Page 11 of The Ruse of Romancing

Spencer grabbed my arm, pulling me further away from the office. I shifted, making sure I could still see the woman through the partially open door. Not in a creepy way. Just in an “appreciating the scenery” kind of way.

“That one’s off limits,” Spencer said, waving aggressively toward the woman in his office.

“First of all, you can’t refer to a woman as ‘that one.’ She is a living, breathing, functioning human, and your mother would be appalled to hear you talk about a lady that way.

” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling confident in my assessment of the situation.

“Second of all, you’re not the boss of me.

” That last part sounded better in my head.

It came out like I was a small child in an argument with the school bully. But my argument still stood.

“Do you even know who that is?” Spencer asked, stepping into my personal space and arching an eyebrow.

While Spencer was only a couple of inches shorter than me, he felt particularly small in this moment as he tried to intimidate me away from this woman, his slim frame contrasting with my gym-honed muscles.

“Also, weren’t you here yesterday with three women?

For once in your life, leave some for the rest of us. ”

“Again, she’s a woman, not the last scoop of ice cream in the container.

And I was here with one woman yesterday who happened to be visiting with two of her friends, both of whom you could have tried to woo.

None of them are in town anymore, so I don’t see the problem in pursuing someone new.

I’ve got to test drive the new look at some point and you have a very promising lady currently sitting in your office who has yet to experience all that this,” I gestured at myself, “has to offer.” I ran a hand through my short hair, flexing my bicep with the gesture to emphasize my point.

I was going to save a fortune in shampoo with my haircut, but it was going to take some serious getting used to.

Also, all that saved money would be going back to Davie to maintain said haircut, even with the generous locals discount he gave me.

Spencer watched me for a moment, seeming to consider what I said.

“How do you keep all these women straight when they text you later?” He asked after a moment, probably looking for the secret to my success with the women who visited town.

I shrugged. “First rule of interacting with the tourists, you don’t give them your phone number.

” I wouldn’t repeat the real first rule to him: never get attached.

I’d mentioned it to him before, and I knew it wasn’t what Spencer wanted to hear.

He wasn’t the kind of man to do casual, which is why we differed dramatically in the dating arena.

As soon as you took emotions out of the equation, everything got much simpler for everyone involved.

It was a lesson Rebecca taught me quite thoroughly my first summer here, and I wasn’t about to forget it any time soon.

Besides, who needed emotions anyway? It wasn’t like I was looking to settle down with someone.

I was just looking for a good time to combat the loneliness that lurked in the corners of my life if I looked too closely.

Luckily for me, most tourists were searching for fun, which was my specialty.

And if they weren’t, I was more than happy to move on to the next woman who visited.

“But what if it’s a relationship you want to last past the summer?” Spencer continued, looking over his shoulder to where the brunette worked.

For a moment, I considered backing off and letting Spencer pursue the mystery woman without competition.

And if she’d seemed interested in him, I would have.

However, I’d read loud and clear the vibes she was giving him when he’d been in the office, and she was far from interested.

Some men could come back from that complete lack of interest. Spencer was not one of those men.

“Spencer, my friend,” I said, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder, “that’s your first mistake. The tourists aren’t here for long-term relationships. They’re here for vacation fun and you’re just here to amplify that experience.”

Spencer sputtered, his face turning bright red. I thought I’d lost the ability to shock him when it came to dating. Good to know I still had a few tricks up my sleeve.

Spencer’s guest chose that moment to leave the office, carrying a paperback copy of one of the books she’d been signing. It had a cover I’d seen around. In fact, I was fairly certain Spencer had had an entire table full of this particular book earlier this year.

The cover had the silhouettes of two people turned away from each other, a mix of deep red pomegranates and twisting green vines framing the scene, the title written in a looping cursive script: Of Curses and Pomegranates .

The artist had done a good job. I’d designed a handful of indie book covers for people who’d found my art on social media and reached out, so I knew designing the perfect cover took a fair amount of work and finesse.

