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"I’d prefer the stairs, anyway.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. "Or we can take the elevator again. I know how to keep us occupied if we get stuck."
“I have no doubt.”
The memory was still fresh and hot in my mind. My pulse sped up as those delicious moments played back. Lowering my gaze to the table, I grabbed one of the menus, opening directly to the main course.
"What do you want?" Spencer asked, grabbing a menu as well.
"What do you recommend?" I asked him.
"I'll have the spaghetti carbonara."
I wrinkled my nose. "No, I'm not such a big fan of guanciale. I'll just take spaghetti pomodoro." Tomato sauce and basil were right up my alley.
The waiter seemed to realize we were ready to order.
"Do you know what you want to drink?"
"Oh," I exclaimed, realizing I'd totally skipped that part. "Some wine, perhaps white."
"We'll take your best bottle," Spencer said.
My eyes popped. He didn't even want to look at prices? I'd never bought a whole bottle in a restaurant.
"Right away. And food? Do you need more time to decide?"
"No, we're good," Spencer said.
We both gave our order.
I wanted to call him out on the bottle but was a bit ashamed to do it in front of the waiter. But as soon as we were alone, I leaned over the table and said, "Spencer, I'm pretty sure the wines are expensive."
"It’s my pleasure to treat you to something delicious. I want you to relax. And you like white wine."
My brain stopped registering what he said after "I want to treat you to something delicious." Had I imagined that he said that? I had to because it wasn't something that men usually said. But maybe I shouldn't generalize, considering my experience had been limited to one guy who couldn't care less about me. And yet, I couldn't help but compare. Wally would have never splurged on anything just to indulge me. Hell, he didn't even want to spoil me with free stuff like cooking or cuddling me.Focus on the now, Penny. That part of your life is over, and you will never ever let anyone treat you that way again.
"You're lost in thought," Spencer said.
"Yeah, sorry. It's hard for me to hear things like that. Well, maybe not hard but... unexpected."
"Which part?" Spencer asked, frowning.
"That you want to do something nice for me."
The line of his jaw hardened. "Your ex sounds like a douche bag."
"He was. The only question is why I waited so long until separating. But being with him was so familiar, you know?”
“I don’t.”
“Sorry. Shouldn’t have brought it up. Between the two of us, you've got a suckier ex."
Spencer straightened on the chair. "It's not a competition."
"Are you in contact with her at all?"
He nodded. "She visits Ben once or twice a week for an hour, and that’s about it.”
