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“Oh, no. I got it all done Friday night, when I was here at the house. Don’t you remember, Spencer?”
He glared at Grace, trying to imagine his revenge. But she held all the cards right now, and she knew it.
He kept his hands to himself during dessert, rehearsing his speech in his mind. If only he knew for sure Emily felt the same way about him, it wouldn’t be so intimidating.
When the family had attacked and eliminated all traces of the Ginger Crinkle cookies Emily had brought, Spencer began to clear the table.
Grace grabbed the plates from his fingers. “We’ll get the dishes. Why don’t you and Emily go sit on the porch so you can talk?” She ushered them outside and the door clicked shut behind them. Spencer resisted the urge to check to see if she’d locked it as well.
“It seems they don’t want us inside. Shall we sit?” He eased onto the glider and patted the space beside him.
Emily sat down cautiously, tugging her skirt to cover as much of her legs as possible.
“I really like this skirt.” As Spencer moved his hand toward her exposed thigh, she locked fingers with him. He chuckled. “Oh, so it’s look but don’t touch? That’s fine, I’ll be good… for now.”
“I’m beginning to wish I’d worn something that covered a bit more.”
“Seriously, I’ll behave.” He opened his mouth to speak, choked, coughed, and cleared his throat a few times. “I... uhmm... How’s your mom?”
“She’s fine, I guess. I haven’t actually talked to her this weekend.”
“Oh.”
Emily squirmed a bit in the uncomfortable silence. How could she start the awkward conversation about their feelings? Maybe with a question. “So, how long do you think we’ll date?” She held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“I wanted to talk about that, too.” Spencer smiled, squeezing her hand. I mean, I was thinking maybe a year. Maybe less. Even a year seems like a really long time to me. But, I thought, since I graduate in December. Then I’d get a job and save some money. But, you know, I might not even get a job here. It’s all sort of complicated.”
Her heart turned upside down. He was planning to give her a year, and even that seemed like a long time to him. She should be glad. That was probably longer than he’d dated any other girls. But somehow, talking about how it would be over after he graduated and got a job, made the end seem so certain. So, Grace was wrong after all. He didn’t love her. And she’d done exactly what she’d tried not to do. She’d fallen in love with a guy who didn’t love her back.
She struggled to stop the flood of tears. She shouldn’t be crying—she was going to ruin the time they had left. Hadn’t she decided she was going to enjoy him while she could? And who knew—maybe if they dated for that long, he might fall in love with her, too. Or maybe he was in love with her, but didn’t realize it.
His eyes were huge. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“I don’t know,” she sniffed. “A year... I guess a year is good. I was actually hoping for longer.”
He turned to her and picked up both of her hands in his, tenderly lifting them to his lips. “It can be two years if you want. I’m willing to wait.”
That’s right. She’d forgotten he’d be going without having sex for as long as they dated. No wonder he only wanted to date for a year. She took a long shuddering breath. It was too late now—she’d lost her heart to him. So if he offered her a year, she’d take it. And when it was over, if he hadn’t fallen in love with her, she’d pick up the pieces of her heart and move on.
He reached with one hand and brushed a tear off her face. “I know you think I’m a big player, but that’s more reputation than truth. I’d never cheat on you. You believe me. Right?”
“Even if...” She hesitated. She had to get this question off her chest. “Even if it means no sex the whole time we’re dating?”
“I’m not dating you for sex. I know you don’t believe in sex before marriage. That’s fine with me. But...”
“But what?”
“But, I’m hoping you’ll let up on the no-kissing thing now that we’ve talked.”
“Actually, I decided to change that policy yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” he groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know. I thought you’d guess somehow. You kissed me on Monday, before I lifted the hiatus.”
“I think maybe we need to work on our communication skills.” He shook his head.
“Well, at least we talked tonight.”