But looking at the cover, I saw small adjustments I’d make to make it pop more, maybe add a hint of silver mixed in with the vines and fruit or a slight adjustment in the posture of the characters to up the chemistry and tension between the man and woman.

“Do you mind if I buy this copy in addition to the books I picked out earlier? I owe your mom a signed paperback.” She held up the book, looking back and forth between me and Spencer, clearly not wanting to interrupt but also wanting to move on with her day.

As her eyes met mine, they lingered an extra heartbeat, a spark of interest in her eyes that I could definitely work with.

I noticed a small stack of books sitting next to the cash register, presumably the books she’d already picked out.

I wanted to study the titles, see what I could learn about the woman before making my move.

I also wouldn’t mind studying the cover designs, see what had spoken to her.

The woman was an author and maybe she could help open some cover design opportunities for me, if I could find a way to leave our interaction on friendly terms.

Spencer snorted, his face stretching into a crazy-eyed smile that would make children cry. Maybe I should help him impress this woman, give him some much-needed flirting tips, number one being: Calm down.

“Of course! Though she really owns enough copies of your book.” He laughed, but it wasn’t a laugh I’d ever heard before, coming out high-pitched and overly aggressive, almost like a donkey bray.

I shifted away from him, not wanting to be associated with whatever craziness was currently manifesting itself in my best friend.

The woman registered the movement, looking at me again with a slow, interested smile. Or at least a friendly smile. I may have imagined the interested part, but I was certain I could win her over if I could get her away from Spencer for a moment.

As Spencer rang up her purchases, asking small-talk questions, I took in her appearance. She was dressed casually, but even under her sweatshirt and shorts, I could tell she had curves I wouldn’t mind exploring.

“Will that be all?” Spencer asked quirking an eyebrow, his voice coming out oddly deep now.

“Oh, actually I did want to wander and maybe pick up a couple of writing craft books.” She turned to take in the store. “Which way...” She trailed off, waiting for Spencer to direct her.

“If you’ll follow me.” Spencer all but climbed over the checkout counter to lead her to the correct section. Dude had no chill and now I understood why he hadn’t had a second date in the years I’d known him.

Just as the pair was about to leave the checkout counter to disappear among the bookshelves, the chime above the door sounded, followed almost immediately by a call from the new customer, the voice shrill and familiar and one that instantly sent chills down my spine.

“Spencer! If the sequel to this book you recommended last week isn’t out yet, I’m going to murder you. You know how I feel about cliffhangers.”

Spencer and I both flinched as we registered who had just walked in: Joyce Campbell.

We looked at each other, knowing what would ensue if Joyce felt like she was being ignored.

There was a reason her husband, Clyde, spent most of his time hiding at Ed’s now that he was retired.

Joyce was never happy, and she was a force to be reckoned with when she was on a war path.

I’d heard rumors she’d made the entire high school football team cry with a single look.

I personally had seen her make both Clyde and their son Benny cry on multiple occasions, though, to be fair, Benny was only a few months post-divorce and Joane had also made him cry when she handed him a cup of coffee “on the house” the first time he’d visited the bakery after signing his divorce papers.

“I’ll be right back,” Spencer said to the author, glancing between her and me before disappearing around the corner to deal with Joyce.

“But what about...” The woman trailed off, seeming to register that there was no point protesting. If she thought she was leaving the bookstore any time soon, she was sadly mistaken.

Recognizing an opportunity to introduce myself, I leaned against the checkout counter and pulled her into a conversation.

“Welcome to Cascade Harbor: the prettiest little town on the Oregon coast and the one with the quirkiest residents. Trust me, it’s better for everyone in the bookstore if Spencer helps Joyce now,” I said, nodding in the direction of the entrance.

“Otherwise, we’ll all be recipients of a lecture about ‘kids these days’ and how no one understands the meaning of true customer service.

” I wished I was joking, but I’d witnessed that lecture one too many times around town and was not in the mood for a repeat.