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“If the situation was reversed, if you were standing here asking for my forgiveness…I don’t know if I could do it.”
“Tell me what happened that night. With Diana.”
“My job was on the line. My own fault. I’d gotten it through dubious means so it made sense I’d lose it that way too. She wanted me to sleep with her, to see if we still had anything left between us. One night.” He wouldn’t allow himself to look away, as much as he wanted to. “If I’d walked, Marcia wouldn’t have gotten my job. I wanted you to
have Marcia’s. And it turned out neither of you took those positions anyway.”
“Apparently Marcia wasn’t too keen on working for Diana.”
“Because of me.” He still couldn’t believe that. His sister had bailed on the store shortly after Kelly and had been looking for a new job for the last two months. “Marcia was in line for a promotion way before me, but I wasn’t content to wait. I owed her. Or at least I felt I did. I busted my ass to prove to everyone I was the best person to run those stores. And in the end, I didn’t even care anymore.”
“What do you mean, you didn’t care?” she asked. “The store was your whole world.”
“Just like it was yours,” he reminded her gently. “But the world stops turning eventually.”
“That sounds like a bad soap opera.”
“If the suds fit…” He slid his fingertip around her hoop earring, beyond grateful she was listening. That was more than he’d had any right to wish for. “Part of me hoped I could just sleep with her and nothing would have to change. I told myself you might never have to know, that we could just go on.”
“Yeah, this is the part where your murky motives poison the waters,” she muttered, making him laugh despite himself.
“I’m no saint. I never claimed to be. But I couldn’t do it.”
Her head lifted. “You couldn’t sleep with her? What did you do, back out at the last second?”
“Not exactly.” He winced. “I sort of, ah, couldn’t perform.”
“What?”
“Please don’t make me repeat that. My ego’s shriveling even as we speak.”
She covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. “No fucking way. You couldn’t get it up?”
“Oh I got it up. It was the staying up that was an issue.” He cleared his throat and tried to chase the memory from his mind. “She wasn’t too happy.”
“Did you explain that sort of thing sometimes happens to older men?”
“I’m glad you find this so amusing.”
She doubled over, tears of mirth streaming from her eyes. “Oh my God. I never thought I’d enjoy almost being cheated on so much.”
Spencer crossed his arms over his chest. “Let me know when you’re finished.”
“I’m done.” But she kept going, snorting and giggling. “Oh wow. That’s great.”
“Not so much from over here.”
“Sorry. I know it’s a, um, sensitive issue. But I think it’s so funny.”
“I got that. Truly.”
“Not because you couldn’t. But you never had any problem with me. I mean, I had to practically beat you off most of the time.” She glanced down. “Should I expect it to be an ongoing problem now too?”
“No. I can assure you I have zero interest in sleeping with you at the moment.”
She giggled again and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve really laughed?”
“Probably about as long since I have. But I’m thinking this is more fun for you than me.”
