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ChapterThirty-Four
SPENCER
Thanks to Mrs. Lockhart—and my need to steer clear of Tess in front of her—I’m stuck in the kitchen helping Clive dig packages of burgers from the freezer. So basically, my hands are icy on the outside, while my insides are burning up. But this has nothing to do with Clive.
It’s definitely the Tess effect.
She’s unpredictable, like a tornado. But it’s her spontaneity that sucks me in. She’s thrilling in a way I didn’t see coming, edging me closer to the storm. Something big has shifted between us, and I’m not running from Tess anymore. I want to get whipped up in the eye of her. Tangled in her red hair. Wrapped in her arms.
Holy smokes.
What is happening to me?
“Can you hand me more vegetarian patties?” Clive asks.
I fall back to earth with a splat. “Huh?”
“We’ve got plenty of beef already,” he says. “I think three more of the veggie ought to do it.” He nods to indicate the shelf in front of me. “The ones right there.”
I shake my head. “Oh yeah. Sure. Got it.” I crack the top three packages away from the rest and hand them over to Clive. He sticks them in the rolling cooler, then looks up at me.
“You all right, mate?”
“Sure.” I turn back to the patties.
“It’s just that you seem a bit … preoccupied.”
I blow out a breath, drop my chin. “Honestly, I’m not surewhatI am.” The ice from the freezer wafts cold air across my face. “But you’re right. I’ve got a lot on my mind.” I glance over my shoulder, and Clive’s expression seems genuinely concerned.
“Is it Kayla and me?” he asks. “If I’m stepping on toes—”
“Absolutely not.” I shut the freezer and stand to face him, eye to eye. “Kayla’s great, but we’re strictly coworkers. She’s my friend. That’s it.”
Clive exhales a gust of air, like a weight’s been lifted off his shoulders. “Well. I’m delighted to hear that,” he says.
“You two seemed to be getting along pretty well last night,” I say.
“Indeed.” Clive nods, but his expression darkens, momentarily. “But I never would have pursued her if I thought you were interested.”
“Kayla’s got a mind of her own.” I shrug. “She could’ve picked you over me, and it wouldn’t have been your fault. No hard feelings.”
“Well.” Clive exhales. “That’s good of you to say, mate.”
I nod, because I mean it, despite how I reacted when I thought Clive wanted Tess. I definitely had hard feelings then. And when Troy was eyeing her this morning.
Clive arches a brow. “If Kayla comes to the barbecue tonight, I’m planning to ask her out on a real date. Perhaps for next Saturday. Something romantic.”
“Hold on now.” I smirk. “Are you saying barbecues and movie nights at a kids’ camp don’t scream romance?”
He chuckles. “Well, it could be the start of a relationship, I suppose. But I’d rather take her out when and where neither one of us is being paid.”
“Yeah. I hear that.”You have no idea how loudly I hear it.
He bends down to shut the first cooler, then pulls over another. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Shoot.”
“When we met, I didn’t think you liked me very much.” He straightens and cocks his head. “That first night at the bonfire. And pretty much every other time I’ve seen you since.”
