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When I stepped out of Sam’s front door, I saw Robin right away. She was wearing a tasteful gray pantsuit—pretty standard fpr someone who worked in a lawyer’s office like Robin did. As I approached her, I felt my whole body tense in preparation for an argument. I was getting ready for an argument about how I was too old for Rylee and I should look for someone my own age, when I noticed Robin looking anxious. She clasped her two hands together and she was shaking. It was such a shock, I almost stopped walking, but now, I needed to know more than ever what was going on!
“Robin?” I called as I strode faster toward her. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
When she heard my voice, Robin’s head snapped up and she took a deep breath. I could see her eyes were watery as though she had just been crying or she was about to cry. “Spencer! Oh, I’m so glad to see you,” she said with a wavering smile.
I reached her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “What’s happened? You look awful!”
“I’m okay, I need to talk to you more about our… arrangement,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper.
Oh, great, I thought to myself and I had to resist the urge to sigh. That was the last thing I needed. “Okay, tell me what’s going on,” I responded with a nod.
“Okay. Well, I went into work today and Archie was there for the first time this week. He’d been away at a conference for the last two days, so I didn’t have to see him which was great in all honesty.” She paused and took a deep breath before continuing, “So, when he got back, I was hoping that our little stunt at the restaurant would be enough to keep him at bay, but…”
“But?” I prompted.
“The first thing he did when he got back to the office was ask me out on a date!” she explained. “I couldn’t believe it. I was so shocked that I didn’t say anything at first and he… He slapped my ass and told me he wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “I told him I have a boyfriend, but he told me that he didn’t believe me without proof! So, I wanted to know if you could come down to the office one day and pretend to be my boyfriend again? Just this one last time?”
Seeing Robin so distraught was unbearable. I hated the idea that this lecherous old man was trying to take advantage of her. The moral part of me wanted to drive down there right now and teach him a lesson, but… What about Rylee? She wasn’t exactly pleased the first time I acted as her mother’s boyfriend. I doubt she’d want me to go around doing it again…
Yet, I couldn’t shake the loyalty I felt for Robin and I reasoned that Rylee wouldn’t want her mom being taken advantage of either.
“It’s all gonna be okay, Robin,” I reassured her and pulled her into a comforting hug. “I’ll take care of it, don’t you worry. I’ll come down to the office tomorrow and take you out for lunch. How does that sound?”
Robin pulled back from the hug with a smile and a look of relief. “Thank you, Spencer. That sounds wonderful.”
We smiled at one another for a moment longer when Sam finally caught up with us. “Spencer!” he called. “And you must be the lovely Robin, I’ve heard so much about.”
When Robin’s blue eyes caught Sam’s green, I noticed her cheeks pinken and her smile widen. “And you must be Sam,” she replied before sticking out her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you. Spencer has told me lots about you!”
“Only good things I hope,” Sam replied with a wink as he took Robin’s outstretched hand and shook it.
“Very good,” she replied and let out a bashful giggle before looking down at the floor.
I was astonished. The two of them were interacting like a pair of lovestruck teenagers.
Hmm…love at first sight?
Well, now, that is an interesting development indeed…
16
Rylee
On Thursday, I was still fuming about my argument with Spencer while I shelved packets of sugar and flower down aisle twelve. I gripped one of the paper packets a little too hard as I thought about how stubborn Spencer was being and it tore, spilling flour all over my skirt and the floor. I groaned. That was the very last thing I needed that day.
With a grunt in frustration, I picked up the remnants of the packaging and headed for the back room. It was dark in there and there was no one around so I took a minute to lean back against the door and take a deep breath. It was difficult not to think about Spencer and it was even worse when I hadn’t heard from him in days. I knew that I was the one who should reach out to him. After all, the whole mess was my fault. I should have told him about Jayden sooner, but honestly, I was scared. Everything to do with Spencer terrified me and I guess that was kind of the point…
