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He surveyed the small desk at the back of the bedroom area. Was that hers? Why wasn’t she there?
She was supposed to be working today. He’d checked. Several times. The last thing he’d wanted was to show up and find her gone. Unless there had been an emergency. Or maybe she’d spotted his car in the parking lot and fled out a back entrance, never to be seen again.
Shaking his head at his foolishness, he gave in and paced under the guise of studying the beds. As if he gave a hoot about a mattress. If it didn’t fall to the floor when he collapsed on it, he figured he’d picked a good one.
Selling mattresses and featherbeds had to be beyond boring. She must’ve really been desperate if she’d quit The Book Nook to come work in a place like this, though he didn’t doubt she did well for herself here. She was a hard worker with a great eye for design. Delaney’s had probably snapped her up without a second thought.
So where the hell was she?
Spencer picked up a stuffed sheep pillow and bunched it between his hands, wondering how long he could loiter. Then he heard feminine laughter.Her laughter. The sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
“I’ve got to go. I’m already running late—” She stopped mid-sentence. “Can I help you, sir?”
His hands were still full of sheep. He braced, shifting her way. Even the breath he inhaled so sharply his lungs protested didn’t help.
So much for thinking he was ready.
Dear God, she looked gorgeous. He’d never seen her dressed so…sleekly. Black leather pencil-thin skirt, matching thigh-skimming jacket over a bright red top. Hoops shone at her ears and little clips held back her hair, which now dusted her shoulders. She’d gained an air of sophistication since he’d last seen her, an extra patina of poise. But that same sweet vulnerability he’d fallen for was still there, lurking in her confident whiskey eyes.
If he’d ever questioned his feelings before, he definitely harbored no doubts now. As he met her gaze, he remembered everything they’d had and all that he’d thrown away. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
If only she would give him one more chance. That’s all he needed.
“I’d like a bed,” he said softly. “With you in it.”
Kelly’s heart stopped. Just stopped.
How could Spencer be standing beside a mattress at Delaney’s, holding Buddy the sheep and looking at her as if the last three months had never happened? His eyes revealed so much. If he’d worn that expression the night in his office, she might’ve fought harder. She might’ve even believed they had a chance.
But he hadn’t. And now she didn’t know if it was too late.
Kelly swung her purse over her shoulder and sidestepped one of the many beds. She could list the features and benefits of each without a second thought.
“Sorry, I don’t come with the merchandise,” she said, deliberately reminding him of the morning after their breakup.
Her voice didn’t falter and her steps were steady. Ever so slowly, she was heading toward where she wanted to be. The path to self-assurance had been full of potholes, but she was on her way.
He grabbed her wrist when she would’ve continued past him. “So forget the bed. I’ll just take you.”
His fingers bit into her skin, bringing back erotic memories she’d spent too many nights dreaming about during the long, hot summer. She was hallucinating this whole scene. Had to be. She’d always known they would meet again, but she’d figured it would be at her insistence. And she’d always assumed that meeting would end in goodbye.
This felt very much like hello. With extra emphasis on the “O”.
She inclined her chin. “You could start with something a little more traditional.”
“Like?”
“Like how are you?”
A brief smile twisted his lips. “How are you?” he asked, sliding his thumb down to circle the heart of her palm.
Okay. All right. Absolutely fine. “I’ve been well. And you?”
She expected some standard answer. Not for him to step closer and grab her other wrist and then hold both to his chest as if they weren’t in the middle of the bedroom department at Delaney’s. “Lousy. Miserable.” He stared into her eyes, hiding nothing. “I miss you.”
Even with her heart beating way too fast and her face heating under his stare, she tried to stay strong and hold her ground. Really she did. But it was a halfhearted battle, one she almost relished losing. “What happened between you and Diana? For real?”
“I’d hoped we could discuss that in private.”
