Tension thickens.
I shift, nervous.
After ten seconds, Betty uncrosses her arms and points at Spence. “I like you.”
Spence nods. “I like you too.”
I throw my hands up. “That’s it? That’s all it took? I spent months trying to woo you.”
Betty shrugs. “Guess you better work on your game.”
I laugh and point at their table. “Can we sit and catch up before I get to work?”
Betti waves us in. “Please, sit. But you’re not going to cook today, are you, Ryan? You don’t need to do that.”
“Yes, I do,” I say. “It’ll be good for me to do something useful.”
Bette frowns. “But how are you going to cook with one leg?”
I grin, “Spence here is going to be my helper today.” I look over and Spence is pulling out chairs for Betti and Bette, and my heart melts. Next, he walks around and pulls out Betty’s chair.
She looks up at him and he says, “Your throne, Diva.” She swats at his chest but I see her lips twitch as she takes her seat. He catches me watching and winks at me before helping me lower into my own chair. I look up at him, trying to say thank you with my eyes, but it’s his eyes that do all the talking. A mix of tenderness, awe, confusion, and… lust swirl through the blue of his irises. I feel my cheeks begin to heat and when I turn my attention back to the table, Betty is studying me with a look that makes me squirm even more.
To distract, I glance around the table, grinning. “Sooo, what’s new with you ladies?”
Betti claps her hands together, eyes bright. “We’re going to be hookers!”
Spence chokes on air, and my jaw just about hits the table. Bette buries her face in her hands, elbows propped up like she can’t believe she’s living through this. Betty just shakes her head, fixing Betti with a stare. “I swear you picked our new activity just so you could say that.”
I look at Betty, completely lost. She sighs—long-suffering—and says, “We’re going to start doing hook and needle crocheting. It’s a whole thing. There’s clubs and they call it ‘hooking.’”
Betti snickers. “Hooking.”
“You’re such a child,” Betty mutters.
Betti sticks her tongue out at her.
Bette lifts her face from her hands and looks at me, eyes pleading. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”
I can’t help but laugh, shaking my head.
Betti waves off the topic. “Enough about us. How is recovery?”
I sigh, feeling the weight of the question. “It’s slow and boring. But Spence here has been my savior. He stayed with me the whole time I was in the hospital.” I give Spence a soft smile. “He’s even put me up at his place and has been helping me get to PT appointments. Plus, all the little things I need help with until I can put weight on my foot again.”
Bette turns to Spence, her expression warm. “Wow. That’s awfully kind of you, young man. How do you know each other?”
Spence, cool as ever, says, “We met through mutual friends and started working out together. I’m also an attorney at the sports talent agency that represents Ryan.”
Betti pats his hand on the table, beaming. “Well, it’s very kind of you. Thank you for looking after our boy here.”
Spence nods, “Yes, ma’am.”
Betti smiles, giving him an obvious once-over. “Oh, he’s quite the gentleman.” Then she grins wider. “You sure are nice to look at, too.”
Spence barks out a laugh, cheeks coloring just a little. Then he gives me the softest smile, and for a second, the world shrinks to just the two of us.
Betty taps a polished fingernail on the table, breaking the spell. “Betti, stop being a slut. Why don’t you two take Ryan’s friend on a tour of the village. I need to talk to Ryan.”
