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“Very classy, Maria,” Peter said. “It’s a wonder you’re still single.”
Spencer turned his back on them and answered his phone. “Hello.”
“Hey, Spence,” Emilio said. “Am I interrupting you during your meeting?”
Hearing that deep, warm voice helped ease the tension that had been gathering in Spencer’s belly. “No, we’re all done. I was just about to head home. Are you there?”
“No, my brothers and I went to shoot some pool. Come join us.”
“Oh. No, no, that’s okay. I don’t want to interrupt your bonding time.” He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He had been looking forward to racing home and being with Emilio.
“Bonding time?” Emilio chuckled. “Spence, I work with my brothers. I see them every day. Jim’s here too. Come on, please? I want you to get to know them. You haven’t even met Martin and Henry yet.”
The idea of meeting Emilio’s family was still a little daunting, but Raul had seemed nice during the brief time they’d spent together, and Spencer liked Jim a lot. Besides, Emilio’s family was an important part of his life, which meant it was important to Spencer too.
“Okay. I’ll come join you. Where are you?”
“Shooters. You know the place?”
Spencer tucked his phone between his shoulder and his ear and reached into his bag for a piece of paper and a pen. “Shooters? No. Where is it?”
He scribbled the address down, repeated it to make sure he had it right, and told Emilio he’d be there soon. Then he dropped his phone into his bag and tried to stay calm as he turned back to Peter. Well, Peter and Maria, who was shooting daggers at Peter with her eyes.
“Peter, I’m sorry, but I have plans, and besides I—”
“I heard,” Peter snapped. “Is that the guy from the restaurant the other night? He hasn’t broken up with you yet?”
“Seriously?” Maria shouted. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Okay!” Spencer said loudly. “Okay. That’s enough.” He put his arm on Maria’s back and looked meaningfully at Peter, nudging his chin toward the doorway. “Let’s go.”
Once all three of them were in the hallway, he locked the door and started walking toward the stairwell, Maria on one side of him and Peter on the other. They barely fit in the hallway, all three of them shoulder to shoulder, but Peter and Maria were both too stubborn to budge.
“We need to talk,” Peter said.
“No, you don’t,” Maria responded.
“Oh, for God’s sake, will you please shut up!” Peter shouted.
“I’m an atheist,” Maria said.
“Figures,” Peter grumbled.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Maria replied.
Spencer ignored both of them as they all hustled down the stairs and out of the building, then he asked Peter, “Are you in visitor parking?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, well, Maria and I are in the staff lot and it’s in the opposite direction, so….”
“We need to talk, Spencer.”
“Peter,” Spencer sighed. “I don’t think there’s anything left to say, okay?”
“Yeah, Peter!” Maria jumped in, sounding joyful. “There’s nothing left to say.”
“Maria, I’ve got this,” Spencer said firmly. “You can go ahead. I’ll call you later.”
“No, thanks. I’ll wait.” She jutted her hip out, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at Peter.
Spencer rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “Peter, listen, I need to go. I’m meeting—”
“Emilio,” Peter said the name like it was dirty. “I heard. When can we talk?”
Not wanting to embarrass Peter, Spencer looked at Maria and said, “Give us a minute, okay?”
It seemed as if she was going to protest, but Spencer looked at her pleadingly and she said, “Fine. But I’ll be right over there.” Then she stomped off to a light post not too far away, leaned against it, and continued glaring at Peter.
“I can come over after dinner,” Peter offered.
“No.” Spencer shook his head. “We’ve been done for a long time. You moved on. I moved on. I don’t see the point of rehashing everything.”
“It’s not rehashing. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I think we can—”
“Spencer!” Maria called out. “Emilio’s waiting for you!”
“She’s right.” Spencer looked at the man who once held the power to send him into a tailspin, gave him a kind smile, and said, “Take care of yourself, Peter.” Then he walked away.
“IF YOU stare at the door one more time, I’m going to hit you in the head with my cue,” Martin said to Emilio.
“Leave him alone, man,” Raul responded. “Hermanito is waiting for his professor.”
“Can’t he wait without staring at the door like a lovesick puppy?”
“That’s nothing,” Raul scoffed. “You should have seen him when he was stalking the man’s office. It was the sorriest damn thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m sure he didn’t stalk Spencer’s office,” Jim said reasonably.
“Yeah, he did,” Henry disagreed.
“Yeah, I did,” Emilio confirmed. “You’ve met him. Can you blame me?” He looked from Jim to Raul. “He’s adorable, right? Did you see his dimples? And he’s nice and smart and—”
