terrible liar. His face did this funny scrunching thing.

His mom, Joane, said it had always been that way since he was little, making her job as parent infinitely easier.

According to her, if she ever suspected him of lying, she just had to wait to see if his expression made him look like a pooping toddler.

The description was remarkably accurate as I watched Spencer’s face contort now. He was hiding something.

“Sleep on the project? You slept on it last night,” I said, stopping to lean against the wall near the checkout counter to watch him. I waved at the last commission I’d done for Spencer where it hung on the wall behind his head. “You know I love doing this kind of work. I don’t understand—”

“Hey, Spencer,” a warm female voice called from the office behind my friend, “were you able to find those other copies? I really need to finish signing so I can head back to my rental. My sister’s going to flip if I don’t make some progress with my writing today.”

I arched an eyebrow as the pieces fell into place. Spencer was trying to keep me away from the woman in his office. Which of course meant meeting her was exactly what I was going to do. It was what best friends were for.

Looking from me to the office and back, Spencer pivoted quickly on his heel, stepping into the office and depositing the books on the desk.

“Here you go! Let me know if you need anything else.” He hovered for a moment, clearly wanting more from the woman.

She briefly glanced up from the stack of books that was already in front of her, muttering a brief thank you as she leaned away from Spencer, tucking a strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear and returning to her task.

Spencer hesitated for a second longer before remembering I was there.

He quickly shuffled out of the small room, closing the door slightly to try to block my view.

Unfortunately for him, I could still see the woman in his office, and I was very much interested in learning more about the gorgeous brunette bent over his desk, pen in hand, signing a large stack of books and ignoring Spencer’s clear interest in her.

Her hair cascaded over one shoulder, creating a waterfall that I wouldn’t mind running my fingers through. I wondered how she’d feel about modeling for a sketch. I needed to test out my new look some time and this moment was starting to feel perfect. Women liked the clean-cut look too, right?