Page 115 of Love In Hiding

“Or you need to,” his mother said. “I’ve seen you worked up a few times in your life. You’re the one who struggles to come down from it. You’re the one who thinks it’s a flaw to lose your patience. To fight or even yell. Everyone does. No one is perfect, and sure the hell not you.”

“I never said I was perfect,” he argued.

“Then why do you try to give off the impression you are?”

“Calling you might have been worse than going after London.”

“Good,” his mother said, laughing. “Glad to hear that. Maybe your father and I need to take a quick trip soon to meet her.”

“I’m not sure she’s going to talk to me after tonight.”

“Don’t keep lying to yourself,” his mother said, her voice carrying the clicking of her tongue as if she was shaking her head at him. “Take the night if you need it, but no more. It will only make it worse. Trust me.”

It didn’t seem like he had much of a choice, but he wasn’t so sure he trusted himself right now.

32

BROKEN HONESTY

“I’m coming,” she shouted and yanked the door open to her apartment.

She didn’t expect Spencer to show up the next morning. Didn’t think he’d be pounding on her door either.

She’d barely stepped a foot into her kitchen from her shower when the knocking started.

Spencer stood there in running clothes. His chest was heaving as if he was trying to catch his breath, but she didn’t know if it was from exercise or the conversation they were about to have.

“Can we talk?”

“I don’t know,” she said, crossing her arms. “Are we going to talk or are you going to yell? Paris is still sleeping.”

He looked down at his watch, then back up. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I tried to wait.”

There he was, being considerate and she was ready to ride his ass.

Maybe some of his words were right last night.

Maybe all those things people had said to her before were still a problem.

That she spoke before she thought.

She wanted others to see what she was feeling even if it would be better to keep it in.

But she wasn’t wrong with what she’d said back to him.

That he let no one see what he was feeling.

Not even the woman she thought he loved.

Could be she was wrong though. Could be he didn’t care for her like she did him.

Or maybe he didn’t have the ability to do it and that was what scaredherall along.

That she felt so much more than he was capable of.

He still stood there in the doorway though, his eyes looking wrecked, patiently waiting for her to give him permission.

She wouldn’t have asked. She would have just marched in.